lboc

I think Intercomm is bundled in the TK5 distribution of MVS 3.8 now. They got clearance from the owners a while back as I recall.

I'm assuming it's the same Intercomm you're talking about.

The s390x Linux install under z/VM boots from a virtual card reader, from cards generated by a virtual card punch from the installation files.

Me too. Status page predictably claiming 'All systems operational'!

A good summary from the UK IT trade publication that broke the story:

https://www.computerweekly.com/feature/Post-Office-Horizon-s...

Not sure if this requires sign-in/subscription, so apologies in advance. I did neither and have access to the full article.

Wow, Kilostream. There's a name I never thought I'd hear again :-)

There's a bunch of documentation for MVS 3.8J (or OS/VS2) on Bitsavers.

IBM provide free 1-year Z access via the Zxplore program.

Haven't used it for a couple of years, but I think it's still a free login ID with 1-year validity. You can re-apply every year.

Are we to assume you want it to run on actual hardware? I imagine there are a number of OSes that qualify if emulation is acceptable. One I like:

http://www.vm370.org/

Full S/370 assembler source included.

Seems to be replicating mainframe JCL and in-stream data sets. Processing instructions and input are combined in a single file. Used all the time for compiling, running utilities etc.

I'm guessing that this (IBM) example is setting the delimeter to '@@' to avoid problems with the comment - JCL also understands the '/*' sequence. I've not seen it used with other languages (Cobol etc.)

    //jobname    JOB   acctno,name...
    //COMPILE    EXEC  PGM=CCNDRVR,
    // PARM='/SEARCH(''CEE.SCEEH.+'') NOOPT SO OBJ'
    //STEPLIB    DD    DSNAME=CEE.SCEERUN,DISP=SHR
    //           DD    DSNAME=CEE.SCEERUN2,DISP=SHR
    //           DD    DSNAME=CBC.SCCNCMP,DISP=SHR
    //SYSLIN     DD    DSNAME=MYID.MYPROG.OBJ(MEMBER),DISP=SHR
    //SYSPRINT   DD    SYSOUT=*
    //SYSIN      DD    DATA,DLM=@@
      #include <stdio.h>
      ⋮
      int main(void)
      {
      /*  comment   */
      ⋮
      }
    @@
    //SYSUT1     DD    DSN=...
    ⋮
    //*

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Job_Control_Language#In-stream...*

Yes and Yes. Though there are options to get to the Unix shell via tn3270 too.

This is a reasonable introduction.

https://www.ibm.com/z/resources/zxplore

There's also a bunch of (sign-in required) free training at learn.ibm.com. And I think there's something on Coursera too.

I've seen it done fairly often in mainframe assembler - embed an 'eyecatcher' string near the top of your program and jump to the real entry point. Used as an aid for debugging when reading dumps I believe. Not generally program data though, ususally metadata like program name, author, date assembled etc.

Agreed. I've only limited experience with i, but more with z. After using them, the other OSes you might use start to look and feel pretty similar to each other.

z/PDT and zD&T will run current z/OS under emulation on Linux. The ADCD for use with those products includes almost all the IBM software you'd come across in a mainframe environment:

http://dtsc.dfw.ibm.com/adcd/adcd.shtml

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tI5jk-1OI-g

https://ibm.github.io/zdt-learners-edition-about/

zxplore is a free z/OS course (what used to be called 'Master the Mainframe'):

https://ibmzxplore.influitive.com/users/sign_in

Also a bunch of free courses here:

https://learn.ibm.com/

(free registration required)

(EDIT) If you're in the US and meet the requirements (take free courses) you might also be interested in this for (I believe) $120/year:

https://ibm.github.io/zdt-learners-edition-about/

Email in profile if you want to know more.

Go at least, is available for z/OS:

https://www.ibm.com/products/open-enterprise-sdk-go-zos

One possible reason why: customers might want to be able to upgrade their hardware/OS/whatever and retain their 5 9s.

Try this for a bunch of free z courses (with real machine access for labs)

https://www.ibm.com/training/

I've done 4 or 5 including z/OS and COBOL.

There's also:

https://www.ibm.com/it-infrastructure/z/education/zxplore

Which appears to be the replacement for the Master the Mainframe program. Includes real machine access.

Although it's usefulness in comparison to real z/OS access is debatable, you might also check out the TK4- system which is an old MVS packaged along with the Hercules emulator. A lot of stuff hasn't changed in z/OS, but a lot has.

http://wotho.ethz.ch/tk4-/

Makes me think of:

https://web.archive.org/web/20010406062920/http://crank.com/...

Issue #2 and a follow-up in Issue #4.

It mentions using 'cc' here:

https://www.ibm.com/support/knowledgecenter/ssw_aix_72/print...

An example using ksh:

https://www.ibm.com/support/knowledgecenter/ssw_aix_72/files...

The AIX print spooler can be used as a generic queueing system - I remember setting up queues with shells as backends. Jobs sent to those queues would then be executed in sequence, and could be cancelled/reprioritized/etc like any print job.

Can't claim any credit for the idea though, it was actually suggested in the documentation...

It might be possible on other unix systems too, but I never had to try it.

Sorry, both the title link and the one I added seem to produce the same permission error now. I've asked the author about it and will update if I hear anything back.

You're absolutely right, sorry. I don't suppose you know how I can edit the URL? Editing the submission only seems to let me change the title. (it's my first attempt at a submission)

This link appears to work:

https://community.ibm.com/community/user/ibmz-and-linuxone/b...

A list of free resources for IBM mainframes. Includes software and user accounts. Some appear to require exising mainframe access.

Thank you.

IBM certainly does:

http://dtsc.dfw.ibm.com/

They might also know others who do it too. I must admit I've never heard of such a thing from non-IBM sources.

z15 (latest-gen) hardware technical intro here:

http://www.redbooks.ibm.com/redpieces/pdfs/sg248850.pdf

The 'service bureau' does what you're talking about, and has done for a very long time.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Service_bureau#Histories

I have no idea about the current level of activity in this sector (mainframe proceesing as a service), but would not be at all surprised to find it greatly diminished from it's heyday when dinosaurs roamed the raised floor.

I don't think it takes a huge leap to draw a connection between these businesses and the cloud providers of today.

It sees some use in z/OS. For example, open source tarballs aren't generally EBCDIC, so:

pax -rvf automake-1.16.tar -o from=ISO8859-1,to=IBM-1047