MainFrame Computers z/OS 01: Introduction and Setup

[@mindcapsoulmedia3409]

Glad to see more content on the mainframe. As a new gen mainframer , we need more content like this.

[@billskycomputerguy]

Excellent. I have even more to do on that subject. Hopefully this week.

[@dennissdigitaldump8619]

As a recently graduated elder student seeking state work, this series is a literal life saver. I cannot thank you enough!

[@billskycomputerguy]

@@dennissdigitaldump8619 You are soooooooo welcome! I only did a few videos on this topic, but enough to get you started. BTW, two of my students who couldn’t find jobs after college just got mainframe jobs starting at $70K. Very excited.

[@Parker8752]

This is really nice to see - given the lack of mainframe devs currently, I wanted to learn how to do this kind of stuff, but had no idea where I could get an account on a mainframe (it's not like I can afford the hardware and z/os software licensing fees for this kind of stuff).

[@billskycomputerguy]

Awesome!

[@steves9250]

Also check out TK4. It’s a OS/390 emulator that will run on a PC using an older version of MVS that IBM have made license free. You can play with JCL, COBOL, Assembler, TSO and even a version of CICS.

[@harshavardhan4005]

Thanks Bill, Really happy to see this content and it really helps to brush up old MF skills again

[@billskycomputerguy]

Glad you like it. I'm doing about eight different playlists these days, so hopefully this week I'll be doing my z/OS videos.

[@suzannesellers7383]

Dude, love your comments! Keep up the great work. I’ve been away from mainframes since 2001, so I’m going back to the beginning with lessons such as yours.

[@billskycomputerguy]

That's awesome!

[@justwanderin847]

Thanks for the time stamps

[@billskycomputerguy]

Those are great, aren’t they?

[@LindenAshbyMK]

Great tutorial, as usual 👍🏻

[@billskycomputerguy]

Thank you much!

[@Yon-ld9pk]

Lovely! Thanks

[@Yon-ld9pk]

When you're new to mainframe and you look it up, you find so much hate! this is great

[@billskycomputerguy]

Glad you're enjoying this.

[@billskycomputerguy]

The hate comes from those who want their favorite technology to excel and don't want to work and learn new things that might be old, but these old things are still used a LOT in the industry. I just don't understand that self destructive behavior.

[@Michael-iw3ek]

omg are you going to talk about as/400 too?

[@billskycomputerguy]

Actualluy no since the as/400 is no longer being produced. Ended production in 2008. The technology was merged into other architectures. I like to do videos on tech that people can use to enhance their careers. Interesting idea though. 😮

[@Michael-iw3ek]

@@billskycomputerguy I only mention it because I actually tried to configure networking on the older version of it (in the 90s, not real networking but terminal emulator card with network interface) and then I've read that the latest version actually had normal TCP/IP in it. Must have been right before they killed it off. Maybe you could do an overview of systems and how they went the way of the dodo bird? Cray, data general, vax, and such.

[@billskycomputerguy]

There are so many better sources for that history. From when it started as the CTR company, to today. Doing a video on that would take hours since there is so much, and Wikipedia has some great articles: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_IBM en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM_mainframe I've actually saved these pages as PDF files so I can keep them just in case Wikipedia goes belly up. I doubt that'll happen though. We give $600.00/year to them.

[@antonpavlov8764]

@@billskycomputerguy they absolutely produce them, it's been rebranded as iSeries but they wouldn't just retire something like AS/400. Last major release was in 2022.

[@billskycomputerguy]

@@antonpavlov8764 I saw that after I did that video. You can't keep up with IBM's rebranding at times, it happens so often.

[@ghost_cipher]

I love learning about niche tech like this! If you have any stories or experiences that can teach someone aspiring to work with mainframes, that would be awesome!

[@billskycomputerguy]

Go through the entire IBM mainframe course as I have started in these set of videos. Get through the whole thing. Understand everything. Re-take a section if you don't quite get it. Buy a book on JCL (Murach's OS/390 and z/OS JCL) and use it on the IBM supplied zOS I use in the course material. Also understand the COBOL programming language. I have a playlist on that as well. Do a few projects that you can take screen captures of. Get a book on DB2 and/or IMS and understand the differences between hierarchical and relational database systems. There is so much you can do, but if you show in your CV that you are self studying and working to learn these technologies, your possible employer will be impressed.

[@ghost_cipher]

@@billskycomputerguy thank you so much for the detailed references! I’m going to check them out!

[@billskycomputerguy]

@@ghost_cipher You're welcom.

[@pedroamaral8699]

Thanks for sharing this great material Bill

[@billskycomputerguy]

My pleasure!

[@TiBiAstro]

Great video, has anyone ever told you you look like Pedro Pascal when he first wakes up and has to put on his glasses to see what his kids are showing him? 😅

[@billskycomputerguy]

YES! Ha!

[@cbbcbb6803]

Legasy means it works.

[@billskycomputerguy]

I LOVE it!

[@michelemoneywell8765]

i was coding Python and already have Visual Studio 2019 and Visual Studio installed, as well as a Visual Installer program. Do I have to uninstall anything first? Do I just go ahead and install from the sites as if I don't have any Visual Studio already installed?

[@billskycomputerguy]

Nope. Visual Studio 2019 is OK too. Sorry took so long, I was in Texas watching the eclipse!

[@michelemoneywell8765]

@@billskycomputerguy Oh cool that you got to see the eclipse! Thank you for the reply. I was an IBM mainframe programmer/analyst/systems engineer back in the day 2 decades ago. I want to return, but need refreshers and experience with z/OS . Your tutorials are a blessing. Thank you so much!

[@billskycomputerguy]

@@michelemoneywell8765 My pleasure!

[@andrewjenery1783]

What about OS support?

[@billskycomputerguy]

What do you mean?

[@andrewjenery1783]

@@billskycomputerguy Operating systems. What operating systems can you use with this.

[@billskycomputerguy]

Ah..... Any operating system that Visual Studio Code installs on. Windows, Mac, Linux

[@Parker8752]

Just as a note, you kind of leaked your username and password.

[@billskycomputerguy]

Eh, I'll change it. It's not like it's a production system. :-)

[@Parker8752]

@@billskycomputerguy fair; just reckoned I should mention

[@billskycomputerguy]

@@Parker8752 And I apreciate it. Password has already been changed. 🙂

[@mauricioluisvega3137]

Hello, I am using OPC and this happens: I have an applicationOne that has the jobA,jobB,JobC. I need to read the content of the application and only put the names of the jobs in a vector to use them in another application. Do you know where I can get information to schedule these tasks? Thanks a lot

[@billskycomputerguy]

I don't know if you can schedule on the IBM z/OS server I use in these videos. On a production machine, you need to request the scheduled job to run by contacting an administrator. Not sure if you can do this with the IBM offering I use. Sorry. Sorry so late of a reply, we travelled to Texas to see the Eclipse last week!