please tell me can i run COBOL on my personal computer. if yes then please send me the link to download the compiler and how to install and run it. it is very urgent as i am undergoing rigorous training in IBM and i need to work on projects from August. please help me.
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can i run cobol compiler on my personal computer without internet ?? 1
- Thread starter koolsss4u
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1
- #2
Suggest you start here:
and download one or more. You will need an internet connection for this part.
Follow whatever the installation instructions for the one(s) you download.
Once installed, you should not need to be connected to the internet to compile and run programs.
and download one or more. You will need an internet connection for this part.
Follow whatever the installation instructions for the one(s) you download.
Once installed, you should not need to be connected to the internet to compile and run programs.
- Thread starter
- #5
compiler is there but it is connected to the company's mainframe. i need to access the compiler on my personal computer. so finding some ways. i have downloaded the software but unable to understand through the installation guide. please help me. i downloaded from this link thanks and regards
Hi koolsss4u,
But all compilers are not the same. The compiler you downloaded is an obsolete MS-DOS compiler.
If your training is aimed to mainframe COBOL, then the old MS-DOS compiler may be worthless for you.
In this time there are not free modern Windows compilers available.
Here I found the Fujitsu PowerCobol V.3 and Microsoft Cobol V.5 for download:
Other thing is, that the working on mainframe is much different from working on Windows or MS-DOS. You need to create datasets, edit your COBOL source, use (or write) JCL for compilation, look at your produced spoolfiles. You don't learn all these things if you don't have an access to mainframe.
Therefore:
First I would suggest you to use the compiler via the connection to the company's mainframe.
The other option (but via connection) is to create a free account on a mainframe and use the COBOL compiler here:
Or finally you can use zCOBOL from Z390 project (but I don't know how good is it):
But all compilers are not the same. The compiler you downloaded is an obsolete MS-DOS compiler.
If your training is aimed to mainframe COBOL, then the old MS-DOS compiler may be worthless for you.
In this time there are not free modern Windows compilers available.
Here I found the Fujitsu PowerCobol V.3 and Microsoft Cobol V.5 for download:
Other thing is, that the working on mainframe is much different from working on Windows or MS-DOS. You need to create datasets, edit your COBOL source, use (or write) JCL for compilation, look at your produced spoolfiles. You don't learn all these things if you don't have an access to mainframe.
Therefore:
First I would suggest you to use the compiler via the connection to the company's mainframe.
The other option (but via connection) is to create a free account on a mainframe and use the COBOL compiler here:
Or finally you can use zCOBOL from Z390 project (but I don't know how good is it):
If you are familiar with another programming language on the mainframe. then a PC-based COBOL compiler will help you learn COBOL. But it will not help you to learn how to use JCL, as micron has said. Also, you probably should be familiar with IBM mainframe machine data types as opposed to PC data types. Specific differences are that IBM mainframes use little-endian binary data, and PC's usually use big-endian binary data. Also, IBM mainframes have packed-decimal as a native data-type, and PC's do not.
PC's use ascii, IBM maiframes (used to, anyway) use ebcdic.
The big difference between the two alphabet sets is in sorting: in ascii, numbers sort before letters, in ebcdic, numbers sort after letters. Also, in ascii, all lower-case letters sort after all upper-case letters; in ebcdic, all lower-case letters sort before upper-case letters.
There is also a difference in the way the compilers handle the PERFORM statement. In most PC-based compilers the return point is pushed onto the stack; in IBM mainframe compiles, the rerturn point is handled quite differently. Some PC-based compilers have a compile-time option to use the IBM mainframe type PERFORM.
Note that the ENVIRONMENT DIVISION statements are also quite different, this is due to the design of COBOL, placing most of the system-interface code in the ENVIRONMENT DIVISION.
PC's use ascii, IBM maiframes (used to, anyway) use ebcdic.
The big difference between the two alphabet sets is in sorting: in ascii, numbers sort before letters, in ebcdic, numbers sort after letters. Also, in ascii, all lower-case letters sort after all upper-case letters; in ebcdic, all lower-case letters sort before upper-case letters.
There is also a difference in the way the compilers handle the PERFORM statement. In most PC-based compilers the return point is pushed onto the stack; in IBM mainframe compiles, the rerturn point is handled quite differently. Some PC-based compilers have a compile-time option to use the IBM mainframe type PERFORM.
Note that the ENVIRONMENT DIVISION statements are also quite different, this is due to the design of COBOL, placing most of the system-interface code in the ENVIRONMENT DIVISION.
- Thread starter
- #8
thanks webrabbit and mikrom. i went through different sites and i think i would be able to access mainframes through dezhi systems or by using hercules mainframe. right now i am in office so can't third party applications. after returning back i ll try to install these softwares. if everything goes well, i ll provide a complete detail regarding how we can access mainframes freely.
- Thread starter
- #9
I tried free mainframe emulator Hercules some times ago, but with Hercules you doesn't get TSO and actual compilers including COBOL, because all this software isn't free.
