file

I see mainframes: a real life PDS container!

September 22, 2017 Mainframe , , , , , ,

I found a PDS container walking about my neighbourhood this morning:

 

Just like the mainframe version, you can put all sorts of stuff in this one.

A mainframe PDS (partitioned data set) is technically a different sort of container, as you can only put DATASETs (mainframe’ze for a file) in them. An example would be if you have two programs (loadmodules in mainframe’ze) both named PEETERJO, then you can create a two PDS datasets, each having a PEETERJO member, say:

PEETER.JOOT.IS.THE.BEST(PEETERJO)
PEETER.JOOT.IS.STILL.AWESOME(PEETERJO)

From these you could then choose which one you want your JCL script to execute with a STEPLIB statement like:

//A EXEC PGM=PEETERJO
//STEPLIB  DD DSN=PEETER.JOOT.IS.THE.BEST,DISP=SHR
//SYSOUT   DD SYSOUT=*
//SYSPRINT DD SYSOUT=*
//SYSTERM  DD SYSOUT=*
//SYSABEND DD SYSOUT=*

This works around the global name space issue that you’d have with storing two different datasets, both with the name PEETERJO.

You can also put any file into a PDS, provided you are willing to have the PDS member name for that file be a 1-8 character string. The PDS is sort of the mainframe equivalent of a directory (the long strings of A.B.C.D.E DATASET names can also be viewed as a directory of sorts).

I’m not sure if you can put a PDS in a PDS. If that is possible, I also don’t know if a PDS member can be accessed as a PDS without first copying it out.

Still amused reading my PL/1 book: external storage.

May 28, 2017 Mainframe , , , ,

The z/OS Enterprise PL/I, Language Reference is the primary reference I have been using for the PL/1 that I’ve had to learn, but it is too modern, and not nearly as fun as theĀ 1970’s era “PL/I structured programming book” I’ve got:

 

I’m not sure what a disk pack is, but I presume it is a predecessor to the hard drive.

Edit: Art Kaufmann, who I worked with at IBM, knew what a disk pack was (picture above from wikipedia):

“Back in the day, disk drives used removable media called “disk packs.” These were stacks of disks (usually about 2′ across) on a spindle with a plastic cover. See the IBM 2311 and 2314 for examples of these drives. You’d open the drive, lower the pack into place, twist the handle and remove the cover, then close the drive. The big risk was getting dust in when the cover was off; that would cause a head crash. Then some nitwit operator would either put a different disk pack in that drive (ruining that pack) or move the bad pack to a new drive, crashing that one. Or both.”