Re: AS/400 Systems Programming

[Vern Hamberg <hambergv@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Garnet

At 11:55 AM 11/6/97 +0000, you wrote:

-snip-

>There are some functions we perform now that I am not sure how we 
>will be able to do on the AS/400. For example, we have a product 
>called DFHSM, which migrates files to tape if they have been unused 
>for a given length of time. Is there a facility to do this on an 
>AS/400? Also, how do you handle report distribution? We presently 
>have a product called INFOPAC (from Mobius) that handles this.

Welcome!

Just a thought on archiving files—someone else said 400 shops don't usually
have live tape writes, but there's no reason it couldn't be done. And you
wouldn't need a 3rd-party product—a CL (command language) program will do
just fine, and isn't too complex. You may already know that a CL program is
a little like a compiled .BAT file in PC-DOS. CL can be used to combine
almost every possible command operation on the 400, as needed, with a
little rudimentary structure (IF, DO, & GOTO). In the above case, it's a
matter or 1 command to put file descriptions into a file, including the
last-used-date. Then some SQL-like stuff can select the records by that
date field. Then you loop through the result, saving each file or set of
files to the tape. This could be scheduled to run whenever you like—there's
a built-in scheduler, or you can get the venerable ROBOT from Help/Systems.

I once attended an AFCOM conference in DC, around 1990, when I worked for
Help/Systems, who make operations automation software. We were the only 400
vendor in a room full of mainframers and often got the response that
"AS/400 don't need systems programmers." True, there's so much the 400
provides in the way of system info that I believe you'd've had to write on
mainframes, but someone still needs to interpret and apply that info. Also,
there's always something you want to know, in some format, that isn't yet
available.

Also, REXX is available as part of the OS, in case you've used that on the
big iron.

BTW, as far as performance goes, AS/400s are overlapping far into the
mainframe range—though not to the very biggest iron, I suppose.

Anyway, enjoy the new opportunities.

Vernon Hamberg
Systems Software Programmer
Old Republic National Title Insurance Company
400 Second Avenue South
Minneapolis, MN 55401
(612) 371-1111 x480


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