Damn, I'd love to start with as/400, because I can't grasp the
concept of objects and libraries and the like. It's like a
weird VMS/NT to the extreme. Yes, I'm learning Cobol because
of an $JOB. For the rest I can just use GCobol for prototyping
and perfectly fine under my OpenBSD netbook; but in order
to get employed I truly need at least to know the basics of
AS/400.

I was briefly a backup operator on an AS/400. I didn't learn much about
the programming side, but I think they were using RPG on ours.

I was a mainframe COBOL programmer for ~26 years. They hired me and sent
me to a class. As COBOL reads a lot like english, I found it easy to pick
up. You do have to remember to define all of your variables in working storage, which is different than many other languages.

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MIKE POWELL wrote to ANTHK <=-

I was briefly a backup operator on an AS/400. I didn't learn much
about the programming side, but I think they were using RPG on ours.

Yeah, I think most development had moved to RPG by that time.

I worked for a catalog/retail company that did all of their compute on
3 S/36s and 2 AS/400s. I administered the PC side of the company, so I
got login rights to the AS/400s and could bring networks up and down -
later found out that I could have re-IPLed the system with my creds!

This was interesting - my first job out of college, with a
raised-floor, glassed-off server room with line printers, midrange
computers, and a big red button for the halon system - very
intimidating, very cool.

I picked up enough RPG/4 and REXX (OS/2's batch language) to forget it
later.



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Re: Re: What Is Unix? (was: H
By: MIKE POWELL to ANTHK on Wed Jan 14 2026 08:46:00

As COBOL reads a lot like english, I found it easy to pick up. You do have to remember to define all of your variables in working storage...

COBOL was my favorite language. I learned it in the mid-'70s using an IBM 370/158; COBOL 74 was the dialect. Yeah, you had to watch that Data Division, but the Procedure Div. could be even more treacherous. One mis-placed special character can generate a multitude of error msgs. In fact we used to hold contests (unofficially, of course) on who could generate the most. I never came close to the record, which I believe was over 200 errors, just because a comma was used instead of a period, I forget how.

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As COBOL reads a lot like english, I found it easy to pick up. You do have >> to remember to define all of your variables in working storage...

COBOL was my favorite language. I learned it in the mid-'70s using an IBM 370/158; COBOL 74 was the dialect. Yeah, you had to watch that Data Division,
but the Procedure Div. could be even more treacherous. One mis-placed special
character can generate a multitude of error msgs. In fact we used to hold contests (unofficially, of course) on who could generate the most. I never came close to the record, which I believe was over 200 errors, just because a comma was used instead of a period, I forget how.

I was always amazed how many error messages just one error... typo, punctuation, etc... could produce. Then again, it was always great to
fix that one error and watch them all disappear! ;)


* SLMR 2.1a * No woman has ever shot a man while he's doing the dishes.
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I worked for a catalog/retail company that did all of their compute on
3 S/36s and 2 AS/400s. I administered the PC side of the company, so I
got login rights to the AS/400s and could bring networks up and down -
later found out that I could have re-IPLed the system with my creds!

Before the AS/400 this company had an IBM product that required "drum
memory," and they apparently broke down and upgraded to the AS/400 once
that type of memory became scarce... IIRC, they had to start sourcing it
from Brazil (and maybe used).

While I worked there, my primary machine was a "Baby-36"... a PC with what
I can only assume was an S/36 emulator.

Mike
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Re: Re: What Is Unix? (was: H
By: Mortar to MIKE POWELL on Thu Jan 15 2026 03:34 pm

COBOL was my favorite language. I learned it in the mid-'70s using an IBM 370/158; COBOL 74 was the dialect. Yeah, you had to watch that Data Division, but the Procedure Div. could be even more treacherous. One mis-placed special character can generate a multitude of error msgs. In fact we used to hold contests (unofficially, of course) on who could generate the most. I never came close to the record, which I believe was over 200 errors, just because a comma was used instead of a period, I forget how.

Have you done COBOL on linux ? I learned it in high school along with RPG but never used it. Took a course in college but changed it to pass/fail because I wasn't keep up.

I use linux daily and wonder how hard it would be to find a free compiler and editor that would help with keying in COBOL code.

...Back-up not found (A)bort, (R)etry, (P)anic

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Re: Re: What Is Unix? (was: H
By: Amessyroom to Mortar on Fri Jan 16 2026 02:06:10

Have you done COBOL on linux?

Nope, just on Big Blue. Wouldn't mind getting back into it again, just for fun.

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Re: Re: What Is Unix? (was: H
By: Mortar to Amessyroom on Fri Jan 16 2026 01:30 am

Re: Re: What Is Unix? (was: H
By: Amessyroom to Mortar on Fri Jan 16 2026 02:06:10

Have you done COBOL on linux?

Nope, just on Big Blue. Wouldn't mind getting back into it again, just for fun.

Found this intro link on using gnucobol on iinux; so I may give it a try.

https://neilrieck.net/docs/linux_notes_gnucobol.html

...I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody. - Bill Cosby

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Re: Re: What Is Unix? (was: H
By: Amessyroom to Mortar on Fri Jan 16 2026 13:29:11

Found this intro link on using gnucobol on iinux; so I may give it a try.
https://neilrieck.net/docs/linux_notes_gnucobol.html

Looks interesting. Thanks.

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Have you done COBOL on linux ? I learned it in high school along with RPG but never used it. Took a course in college but changed it to pass/fail because I wasn't keep up.

I use linux daily and wonder how hard it would be to find a free compiler and editor that would help with keying in COBOL code.

I have not tried it much on linux, beyond maybe a "hello world!" program,
but there is at least one linux compiler out there -- gnucobol. As for an editor, I would think that genie would suffice.

I have an old copy of the IBM COBOL compiler for DOS, as well as PC-SPIF.
If I get the urge to code something for home in COBOL, it is usually for
DOS.

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I've wanted to build an OS/400 looking menu system for my BBS for the
longest time...

I have wanted to do something similar, but with a mainframe menu system.
There is a BBS package out there that emulates a mainframe interface, IIRC,
including SDSF. :O

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I was in a FORTRAN class in college, and one of my friends ended up
with 130-something errors when he tried compiling it. He tried
compiling his FORTRAN program with the PASCAL compiler and got less
errors.

Now, there's some serious NERD HUMOR.

Amazing. I didn't realize thta FORTRAN and PASCAL were even close enough
for that to work.
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Re: Re: What Is Unix? (was: H
By: poindexter FORTRAN to MIKE POWELL on Fri Jan 16 2026 08:16:13

I've wanted to build an OS/400 looking menu system for my BBS for the
longest time...

Oooh, same! I even tried reproducing it to some extent on a webpage with JavaScript for Web navigation (eww... because it's on a static webhost).

I wish there was a Linux shell working like OS400/IBMi interface. The most convenient UI for terminals I've had to deal with so far. F4 key is the best
of it all. All parameters, no need to dig through manpages for that single forgotten thing.

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