So, because I'm not a mainfame guru I couldn't work with Hercules without having TSO
In difference - on the free Dezhi mainframe you have everything you need to work: TSO, REXX, COBOL and other compilers. And you have OMVS (Unix system services) and CICS too.
If you want to access free Dezhi mainframe you need 3270 terminal emulator. I'm using this:
If you have some questions/problems you can ask in forums here:
So, because I'm not a mainfame guru I couldn't work with Hercules without having TSO
In difference - on the free Dezhi mainframe you have everything you need to work: TSO, REXX, COBOL and other compilers. And you have OMVS (Unix system services) and CICS too.
If you want to access free Dezhi mainframe you need 3270 terminal emulator. I'm using this:
If you have some questions/problems you can ask in forums here:
- Thread starter
- #11
thanks alot microm. now i am able to login into dezhi mainframe. but the server is somewhat slow but what else can i expect for free. again thanks alot. please tell me is there any link for live projects and case studies in COBOL.
with thanks and regards
with thanks and regards
I don' know about live projects and case studies, but
first of all - if you are not familiar with Mainframe - I suggest to read something about it - for example:
Introduction to the New Mainframe: z/OS Basics
Learn how to work with TSO, how to create Partisioned Data Set (PDS), edit your source members, compile the source and look at the spool files.
Other infos about TSO and other topics are for example here
Then when you are able to work with mainframe and try the examples - then learn COBOL.
first of all - if you are not familiar with Mainframe - I suggest to read something about it - for example:
Introduction to the New Mainframe: z/OS Basics
Learn how to work with TSO, how to create Partisioned Data Set (PDS), edit your source members, compile the source and look at the spool files.
Other infos about TSO and other topics are for example here
Then when you are able to work with mainframe and try the examples - then learn COBOL.
Unless you already are well-versed on using a mainframe i would not encourage installing Hercules. Hercules is excellent, but one needs to be confortable with the "mvs" world to be able to install/use it effectively. Once Hercules is installed, an older version of mvs may be installed free (i believe it is mvs 3.9 but am not sure).
Once upon a time there was a rumor that the "dezhi" free offering actually ran on Hercules . . . I did not try to confirm this.
From the initial post, i understood that the new learning was cobol. Possibly i misunderstood). If the mainframe is not already known knowing how the environment works is as important as the language rules of cobol. Two components that will be needed immediately are how to edit code (typically the tso/ispf editor) and how to compile and run the initial programs via JCL (Job Control Language).
If this work is to begin in August that is only 2 weeks away and i would recommend finding sample code and making sure that those samples are understood.
You might also look at the Rational Developer info here:
Once upon a time there was a rumor that the "dezhi" free offering actually ran on Hercules . . . I did not try to confirm this.
From the initial post, i understood that the new learning was cobol. Possibly i misunderstood). If the mainframe is not already known knowing how the environment works is as important as the language rules of cobol. Two components that will be needed immediately are how to edit code (typically the tso/ispf editor) and how to compile and run the initial programs via JCL (Job Control Language).
If this work is to begin in August that is only 2 weeks away and i would recommend finding sample code and making sure that those samples are understood.
You might also look at the Rational Developer info here:
I remember, that I have read this elsewhere on dezhi forum and I thought that it's joke, but maybe it's true - when you say it too.papadba said:
I started to learn about mainframe, because there are often mainframe job offerings.
It tooks me some days to learn the basics although I'm experienced IBM iSeries programmer, which is a system more closely to zSeries (mainframe) than Unix or Windows.
The z/OS datasets filesystem is different from i5/OS library filesystem.
Then I wondered, that you need to write for every little thing a JCL program. For example if you write an CICS-COBOL program with BMS-screen, you need to write an JCL for COBOL compilation and other JCL for BMS compilation.
In about 2 weeks of evening study I learned lot of new things:
1. how to use TSO/ISPF: work with PDS, edit sources, execute REXX, compile simple C, COBOL and PL/I program and how to look at spoolfiles with SDSF
2. how to use OMVS for ftp-ing the program sources from PC to mainframe and vice versa.
3. how to write a simple CICS program in C and COBOL, install and execute the CICS transactions.
I want say, that learning mainframe was fun for me, I learned in the 2 weeks lot of new things, but even so I had feeling that I know still very little for developing applications (in difference to my recent iSeries knowledge) and that the work on mainframe is very different.
For example I couldn't learn in the 2 weeks, how to debug a program on mainframe (somebody says me that the debuggers are not part of z/OS system) and how to use DB/2 with SQL and how to compile an COBOL-ESQL-program.
IMHO, for people working all time only with Windows or Unix learning mainframe basics will not be easy.
- Thread starter
- #15
Once a person learns one "thing", the next thing often seems harder because it is different. After learning many new things, it becomes much smoother and one has less expedtations that make differences seem difficult<g>.
The only "new" jcl one should create is for new batch programs/processes. . . All of the compile/link/bind jcl is standard for well-managed systems and no one should create their own. In many organizations, refusal to use the standard compile processes results in disciplinary action including termination. . . Just a caution. . .
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