If I could propose an improvement... 22:34 - BREXX/370 supports integer arrays created with ICREATE, and this function returns (effectively) a pointer to that array. Integer arrays having size width*height, containing 1 or 0, could also work as a Game of Life board state. It's possible to pass the pointer to a function for displaying the board. Note that the arrays are 1-indexed, so instead of IGET(arrayPointer, y*width+x) we must use IGET(arrayPointer, y*width+x+1) if x and y are zero-based. Source: I'm working on a puzzle game for TK5 written in Rexx and I used the integer arrays for keeping the board state.

I love using CRT-3270 emulators to interface with mainframes 🤓 feels like I'm in the matrix

Pl/I is one of the best programming languages ever made. There is a pre-processor feature that is amazing. I programmed PL/I for years.

For me, it will always be Xedit/Kedit. I did start out with ISPF and when I changed jobs where VM was the development. Xedit opened a whole new world, and it was wonderful. Then the company removed VM and I had to go back to ISPF. I just couldn't get used to it again, maybe I didn't give it a change. Fortunately, Kedit for the pc was established and stable. 44 years later that is what I use intensely, every day.

I also have used a lot of editors and think the ISPF editor is my favorite. I had a copy of spf/pc under dos that doesn't seem to be around any more. I do have a windows program called SPFlite2 that works pretty well and I found not too long ago. I always thought that ISPF should have been written on a PC, but then be able to edit either on the workstation or some other server/mainframe, simply by giving a pc or mf filename. Maybe that can be done through ftp or something these days. One of my favorite besides move over was the TS command to split a line and then flow it later.

Nice presentation and history lesson. I learned stuff I did not know. Worked for DEC for many years , Apple, and IBM Spent 15 years with DEC and 18 Years with IBM Ricky from IBM(retired)

Hi, thank you for this great video. Did you think about backinh up this tape image on web archive? It would be great if we could all try this compiler in mvs emulators. Best regards

I used Turbo Pascal (and then Free Pascal) as a kid :) I still have two books with tutorials (in Polish) somewhere on the shelf.

Never did Pascal on a mainframe. Started with Tiny Pascal on the TRS80, then Waterloo Pascal on a SuperPET for comp sci classes, then Turbo Pascal on cp/m and pc’s. MODULA-2 was supposed to take over , at one time…

Turbo/Borland Pascal is GOAT !

The Korn Shell developer was David Korn, still around, he will be 81 in August. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Korn_(computer_scientist)

I found Pascal (P6000) too verbose so I wrote a C compiler in Pascal. This was in 1982 when I was working at Imperial College Computer Centre.

Just starting to watch, but I am absolutely flabbergasted that a tape from Way Back Then is still readable! Apparently without error. Yeah, IBM really did make solid iron.

goto in Pascal??? Ah, what the sacrilege!!! Just joking, thanks for the very interesting video! Also, I'm very glad that you went with Rob Prins TK, I was promoting his work for the long time (not that anyone listens to me, but still...) I had a lot of health issues (old fart me), but I hope I'll be back online soon promoting your channel and MVS/TK. All the best, my dear friend and teacher!

I wish I could have a merge of VIM and the ISPF PDF editor. But I miss XEDIT too.

I loved PL/I. Pascal confused me at times due to the concept of "statement ending" vs. 'statemen separating" things. I kept putting PL/I semi-colons where they didn't belong.

Watching this video was great! But it really drove home why the advent of Lisp Machines and Smalltalk were so radically revolutionary in their day. Today, I thank my lucky stars that I have a wonderful Lisp environment to live in. The video reminded me to thank the computer gods...

Holy Smokes! This takes me back more than 50 years! I see you operating a virtual mainframe from a modern workstation. How do you tolerate the massive slowdown in factor going so far back in time? I remember working for IBM, and I do remember their mindset as being that theirs is the only way. But I also remember the 1980's jolting IBM into using 3rd party chips and software.

I did a lot of programming with Borland Pascal (and other compilers), but my introduction to PASCAL happened in the Faculty/Graduate TN3270 job entry room for the Amdahl. There was a grad student (like me) from Jaipur who would nap on the bench (after Midnight) waiting for the next run of her PASCAL program to print out. *I didn't know PASCAL,* but when she got stuck, I would look at her code logic and ask her questions ... until she would see how to fix it! That would be 1984. :^)

Hi, great video. Just a note, should be 1403.bitnet.systems not 1403.bitnet.system😀

Moshix, Korn shell is from the first half of the 80s ie 82ish and was written by David Korn.

UCSD Pascal for me; actually went to UCSD to get my copy.

pascal and basic were what i learned on :) the history of fortran compilers is actually really interesting too

Long live hercules

At Andor Systems, we developed out CacheXchange DaSD controller based upon the 370xa instruction set using a process we called compiled code simulation using Pascal …

Can I connect MVS from a computer to another computer?

