3 ms·
It’s not the language but the ecosystem that’s a barrier to entry. Do you have a z series in your garage to hack around with?
by pbourke 6y ago
It’s not the language but the ecosystem that’s a barrier to entry. Do you have a z series in your garage to hack around with?
- galoisgirl 6y agoI have 3 free accounts on Mainframes from various courses to hack around with. I looked at jobs in my area and some don't require any experience, they train you. There's also the kid who just bought a Mainframe: https://www.fastcompany.com/3063265/this-teenage-ibm-employee-got-his-job-by-buying-an-old-mai https://www.fastcompany.com/3063265/this-teenage-ibm-employe...
- dragonwriter 6y ago> Do you have a z series in your garage to hack around with? You just need a Linux PC with the IBM Z Development & Test Environment. (Of course, ZD&T, even the “Personal Edition”, doesn’t exactly have hobbyist-friendly pricing.[0]) You can do cheaper (i.e., free) with Hercules, but only with older OS’s. [0] https://www.ibm.com/products/z-development-test-environment/pricing https://www.ibm.com/products/z-development-test-environment/...
- rhabarba 6y agoCOBOL even exists on Windows these days. Combined with a mainframe editor simulation like SPF, it all comes to fruition in some way.
- anadem 6y ago> COBOL even exists on Windows these days "these days"?? COBOL has been available on Windows since Windows 3.1, and was even a commercial success on DOS in pre-Windows days. Yes, it was principally used in finance on mainframes, but the mini- and micro-computer implementations were fully ANSI standard, and included extensions for CICS and other mainframe stuff. (I worked on DOS COBOL runtime support, then OS/2, then Windows ...)