Clem Clarke <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote on 06/15/2007 12:19:32 PM:
>John Eells wrote:
>>No!
>>It is far from correct to conclude that, and I'm sure that's not at
>>all what Timothy meant. We have a really substantial investment in
>>z/OS development spread across several sites worldwide. Much of that
>>development has been and continues to be for the MVS part of z/OS.
>Yes, thanks, I do know that. Even here in sunny Perth :-)
>However, Tim wrote about C and Unix programs, and how one might develop,
>test and port them.
My post would be very long indeed if I described every application
development capability available for z/OS. :-)
There's a specific reason I focused on C and UNIX (actually Linux)
development: that was the topic! :-) If you go back in the thread, the
issue at hand at that instant was how to bring Linux applications to z/OS.
Unfortunately there is very little original { COBOL, PL/I, REXX, FORTRAN,
z/Architecture Assembler, JCL, ... } development going on within 2007's
Linux community, so my answer dealt with C, C++, Perl, PHP, and Java -- the
stuff Linux developers are using.
Of course there are other ways to develop applications for z/OS, and of
course John and countless others are delivering wonderful innovations
relating to those other ways. Since you ask, I and others undoubtedly would
be happy to talk (flame? :-)) about it.
>No mention of MVS style testing on Z/OS. Or VSE. (Or VM, maybe)
Don't I get any points for mentioning z/TPF? :-) Or "Linux on z/VSE" (now
yet another Google hit). :-) Reading between the lines, it sounds like
you're talking about "MVS on VSE." Please don't talk about that project in
public yet, OK? :-) :-)
No, I didn't explicitly, though I did mention WebSphere Developer for
System z (WDz). If you're familiar with WDz it's almost all about MVS-style
development.
> Can you suggest how it it be done? I really do want to do that for some
> code of which some has taken decades to develop.
"MVS-style" development? One way is to sign up with IBM PartnerWorld for
Developers (PWD). The PWD landing page is available from here:
http://www.ibm.com/systems/z/solutions/isv/
Earlier in this long thread several people commented that they were not
happy with PWD offerings. Alan Altmark noted, to paraphrase, that we could
go around in circles forever discussing this issue here. Smart and
prescient guy, that Alan. :-)
If PWD's offerings are not to everyone's liking, I see three possible
solutions:
1. Raise the issue with PWD for resolution. Preferably with a cogently,
rationally argued business case. "A z/OS mainframe in every pot" isn't
quite detailed or cogent enough. :-)
2. Go through university resources if you're in a position to do that.
Mainframe access is increasingly available that way, perhaps even if you
audit a community college course. Auditing a community college course has a
low price, I'd expect. Check the terms and conditions for how you can use
such access. Another possibility is if you are an alum of a college or
university. Reduced price or free access is sometimes available under
certain terms. Back in the early Internet days my college provided free
Internet access to alumns via a shared host system, for example.
3. Solve the problem without PWD. Some have argued that PWD's z/OS access
is too pricey for their individual situation and needs. If that's the case,
and PWD doesn't agree with your cogent alternative argument, that sounds
like a private business opportunity. For example, I don't think there's
anything preventing a not-for-profit consortium of developers from setting
up a shared system using even commercial licensing terms (zNALC I would
assume), with or without benefactors. I've previously blogged about the
"personal mainframe" along these lines. There's also been discussion about
how some of you get access via private LPARs available through consulting
engagements.
Is there a big enough group of you who would gather together, each paying,
say, 60% of PWD price for access? Is there at least a not-for-profit market
opportunity for a "Developers' z/OS Service Bureau" (DZSB)?
The above applies to z/VSE, z/VM, and z/TPF as well.
I also previously described possible solution #4 which I think is great for
the nouveau BT/I (Basement Tinkerer/Inventor). Feel free to disagree. If
you're allergic to USS ... er, z/OS UNIX(TM) System Services ... I posit
you're probably not a nouveau or even middle age BT/I. :-)
I think that's it, really. We can stay inside the "Alan Altmark loop"
another few rounds, though, if anybody wants.
As always, speaking only for myself here.
- - - - -
Timothy Sipples
IBM Consulting Enterprise Software Architect
Specializing in Software Architectures Related to System z
Based in Tokyo, Serving IBM Japan and IBM Asia-Pacific
E-Mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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