Working in Mainframes: How is it ?

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greenhorn

greenhorn

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Apparently the powers that be have decided that i learn ye olde art of running stuff on mainframes , and thus I've been burdened with taking my programming de-evolution further..:(

i used to think learning BASIC in 12th after learning C++ in 10th was ridiculous:ashamed: , but COBOL at work ..... :rofl:

but thats ok, i can deal with it .. but what took me aback was the reactions from my friends , some of whom virtually started mourning, and some whom felt that they now have someone to share their fate..

from what i've seen, it seems to be a job nobody wants to do:no: , but for that very same reason, there;s a lot of money in it ;) , and big MNC software cos seem to be making a lot of cash keeping these dinosaurs up and running.

I'd like to know if anyone here works/ has worked in that field, and what's their take on it
 
Not me!

But i heard a very funny story.

My friend had to monitor a LED set connected to the mainframe system or something.

Green means everything is well.

Red > as usual danger(somethings amiss)

His job was to just alert the developer when it turned RED from green.

And note the time.

he had to work from 9:30 - 5:30 thats it!

Rs 12k take home :)

what do you think?
 
and big MNC software cos seem to be making a lot of cash keeping these dinosaurs up and running.
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Mainframes are not necessarily dinosaurs....

The purpose they serve is unique and cannot be matched by any other system...

Think reliability, think availability and think near zero tolerance for error....

If I have a business critical app to run, obviously I am not going to use the latest , greatest fastest core 2 duo home assembled machine...right?

And obviusly this zero fault tolerance application is not going to be run on a nifty looking .Net frame built application..right?

I have a lot of respect for folks who work on MF systems, esp those who know their stuff....But if you feel you have no passion for this role, and if you feel you are stuck into something that you feel is outdated, bail out ASAP!
 
when one's batchmates are learning up to date stuff and we're working on ancient technology, one does get disheartened :(

personally, I'm just curious .. and actually, its a step up from coding in assembly :bleh:
 
greenhorn said:
personally, I'm just curious .. and actually, its a step up from coding in assembly :bleh:
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How dare you insult assembly coding... :@
Just kidding...;)

Heres something from your Tao of programming link..

The Tao gave birth to machine language. Machine language gave birth to the assembler.

The assembler gave birth to the compiler. Now there are ten thousand languages.

Each language has its purpose, however humble. Each language expresses the Yin and Yang of software. Each language has its place within the Tao.

But do not program in COBOL if you can avoid it.
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:rofl: :rofl: :P
 
greenhorn said:
i know... thats how i came across it in the first place :(
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Dont worry too much. :) Just make sure that you are in touch with the latest stuff too and you would be fine. Also try to get out of it if you can. Otherwise just take it as an additional skill.
 
With web services and service oriented architecture gaining momentum, shouldn't we see mainframes getting completely replaced in the near future? I personally have seen a major telecom provider moving most of the applications from mainframes to an SOA based architecture.

PS: I am a noob with mainframes, so please excuse my ignorance :)
 
psynaps3 said:
With web services and service oriented architecture gaining momentum, shouldn't we see mainframes getting completely replaced in the near future? I personally have seen a major telecom provider moving most of the applications from mainframes to an SOA based architecture.

PS: I am a noob with mainframes, so please excuse my ignorance :)
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Means nothing. There has been talk of that for years.

But the fact is, those webservices, are best run on mainframes. That is the only way to get the reliability needed for the services these guys run, short of a huge and cluster with custom software (a la google).
 
more than web serivice, mainframes comprise a choice between comparison when it comes to mission critical OLTP (Online transaction processing)...read financial services, card/bank transaction processing...and do not forget that the bulk of the IT industry's revenues comes from these guys1
 
never knew mainframe jobs are dificult or something..by the way my dads into networking and mainly mainframe job for past 12-14 yrs with air-india..and yes i remeber he said that its a bit complex kinda job..if u want i will ask him more about it..lolz..
 
greenhorn said:
Apparently the powers that be have decided that i learn ye olde art of running stuff on mainframes , and thus I've been burdened with taking my programming de-evolution further..:(

i used to think learning BASIC in 12th after learning C++ in 10th was ridiculous:ashamed: , but COBOL at work ..... :rofl:

but thats ok, i can deal with it .. but what took me aback was the reactions from my friends , some of whom virtually started mourning, and some whom felt that they now have someone to share their fate..

from what i've seen, it seems to be a job nobody wants to do:no: , but for that very same reason, there;s a lot of money in it ;) , and big MNC software cos seem to be making a lot of cash keeping these dinosaurs up and running.

I'd like to know if anyone here works/ has worked in that field, and what's their take on it
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welcome to the world of mainframes... :D

and dont ever think u are going de-evolution cos of mainframes, na never... we r just learning the core basics... anyone can study or work in .net or java, but for mainframes, u need to develop tat interest.. lot many ppl along wit me likes more java n .net n all... but i dont mind it.. :)

when i was put in mainframes, i really dint knew a single word of it, and when cobol was taught in engg, i used to curse them why they taught me such ancient language.. but it seems everything was pre-planned by God!! :P

and now i m really feeling lucky...

u know what, it kinda boosts up ur spirits, when u say u are working in mainframes... ;)
 
superczar said:
more than web serivice, mainframes comprise a choice between comparison when it comes to mission critical OLTP (Online transaction processing)...read financial services, card/bank transaction processing...and do not forget that the bulk of the IT industry's revenues comes from these guys1
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even railway dept too i think

@greeny

working in mainframes is pretty good and its quite interesting. it all depends on which project you land . try and see if you can get something with CICS and some front end work . and maximum try to avoid support though thats a hard thing for someone just entering the industry
 
hehe sorta... today we had to cook up this entire cobol project, and i just learnt to sneak in entire files via ftp to the mainframe ( was copying programs line by line till now :ashamed:)

hope the educators dont find out :D
 
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