4:41 by coincidence I had the Dune 2 - Eclipse Soundtrack playing in the background... perfect match

I was a mainframe operator at Eddie Bauer for 18 years. I actually loved it.

Thanks for the tutorial! I was following the instructions for FTP on TK5 to upload a Rexx script, the command /start ftpd,srvport=2100 does not work, command /s ftpd works (the default port is 2121).

I worked on Z12 for a french bank, we had to do the IPL every week, and for each time change, because, they really wanted us to do that :/

@moshix/Matthew: 0. Is it possible to install and run z/OS in an emulator ? 1. Does compiler on z/OS+USS create a compatible ELF-binary for Linux ? 2. Will S/390 ELF-binary created on z/OS+USS work on Linux S/390 ? 3. Will S/390 ELF-binary created on Linux S/390 work on z/OS+USS ? Thx.

Is USS included to the image? Thx.

Thanks for that tutorial :) I started learning Rexx running on TK5, partly following the instructions in the Game of Life video, but I got stuck at the PULL command not being able to get data from the user, returning an empty string immediately. Maybe it's a very stupid beginner mistake. I'll try FSS instead ;)

Elegant: English-like language as opposed to mathematical-like language.

seems the video ended suddenly

More involved in system programming nowdays, but started my mainframe adventure some years ago as a COBOL developer and it was love at first sight with the ISPF editor. A true legend!

Any subject involving New Jersey and Government-you KNOW it’s going to be nothing but turds. There’s something about working in government that destroys brain cells. Those who come in as youngin’s and become competent ALWAYS LEAVE. Only the incompetent or those after job security remain. Consequently I ignore all criticism of COBOL or hardware if it involves government. Love your channel!!!!

You might have snuck in that the early 360's only had base register and 12 bit offset addressing, which was a huge pain. Any array over 4096 bytes had to be addressed in a clunky way, either by the assembly language programmer or by a compiler. That was partly forced in order to make the instructions smaller so they could feasibly sell the smaller memory models. The VM systems were tantalysing as they were a completely different and considerably more flexible design than the original OS. Tantalysing as though you could run multiple processes, they could only communicate through clunky "virtual card readers" and virtual printers. Quite elegant in some ways but still mind-numbingly restricted.

Good video. I recommend -- and require -- my Assembler students to code field lengths on both operands of ALL PACKED DECIMAL instructions. Of course, ED, EDMK and SRP only have a single length involved. I also require them to define all PACKED DECIMAL fields as DC and initialized to 0 if not something else as required by the program. It will save S0C7s, or Data Exceptions. Additionally, you should be using standard entry and exit linkage in all programs. Upon entry to any Assembler program, Reg 1 is expected to hold the address of the caller's parameter list, Reg 13 is expected to hold the address of the caller's 18-fullword register save area, Reg 14 is expected to hold the address to return to upon completion of the current program and Reg 15 is expected to hold the address of the current program. Standard entry linkage then does a LR of Reg 15 into Reg 12 and Reg 12 becomes the program's base register.

I always dream to have IBM/370 machine at home...

Outstanding! It brings light to my 1986 Introduction to Cobol for Business Administration in the University of Costa Rica. We didn't even had a textbook. Not even a tour to the Registrar's Office where from the window I could see the disk units of the System 36 mini-computer. To us it was the next best thing to a mainframe! But at the same time, the dawning the microcomputer was to eclipse this course. We could see on screen the results of a payroll designed in a Smart SpreadSheet. Dad was developing in BASIC an automated quote for his printing shop on a Tandy TRS80 with a lot of difficuty and hardware issues. Later my brother in his cargo ship business brought an Apple Macintosh Plus to his office...All this comes to mind after reading a book dad had in his library called The American Challenge by French writer Jean-Jacques Servan-Schreiber where he described the investment that IBM did in the 1960's for its System 360 mainframes of US$5 billion of that era, more than the Space Program and the adoption of the I.C. to their systems!

in 90' I work with PL/1 I found one word misspelled in the manual and IBM send me certificate thanking for the correction, I could read the manual write complicated code and run it the way I have intended too; It never happened again later in any other hardware, software systems, that is why we have Google and Stock Overflow, (PS if you had access to the red books you were a God at that time, another famous "color" book was: Brown Blue book ;) jobs ref )

Kewl

IPL - now there's a term I haven't heard in several decades.

There is a windows like version ( a good one) on GIT HUB michaelknigge spf-editor

I agree, ISPF is the Best period.

Noob question: what's the difference between ISPF and XEDIT? (apart from running on different OSes). Do they share some history?

Interactive System Productivity Facility.

Thanks, it was very interesting.

too bad there is no more a windows version… i’m using it because i’m studying cobol/cocs/db2/ims again, and i find it very simple but effective