We use computer smartphones at work and can do whatever we want. However, if we talk about programming do you know what the oldest computer program that is still in use is? Well, its MOCAS, the oldest computer program that’s still in use. MOCAS (Mechanization of Contract Administration Services) which was pronounced as “MOH-cass”, launched way back in the year 1958. It was initiated by the United States Department of Defense, and it was a computer-based contract management system. MOCAS is one of the oldest and most important programming languages at that time. It was written in COBOL, and the original interface was based on keycards or punchcards, as reported by MIT Tech Review. According to MIT Tech Review “In the following decades the program got upgraded to work with what’s often called “green screen” access: a terminal-style system that remained in broad use of airlines, travel agents, banks, and telecom companies until just a few years ago.” Following the launch of MOCAS, few new interfaces were created that were able to connect to MOCAS, which helped it to extend its lifespan. According to MIT Tech Review “There have been efforts in the past to build a full replacement for MOCAS, and they’ve sputtered due to cost, complexity, and transition planning.” Today, the system manages about “$1.3 trillion in obligations and 340,000 contracts. Its current hardware configuration is an IBM 2098 model E-10 mainframe that can carry out 398 million instructions per second. It has a modest eight gigabytes of RAM.” So, MOCAS was the oldest computer program according to MIT Tech Review. If you know any other programs older than MOCAS, tell us in the comment box below.
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