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Before SQL, generating software to query large data sets was a specialized, expensive job done by COBOL programmers.

Hipp sets up the pre-SQL era: querying large data sets required custom software written by costly COBOL programmers. ✦ AI generated

D. Richard Hipp · Simon Willison's Weblog · 2026-07-29 · original ↗

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Years ago, we didn't have SQL. There were people whose job was to generate software that would query large data sets. Their job title was COBOL programmer.

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✳ COBOL ✳ SQL

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provides context → SQL made it possible to replace the work of expensive COBOL programmers with a simple specification language.D. Richard Hipp · Simon Willison's Weblog provides context → SQL didn't eliminate programming jobs — it just changed what those jobs looked like.D. Richard Hipp · Simon Willison's Weblog