I've been lying.

Let me clarify: I've given guest lectures at university computer science departments about the IBM Z mainframe and its importance to enterprise computing and indeed modern-day living. One of the key principles of OS/360...z/OS was backwards compatibility. It is possible to run an Assembler/COBOL/PL1 program written in the '60s or '70s on a z16. But not Python. In fact, you can't run a Python program written this year on a z16 on another z16. Why? zoaversion.

As I type, I am on a "Python on z/OS" course. Of course, I tried out the exercises on my own machine, but they didn't work. Why?

My LPAR $ zoaversion
2023/08/14 16:09:19 CUT V1.2.4.5 0800b632 3493 PH56007 921 8caa8747
Course LPAR $ zoaversion                                                                                                                                    
2024/04/09 16:36:39 CUT V1.3.1.1 8eb4092f 5356 PH60717 1169 82cc154c

I started comparing the online documentation for zoautil_py.datasets and found that the attribute list_datasets (in 1.3) is called listing (in 1.2).

So if not Python, certainly zoautil_py breaks the 60-year old legacy of backwards compatibility.

Why?

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Marcus Davage CEng CITP MBCS BSc
Lead Product Developer
BMC Software Ltd
------------------------------

ZOAU v1.3 introduced significant changes to both the jobs and datasets APIs that it provides.  This was done in response to customer feedback and requests.  In order to lessen the impact of these changes, ZOAU v1.2 and 1.3 can be installed in parallel, allowing you to migrate your applications over time.  We also provide a migration guide explaining the changes and how to implement them in your application code.

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Anthony Giorgio
Senior Software Engineer
IBM
Poughkeepsie
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: Thu July 11, 2024 05:57 AM
From: Marcus Davage
Subject: Breaking the legacy

I've been lying.

Let me clarify: I've given guest lectures at university computer science departments about the IBM Z mainframe and its importance to enterprise computing and indeed modern-day living. One of the key principles of OS/360...z/OS was backwards compatibility. It is possible to run an Assembler/COBOL/PL1 program written in the '60s or '70s on a z16. But not Python. In fact, you can't run a Python program written this year on a z16 on another z16. Why? zoaversion.

As I type, I am on a "Python on z/OS" course. Of course, I tried out the exercises on my own machine, but they didn't work. Why?

My LPAR $ zoaversion
2023/08/14 16:09:19 CUT V1.2.4.5 0800b632 3493 PH56007 921 8caa8747
Course LPAR $ zoaversion                                                                                                                                    
2024/04/09 16:36:39 CUT V1.3.1.1 8eb4092f 5356 PH60717 1169 82cc154c

I started comparing the online documentation for zoautil_py.datasets and found that the attribute list_datasets (in 1.3) is called listing (in 1.2).

So if not Python, certainly zoautil_py breaks the 60-year old legacy of backwards compatibility.

Why?

------------------------------
Marcus Davage CEng CITP MBCS BSc
Lead Product Developer
BMC Software Ltd
------------------------------