Legacy language reference
A sourced reference for COBOL, RPG, PL/I, Assembly, PowerBuilder, Delphi, ColdFusion, and Fortran: status codes, abend codes, and the compiler quirks that make the same code mean different things depending on your platform — plus the tools and vendor directory for when the fix is bigger than one error.
466
Reference entries
8
Languages
26
Modernization vendors
11
Free tools
01
Search a code or paste an error
Type a status code like 35 or S0C7, or paste the full error message from your job log.
02
Get the cause and the fix
Every entry names which compiler or platform it applies to, since the same code can mean different things across vendors.
03
Compare vendors when you're ready
If the fix is really a modernization project, see which vendors actually cover your language.
Example
An OPEN was issued for INPUT, I-O, or EXTEND against a file that does not exist at the location named in the ASSIGN clause, and the file was not declared OPTIONAL.
Confirm the DD or dataset is allocated before the step runs, check the cataloged name matches SELECT ... ASSIGN exactly, and verify the job did not skip a prior GDG generation. On some platforms, this code is also returned when the file organization declared does not match the actual file format (see below).
COBOL
The batch-processing backbone of global banking and insurance. Still compiling, still running the overnight run.
RPG (IBM i / AS/400)
IBM i shops running RPG II through RPG IV and ILE, with a distinct dialect history under one green-screen roof.
PL/I
IBM's systems-and-business hybrid language, still quietly load-bearing today.
Assembly / HLASM
The layer everything else on the mainframe ultimately compiles down to.
PowerBuilder
Client/server-era 4GL still running mid-market line-of-business apps.
Delphi / Object Pascal
Object Pascal's most durable home, with a small and loyal audience still shipping products on it.
ColdFusion
A platform-decline story rather than a workforce-shortage one. Worth evaluating on its own terms.
Fortran
Still the workhorse of HPC and scientific codebases, serving a different buyer entirely.
Status & abend code lookup
Search every reference code across all languages by code or by error text.
Error message search
Paste an error message or job log excerpt and find the closest matching reference entry.
Job log decoder
Paste a whole job log or console dump and get every status/abend/error code it contains, matched at once.
Vendor match
Answer two questions and see which modernization vendors cover your language and approach.
Consultancies and platform vendors that actually do this work, by approach — rewrite, wrapper, managed support, or staffing — not a paid placement list.
The Aliasing Advantage: Why Fortran Still Wins the Performance Argument
A compiler-level look at why Fortran keeps beating naively-written C in numerical code, what DO CONCURRENT actually does when it hits a GPU, and what the 2023 standard changed.
8 min read
ColdFusionThe ColdFusion Patch Cadence Playbook
Adobe just doubled its ColdFusion security-bulletin schedule. Here's the real CVE math behind that decision, what a disciplined shop's patch cycle looks like, and where Lucee fits in.
7 min read
DelphiThe Delphi You Can't Google
Search GitHub or a developer survey for Delphi and you'll find almost nothing. That isn't decline, it's a measurement problem, and the software quietly running hospitals, ATMs, and point-of-sale terminals is the reason why.
8 min read