Ping
Big Blue stock has been hot. Up almost 30% in value the past year.
Didn’t even know they still used the term mainframe.
Wow, I haven’t worked on a mainframe for ten years now, feels like 100.
All RIGHT! Time to hone up my FORTRAN card skills!
All RIGHT! Time to hone up my FORTRAN card skills!
ping
I don't understand why that should be a problem.
All of those things can be run on the mainframe, with the possible exception of a hypothetical "Flash" backend [and while the "Flash" client would certainly make calls to the hardware in the form of codecs, I don't see why a "Flash" backend, on the server, would need to make calls to the hardware].
Seems to me that the Web 2.0 paradigm looks an awful lot like the mainframe paradigm.
Wait until POWER7 comes out. It is going to be hot.
Last time I check, IBM's architecture did not provide hardware support for a stack. Has that changed?
What about 64-bit support? Doesn't that obsolete expanded storage?
No. The need for a hierarchy still exists even with z/VM.
The other consideration is that with z/VM 5.1.0 and earlier, all CP code, all CP control blocks, and most guest pages being referenced for CP processing (I/O, IUCV, etc.) need to be below 2GB. This can create contention for storage below 2GB. Such contention is often indicated by significant paging to DASD and a large number of pages available above 2GB (as seen by QUERY FRAMES command or your favorite performance tool). Systems with a 2GB constraint may benefit from having more of their storage configured as expanded storage. See Pre-z/VM 5.2.0 64-bit Considerations for more information. z/VM 5.2.0 has removed most of these restrictions and therefore contention for storage below 2GB is much less likely (see z/VM 5.2.0 64-bit Considerations).
Instructions for downloading the new release still is full of things like:
Run the file through this pipeline:
PIPE < VMARC MODULE A | deblock cms | > VMARC MODULE A We also have a help file for VMARC. Upload and reblock it to use it, just like you would for the module. Note: if you are running VM/ESA 2.2.0 you will need to apply APAR VM61031 in order for VMARC MODULE to work correctly on your system.
UGH!
But it didn't take me long to give thanks to this mainframe! I have never had a system that was so FULL. As a data hound, I discovered I could access huge mountains of years worth of data. And it could be sliced any which way I wanted. No endless wait for report development. No need to rely on some "in the can" reporting that is incomplete. And thank goodness, no more data killing crystal reports nonsense.
In the Early 70’s, PL1 was supposed to replace COBOL....and in the 90’s, Cobol replaced PL1.
Why is COBOL still around, along with the Mainframes ?
Cobol is “Reasonable” code.
Its not a Syntax nighmare of (-+%<</>> and you can take a COBOL program that was written 10 Years ago, read it, change it, and make it better.
A Microsoft C++ guy once told me, he could write a Program that no one could figure out......he’s shampooing carpets now.....I’m still writing code that people can Read.
A Russian Programmer once told me, the Russians programmers made their code cryptic and complex, so that the Russian Bureaucrats would not be able to fire them.
India, with its HUGE influx of Programmers taking American jobs because India Universities still teach Mainframe TEchnology, as their Universities are behind the Times with old books and Technology, that was never out of style.
You can learn to program and write Software, maybe, its a talent that some do not have the profile to absorb....You can build a Mcdonalds hamburger, get the wrong number of Pickels, too many Onions, and slightly overcook the meat, and a hungry person will Eat it....A computer Program that is 99% correct, is a piece of crap that won’t run, or a runaway Program that won’t stop.
Logical thinking is key, along with the ability to handle complexity, which is why I do NOT know any Liberal Programmers that are worth their money, or their weight in hollerith field cards.
Maintaining a program that is 10 years old is a Skill. Writing a NEW program from a blank sheet of paper, is quite another skill set. Making it readable in a reasonable language Technical Environment, makes it long lived Software.
Web Servers capture and send data....Mainframes PROCESS data...400,000,000 Record Master data files surrounded by ancillary Data Bases is a heavy load.