COBOL vs. Java vs. MySQL Data Access Components vs. Rocket Visual COBOL Comparison Chart

The Java™ Programming Language is a general-purpose, concurrent, strongly typed, class-based object-oriented language. It is normally compiled to the bytecode instruction set and binary format defined in the Java Virtual Machine Specification. In the Java programming language, all source code is first written in plain text files ending with the .java extension. Those source files are then compiled into .class files by the javac compiler. A .class file does not contain code that is native to your processor; it instead contains bytecodes — the machine language of the Java Virtual Machine1 (Java VM). The java launcher tool then runs your application with an instance of the Java Virtual Machine.

Rocket Visual COBOL Personal Edition is a free, academic-use development environment that allows students and professionals to learn modern COBOL inside today’s most popular IDEs, including Visual Studio, Eclipse, and Visual Studio Code. It provides advanced editing, debugging, continuous background compilation, and intelligent code analysis to accelerate learning and productivity. With support for both .NET and JVM ecosystems, learners can combine COBOL with C#, Java, and other modern languages in a single toolset. Designed specifically for education and skills development, it offers a one-year student developer license at no cost. The platform helps new developers build foundational COBOL abilities while enabling experienced programmers to explore modernization techniques. With over 100,000 downloads, it remains one of the most trusted ways to learn and practice COBOL development.