PowerCOBOL is based on an event-driven programming paradigm. In this paradigm, the program is constantly testing for and responding to a set of events, which are simple user actions such as mouse button clicks or keystrokes. PowerCOBOL programs use forms (windows) and graphical controls (objects) to create the graphical interfaces that interact with users.
A more detailed discussion of event-driven programming may be found in Chapter 1, "Introduction."
