Well, MVS has become OS/390, and now z/OS, the latter offering more Linux
integration. I see what you mean. In fact, as I understand it, the HP 3000
was originally meant to compete with IBM's mainframe offerings. Now, what I
see, with too many of the mainframers I work with, is occult art. People
copy job cards, having no idea exactly what all they do; they just know that
they work. I've seen users who understood exactly one way to do a thing, and
repeat it by rote, without understanding it, or other ways to accomplish the
same thing, even when that would be better. If I have to explain one more
time that I do not always have to "preallocate" a file...

MVS & co started in a time when machine time was more valuable than
developer time, so the developer was required to specify a lot of options.
And there are a lot of options; I am struck by the mainframe's complexities.


Consequently, this makes for a huge topic. We can compare subsystems. And we
can compare market niches. And we could compare the kinds of people who work
on them, and the job markets for them.

Greg Stigers
http://www.cgiusa.com

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