There is a high quality, open source COBOL compiler called GnuCOBOL. It translates COBOL code to C, which can then be compiled to machine language on just about any platform. GnuCOBOL can use a variety of database engines, including the C-ISAM database, which is compatible with MicroFocus. If you take a MicroFocus program and re-compile it with GnuCOBOL, it will usually run several times faster. And the resulting program will also run much faster than an equivalent Python program.
rproffitt commented: Late but good info. +15