Re: A dumb *S36 question

[Douglas Handy <dhandy1@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

William,

>What is the difference between  M36, S36EE and regular old *S36.

M36 is only available on RISC machines up through V4R4 and refers to a virtual
36 machine running much like a LPAR on an AS.400 host.  The virtual machine runs
a copy of SSP itself, and thus is *object-level compatible* with a "real" S/36.
You can restore compiled programs, WSU's, etc and run them as if on a S/36.  You
can recompile RPG II programs with assembler subroutines.  Yada, yada, yada.
All software thinks it is running on a (fast) S/36.

Like an LPAR, a M36 has its own disk allocation separate from objects in the
"native" environment.  To "share" data between M36 and "native", you must use
DDM or whatever as for all practical purposes, they are on different machines.

You don't need to "migrate" to a M36 -- you simply save on one and restore on
the other.  Even if you don't have the source code to all your libraries.

The S36EE is the "execution environment" for S36 style programs on the AS/400.
It has existed since the debut of the 400 back in '88.  Unlike a M36, it is not
object-level compatible with a S/36.  It is relatively close to be *source level
compatible*, with some major caveats.

The biggest caveats are WSU, non-IBM assembler subroutines, and RPG programs
which used non-IBM extensions to the language (from various vendors).  Excluding
the caveats, most source can be recompiled into regular *PGM objects and run in
the "S/36 Execution Environment" (aka S36EE) alongside "native" programs.

It is more of a migration path than a save/restore.  You *must* have the source
code, and must not use unsupported functions like WSU. assembler subroutines
other than those provided by IBM, etc.

Data files exist in regular libraries (typically QS36F) and can coexist well
with "native" programming, meaning it is easy to do new work in RPG IV even
while the original code continues to run.

If a person meets all the criteria (has all the source, no WSU, etc) then the
S36EE is my preference because it is easier to gradually move them towards
"native" programs.  It also means you can do things like add PF triggers, etc.

I don't know what a "regular old *S36" is; presumably you mean a real S/36
computer (eg 536x or Y10).

Doug