How to Use JSON in Your z/OS Program
July 7, 2021
First created in 2001, JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) has become the preferred way of creating structured data. Not limited to JavaScript applications, JSON formats can be found in web requests and responses and NoSQL databases. So, it makes sense that we will want our traditional z/OS programming languages (COBOL, PL/I, Assembler, C and REXX) to […]
ArticlesIBM i Navigator System Monitors
July 6, 2021
Everyone should be proactively monitoring key metrics on IBM i. If you’re not already monitoring your system, I recommend getting started with IBM i System Monitors, which are included with Navigator for i. The feature article, Monitor Your IBM i Application and System Health, reviews why you should proactively monitor your system; this blog post shows you how to get […]
ArticlesOf Stacks, Binding and Other Ambiguous Computer Jargon
July 5, 2021
One of the strangest things about the mainframe is our jargon, sometimes shared with other parts of IT, and based, somewhat oddly, not in Latin, Greek, or even German or French, but in that messiest of common languages: English. Yes, despite valiant efforts by other languages to inhabit computer hardware, software and programming languages (for […]
ArticlesRegister for the ‘Unmasking Our ‘Whole Self’: Can We Create Inclusive Psychologically Safe Spaces in the Workplace?’ Webinar
July 1, 2021
In the third webinar installation of the Making Our Strong Community, Stronger collaborative initiative on diversity, equity and inclusion, ‘Unmasking Our ‘Whole Self’: Can We Create Inclusive Psychologically Safe Spaces in the Workplace?’ we look at how the pressures of the pandemic have heightened racial, gender and additional inequalities. This webinar will take place on July 28 at 9:00 […]
ArticlesBest Practices for AIX in a SAN Environment: Part 1
June 24, 2021
AIX supports different SAN topologies, switches and storage servers from multiple vendors. This represents challenges, due to the fact the interoperability among vendors is less than ideal. Therefore, one important aspect to get a reliable AIX is to follow the best practices for the SAN environment. In this article, I want to explain the major […]
Mainframe Connectivity: What’s Missing?
June 21, 2021
We can, perhaps, all remember a time when a simple 3270 terminal emulator was all we needed to access the mainframe without needing a directly-connected terminal. And we were really pleased that we could work from anywhere using this simple solution to our communication problem. It worked and our expectations were not very high. Next, […]
ArticlesHorses for Courses: Choosing the Right Player, Platform and Tool in the COBOL World
June 21, 2021
“OCCURS DEPENDING ON” is a wonderful clause in COBOL that resonates powerfully with a favorite answer that IBMers like to give to big, generic questions about how to choose and configure their technology: “It depends … ” In the first case, the programmer may be asking for arrays, while in the latter the IBMer is […]
Articles5 Reasons to Choose Open-Source Solutions for Software Development
June 16, 2021
Open source has revolutionized the software development industry. Open source means that the software created is released under a license that allows anyone to use it. The code is also distributed along with the software. Some of the most commonly used software systems in the world are open source. For example, the Firefox web browser […]
ArticlesPower Systems Best Practices Doc Updated, dnf, New IBM Customer Support Portals and More.
June 15, 2021
The Power Implementation Quality Standard for Commercial Workloads document has been updated. Download Version 2.4 (June 2021) here. This presentation details the expected best practices implementation guidelines for Power Systems hardware, including virtualized systems. As you go through it, notice that, starting with page 9, there’s typically an indicator (in red and in parenthesis) of […]
ArticlesPowerVM Upgrades and Top 12 Tips for Maintaining Your VIO Servers
June 15, 2021
PowerVM v3 has now been out for some time. In this article, I’ll go over what you should think about when maintaining VIO servers. I’ve noticed that once a VIO server is installed, people tend to ignore it until they are forced to upgrade it—this is not recommended. So, here are my top 12 tips […]