Joseph Gulla
Contributor
Joseph Gulla got his start in IT as a COBOL programmer in the late 1970s. He has worked with IBM products as a developer, system operator and instructor. Gulla has a Ph.D. in CIS from Nova Southeastern University and an MBA in MIS from La Salle University. Since 2000, Joe has helped StreamFoundry, an IBM Business Partner, with competitive software migrations and has continued his long association with Alazar Press as its general manager.
The Unique Benefits of z/OS-Native Database Systems
June 16, 2025
This is the first of two “z/OS and Friends” articles on database management systems. I am focused on z/OS because there are families of products, like the Db2 family, that run on different platforms, and because of platform differences, the products consume CPU cycles and utilize memory and storage in different ways. There are many […]
ArticlesIMS Transaction Manager: From Its Moonshot Roots to More Recent Product Enhancements
June 2, 2025
In this installment of "z/OS and Friends," Joe Gulla examines IMS Transaction Manager's beginnings, then considers how modern enhancements continue to make it an important component of z/OS
Articlesz/OS and Friends: IMS Transaction Manager and Database Manager Support Tens of Thousands of Transactions a Second
May 12, 2025
This comprehensive overview highlights the exceptional performance and reliability of IMS, explains the hierarchical database model, details the various types of IMS databases and more
Articlesz/OS and Friends: Rich Functionality Is What CICS Is All About—Then and Now
April 28, 2025
Joe Gulla traces the evolution of the Customer Information Control System (CICS), harkening back to its first release and providing a comprehensive accounting of its modern-day application development capabilities
Articlesz/OS and Friends: CICS Changing With the Times While Serving Longstanding Applications
April 7, 2025
Joe Gulla explains how the Customer Information Control System (CICS) relates to the programmer experience, and how it has evolved to handle growing workloads while embracing web services and new languages like Java
Articlesz/OS and Friends: What Is the JES Programming Dimension and Why Is It Important?
March 24, 2025
Joe Gulla looks at the programming side of JES2, including the phases of job processing and how Job Control Lanuage (JCL) was created to "feed the beast"
Articlesz/OS and Friends: JES—One of the Most Important Base Elements of z/OS
March 10, 2025
Joe Gulla explains how the Job Entry Subsystem (JES) contributes to the overall functionality of z/OS, outlining the five main characteristics of JES2
Articlesz/OS and Friends: Optional Features Complete a Compelling and Function-Rich Legacy OS
February 24, 2025
Following up on his exposition of the 50-plus base elements of z/OS, Joe Gulla dives into the optional features, from the language support like the HLASM Toolkit to data management tools like DFSORT
Articlesz/OS and Friends: A Rich Heritage of Built-in Functions, From Nucleus to Networking
February 4, 2025
Veteran mainframer Joe Gulla catalogs the base elements of z/OS, starting with the essential services of the Base Control Program
ArticlesHow IBM z/Architecture Has Evolved to Address Client Needs: Pausing to Appreciate
January 17, 2025
From System/360 to z16, longtime mainframer Joe Gulla examines how the technology behind his chosen platform has changed through the years