Puppy Linux Discussion Forum

First time working on a IBM mainframe emulator that runs on a Linux host. Did learn JCL script language on a MS-DOS based mainframe emulator but that was pretty okay for 1988 and not at the level of today's virtual machine mainframe, like Hercules.

Installing and getting the operating system running and the mainframe responding is not easy and not for the faint of heart, prone to stress related physical and or emotional problems

JCL HA! Memories....

Almost 25 years to the day, being one of 2 senior SE leads of the sales-installation force, we completed a new JES3 installation of 2 extremely large mainframes to replace an aged 6 CPU location for a large multinational. It was the 2nd of 2 sites which we mirrored completing a year-long cycle from order to production.

One of the final projects, that was fun to completion.

JCL starting in 1968 for me.

Yes, that is the beauty of QEMU VMs. Create and RUN any known processor machine from RISC to mainframes.

@Clarity I am using ->

Hercules System/370, ESA/390, and z/Architecture Emulator

Hercules is an open source software implementation of the mainframe System/370 and ESA/390 architectures, in addition to the new 64-bit z/Architecture. Hercules runs under Linux, Windows (98, NT, 2000, and XP), Solaris, FreeBSD, and Mac OS X (10.3 and later).

Hercules is OSI Certified Open Source Software licensed under the terms of the Q Public Licence.

Hercules was created by Roger Bowler and is maintained by Jay Maynard. Jan Jaeger designed and implemented many of the advanced features of Hercules, including dynamic reconfiguration, integrated console, interpretive execution and z/Architecture support. A dedicated crew of programmers is constantly at work implementing new features and fixing bugs.

here is the web page -> http://www.hercules-390.org/

Amazing reading the enthusiastic comments on that hercules-390 website. Wondered why was http and not https, but then noticed last update was March 2010!

So, that worries me - these enthusiasts were often old engineers who had retired, but once upon a time worked on the original IBM machines. The 'worry' is the reality that the thing is basically dead and gone and, sad though it is, pretty much irrelevant to current day young humans. Of course we cannot stay young - this is a pity, a shocking realisation I suppose, but I can't help but wonder if nostalgia somehow marks us as old before our time, or at least, through seeking solace in the past heyday of our youth be that 10, 20, 30 and MORE years ago, the result is not to make us feel young still, but rather to make the end feel closer. Hence, my own computing behaviour - I tend to slam the past as to a large extent dead and gone and for that reason if no other, best forgotten about, most of it, unless something is a lesson to remember, which most of it isn't... (despite acknowledging how it certainly all provided the ladder that brought us to where we are now), and nostalgia as negative rubbish we should rise above in order to be actively useful to the present day. I generally only mean this in terms of technology, not human social behaviour, and also would agree that there is nothing wrong with any hobby involving running ancient systems that are actually no use now to anybody... This is painful, I know... once upon a time we slaved our youth away working on something that was technologically current at the time; it is painful that that wonderful whatever is now irrelevant, that life-force that was ours expended, that past gone, but I comfort myself in the realisation that I don't need to expend sleepless nights any more working on whatever junk it was. In the future, this paragraph is about FirstRib hahaha

@wiak turns out here in Connecticut some of the huge insurance companies and financial institutions still do 95% of all computer processing on mainframes.......many still running COBOL, FORTRAN, RPG and JCL batch script programs primarily. These companies are looking hard for programmers and sys ops right now......it's name your price as a programmer who can work in mainframe environments and there is practically NO competition. I told my son to keep that in mind.

So I am now one or two steps away from having a fully functional System/370 running the MVS operating system......because I am going to touch up on COBOL and do some freelance work....(dreaming of........)

Actually running Hercules on a Noblepup64-FR which is a Noblepup64 that's FirstRibIt'ed.

The instructions I am following are from 2020-2021 -> https://www.jaymoseley.com/hercules/index.html
Start of install instructions -> https://www.jaymoseley.com/hercules/ins ... EREQv8.htm

Mostly I wanted to see if I can run some JCL and RPG on a desktop mainframe.

One thing IBM is very good at is backward compatibility....programs that were written in the 60's and 70's still run as is on the very newest IBM mainframes.

I am successfully at this stage in booting a system........ https://www.jaymoseley.com/hercules/ins ... CUSTv8.htm

Managed to successfully generate a MVS 3.8j system on the Hercules IBM System/370 mainframe virtual machine with Puppy Linux Noblepup64-FR as the host operating system.

Running the FORTRAN PROMPTER and FORTRAN IV G1 COMPILER ready to create, edit, compile and execute FORTRAN IV source code.

At the moment have these language processors and a calculator:

• ASM INVOKE ASSEMBLER PROMPTER AND ASSEMBLER F COMPILER.

• CALC INVOKE ITF:PL/1 PROCESSOR FOR DESK CALCULATOR MODE.

• COBOL INVOKE COBOL PROMPTER AND ANS COBOL COMPILER.

• FORT INVOKE FORTRAN PROMPTER AND FORTRAN IV G1 COMPILER.

Hercules terminal:

So managed to now have a IBM System/370 mainframe running frugally on a desktop that is completely operational and can have jobs submitted for processing.

There is an ability to submit jobs right from the Puppy Linux host to the mainframe via a submit.sh script.

I did manage to download the game Worm written for mainframes and install it successfully!! I was able to submit the job which installed and I figured out how to play it!