Every once in a while, we devote an installment or two of this column to displaying some of the newer contributions to the CBT Tape MVS Utilities collection, which have been either submitted recently, or have been considerably enhanced lately. The CBT Tape collection can be found at www.cbttape.org, and you don't need to be a member of anything, or to know a password, to get any of the thousands of software tools, large or small, which are posted there.  read more »

One of my favorite quotes is the old chestnut about laws and sausages: the less you know about how they are made, the better!

Unfortunately, more often than not, the adage is also perfectly apt for technology endeavors. Any IT pro who has been involved in a major upgrade or development project knows all too well just how many ‘additives' go into such an effort.  read more »

Every once in a while, we devote an installment or two of this column to displaying some of the newer contributions to the CBT Tape MVS Utilities collection, which have been either submitted recently, or have been considerably enhanced lately. The CBT Tape collection can be found at www.cbttape.org, and you don't need to be a member of anything, or to know a password, to get any of the thousands of software tools, large or small, which are posted there. I've just looked at the title index for this
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This month, I'd like to talk about something that professional coders generally do, rather than something that systems programmers normally do. But this topic is of much concern for us as systems programmers as well, and you'll soon see why.  read more »

Last month, we talked about the idea of looking at significant system values in an MVS system (z/OS or previous), which determine different aspects of how the system will run.  Not only is it important to know about many of the system values connected with the various MVS components, but it is also of great help, if you can figure out how the system itself gets to access these values.  Either way, the more you can find out about the contents of MVS control blocks and control values, the better you'll be able to get the most out of your MVS system.  read more »

There's a general question when dealing with any operating system, and especially when dealing with MVS in any of its forms (z/OS, OS/390, and further back). That is: We know there is much information about the general well-being and the operating particulars of the system stored in the many control blocks and control areas of the system. But that information remains hidden from us, unless there's some way for us to display it clearly. How can we get to the information?
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It is extremely useful, helpful, and often quite necessary, to be able to examine "live" system storage in the MVS (z/OS or any other flavor) machine that is currently running. There are many available tools to do that, and most of them are vendor products which not everyone has. But today, I want to concentrate on using one free tool to examine system storage. And this is a tool that anyone, in any MVS shop, can easily acquire. It is called LOOK, and it can be found on File 264 of the CBT MVS Utilities collection (www.cbttape.org).  read more »

There are many possible "standards" by which we can judge the so-called "quality" of MVS system software. In order to sell some tool or product commercially, certain standards of reliability and usability have to be met, or else the users will not feel happy with the feel and results of the product, and they will not want to buy it. If their installation has already bought it, and the sysprogs don't like to use it, the sysprogs' opinion will surely be felt--a future recommendation will not be forthcoming. On the other hand, if the
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Last month, we talked about the basic structure, and some of the general details, of the TSO Broadcast Dataset, which used to exclusively be called SYS1.BRODCAST. The Broadcast Dataset is part of the "messaging facility" which belongs to TSO under MVS, and it has been around (as SYS1.BRODCAST) since the MVT times, long before MVS was given its name.  read more »

TSO has been around, on OS/360 (circa late-1960s) and on later MVT and MVS systems, for many years. Being the "terminal access" mechanism for the Operating System, and being "User and Userid oriented", TSO (in MVS) has always had a messaging system, so that one user could send messages to another user.
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Like most IT pros, in my career I have owned an ever-evolving library of technical books, a total surely numbering well into the hundreds by now. The selection of books I keep at hand is in constant flux as IT platforms and technologies are supplanted by newer (and hopefully better) options, or as my interests and job duties change.  read more »

Major technology vendors are all over the map when it comes to corporate strategies for Linux and Open Source.
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