As a result of the recent thread called "Mainframe Fresher",
I put together a page for our website titled "Cool Things
You Can Do in z/OS".
Of course, one man's "cool" is another's "so what?", and even
one's own list is likely to change. So here are the criteria
I used to compile my list:
* To be considered "cool", a feature or facility of z/OS must:
+ Have useful, real world application
+ Be generally unknown by z/OS application programmers
(most people on this list already know these features,
but application programmers are generally not as
current, due to focusing on keeping today's apps
going as opposed to having the joy of developing
new apps)
* To make the list, in addition to being "cool", the feature
or facility must be "free" in one of these senses:
+ Included in the price of z/OS (e.g.: ISPF, the Assembler)
+ Available for free but separately orderable (e.g.: the
ported Apache server)
+ Likely available, even if it's a charge for product
(e.g.: compilers, DB2)
* Finally, to make the list, the cool thing has to be taught
in one or more of our courses
+ So we name a cool feature and can also show you where
to learn how to use it
(Of course, one can theoretically learn these things
oneself by reading and trial and error; but we write
courses to save you the trouble. Some of our courses
have taken months to write and they are taught in
a matter of days, therefore saving significant time
and energy in picking up new skills)
Remember, the point is to promote z/OS by letting people
inside and outside the business know that mainframes are
still around and still viable. An extra point is that
while mainframes often are more expensive than some of
the alternatives, there are a lot of cool features
included for free with your z/OS system.
Let's not have a long thread that quibbles about details
and selection. If you don't agree with our list, make
your own. Put it on your company intranet. The point is
to promote the platform.
To check out our list, go to our home page,
http://www.trainersfriend.com
and follow the link in the right hand column labeled
"Cool Things You Can Do in z/OS".
--
Kind regards,
-Steve Comstock
The Trainer's Friend, Inc.
303-393-8716
http://www.trainersfriend.com
* To get a good Return on your Investment, first make an investment!
+ Training your people is an excellent investment
* Try our new tool for calculating your Return On Investment
for training dollars at
http://www.trainersfriend.com/ROI/roi.html
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