Reg Harbeck
Contributor
Reg Harbeck is a mainframe enthusiast who has been working in IT and mainframes for over three decades. During that time, he has worked with operating systems, networks, computing security, middleware, applications and platforms ranging from Apple II Plus and MS-DOS PCs to leading edge IBM Z Mainframes. Reg has written, presented and consulted on mainframe-related matters around the world, visiting every continent but Antarctica (so far…), and is very involved in the mainframe culture and ecosystem, especially including SHARE and numerous articles and podcasts about the mainframe (such as zTalk). Reg is the chief strategist at Mainframe Analytics ltd.
A note from Reg:
“Two of my favorite things to do are reading and being with my kids—so I especially love reading to them. I read the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy among many other things to my two oldest kids as they grew up, and I now have a grandson and son who are both under five years old, to whom I can start reading more and more complex literature as they grow up. That truly makes me happy.”
Survey Says: The Truth About COBOL and the World Economy
July 19, 2021
On June 14, 2021, the COBOL Working Group (CWG) of the Linux Foundation Open Mainframe Project (OMP) had the opportunity to present at the Marist Enterprise Computing Community (ECC) conference about a topic that shouldn’t be so surprising if people didn’t overlook how interesting and compelling it is—COBOL. Ah, COBOL: Common Business-Oriented Language—a name for […]
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 […]
PodcastsDerek Britton on the Language and Application of COBOL
July 1, 2021
Reg Harbeck: Hi, this is Reg Harbeck and today I'm here with my colleague Derek Britton who is a very active member of the enterprise computing community and especially the COBOL community. Derek, maybe if I can get you to start by tell us how did you end up being such an aficionado of both COBOL […]
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 […]
PodcastsNicole Fagen on SHARE and Women in IT
June 1, 2021
New: Subscribe to TechChannel podcasts on Apple. Reg Harbeck: Hi, this is Reg Harbeck and today I’m here with my colleague and friend Nicole Fagen, who is really deeply involved in the whole mainframe ecosystem including SHARE and including Women in IT. Well Nicole, tell us. How did you end on the mainframe, at SHARE and all […]
ArticlesBound to Compile: Skipping the Source Code
May 31, 2021
I like interpretive and scripting languages: The source is the code so you never have to go hunting for the original text version of a program when updating it. But they do run much more slowly than compiled ones. Consequently, some scripting languages, like REXX, can also be compiled in order to speed them up. […]
ArticlesWhen Mainframe Modernization Is Actually an Improvement: Building on Success
May 14, 2021
Sometimes, newer is better. It can be good to renew, revive or redeem something that has begun to stagnate. It is certainly important to respond to unfilled needs with innovations. And there is no doubt that new generations of people bring new perspectives, energy, creativity and insights to contexts that may otherwise grow stale. One […]
ArticlesTony Perri on Marketing Mainframe and How Technology Is Changing
May 3, 2021
New: Subscribe to TechChannel podcasts on Apple. Reg Harbeck: Hi, this is Reg Harbeck and today I’m here with my friend and colleague Tony Perri who is the founder and CEO of Perri Marketing. They work very closely with mainframe organizations to really get the word out and keep the conversation going in the whole mainframe ecosystem. […]
PodcastsDarren Surch on the Future of IBM Z, and His Unique Path to Becoming an IBM Champion
April 1, 2021
Reg Harbeck: Hi, this is Reg Harbeck and today I'm here with my friend and colleague, Darren Surch, with whom I have worked as business partners for, I’m sure it’s gotta be over 20 years now. Darren works for the Interskill online training company and he has been really active in the mainframe ecosystem including […]
ArticlesCOBOL: What’s XML Got to Do With IT?
March 24, 2021
When I first encountered the works of Thomas Aquinas, which I’m embarrassed to say wasn’t until the beginning of my Master’s degree, commenced 29 years after I completed my bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, the first thing I thought was, “This could be put into XML!” Little did I know that XML was a direct […]