What does COBOL stand for?

COBOL stands for "Common Business Oriented Language." This programming language was developed in the late 1950s to meet the data processing needs of businesses and government agencies. It was designed with a focus on readability and is structured in a way that resembles English, making it accessible to a wide range of users, including those who may not have a deep technical background.

The emphasis on "business oriented" highlights its primary purpose, which is to process large volumes of data effectively and to support business applications. COBOL has been widely used in mainframe environments for tasks such as payroll processing, banking, and transaction processing due to its robustness and ability to handle complex operations and significant data sets.

The other options, while they include parts of the term “COBOL,” either misrepresent its actual meaning or do not align with the historical context and intended use of the language. Understanding the correct full name is crucial for grasping COBOL's role in business computing and its impact on the development of programming languages tailored for enterprise applications.