On 21 Jan 2009 15:10:26 -0800, in bit.listserv.ibm-main you wrote: >IBM intends to keep extending z/SO COBOL for many years to come! >We have been exploring what it would take to get AMODE 64 COBOL >on z/OS for years. Coordination between all of the products is in >progress. We could ship a compiler that could produce AMODE 64 >object code in just a few years (it would require almost a complete >compiler rewrite) but we would then need a run-time library, and >some way to interoperate with other languages, etc. How about >a transaction environment for AMODE 64 programs? Anybody want >QSAM, VSAM, SORT? I think so. Please be patient with IBM >COBOL development :-)
Since the C/C++ people and Java people have a 64 bit environment and LE was supposed to be common to all, I'm puzzled as to how much of a separate run time library is needed. I don't believe your customers want 64 bit COBOL per se. However if key things like Websphere, DB2 and Java all have 64 bit variants and these offer significant advantages, there may well be a need for COBOL to easily interoperate with that environment cleanly and with minimal overhead. By the way in long range terms, I want to see QSAM functionally stabilized and with all future work for sequential files being done in zFS and VSAM ESDS. I realize that this in Access Methods and COBOL is just a user. Also I would hope that 7+ years after 64 bit was delivered, VSAM could handle it. > >Meanwhile, COBOL customers are beating us up about XML validation, >XMLSS, Unicode, useability features and many other things besides >AMODE 64 COBOL. We have to do it all right? Why does COBOL need XML handling? Is it generating in line code as opposed to setting up calls as is the case for CICS and SQL? I would agree that getting Unicode, the usages in the 2002 standard (with the floating point being IEEE leaving COMP-1 and COMP-2 for hex floating point) and other things useful for inter-operability is more important. > >Cheers, >TomR >> COBOL is the Language of the Future! << > >>That plan may be to have CoBOL profitable for some time to come - or >>it may be to have it die out - or maybe it will be used as part of >>IBM's overall strategy of marketing IBM, differentiating it from >>competitors that also produce Java and XML, or whatever word catches >>customers' eyes. > >>Marketing is important. Positioning IBM so that customers in the >>future will think IBM first is important. How IBM decides to do this >>a question I don't know the answer to - but it is entirely conceivable >>that its strategy will include having many compatible tools - such as >>64 bit CoBOL that can run on Z/OS and AIX. > >---------------------------------------------------------------------- >For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, >send email to [email protected] with the message: GET IBM-MAIN INFO >Search the archives at http://bama.ua.edu/archives/ibm-main.html ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to [email protected] with the message: GET IBM-MAIN INFO Search the archives at http://bama.ua.edu/archives/ibm-main.html
