IBM Z Global Student Hub

  • 1.  Q: COBOL books

    Posted Thu January 18, 2024 09:04 AM

    Hello, world. 

    2024 is my COBOL education year. So expect to be bombarded with questions from me 😅 in this community portal.

    Regarding the suject, i have few questions:

    1. Differences if i learn from books published in 1980 vs 2020? Year is just example, any year. Are new books means older books + new stuffs? U know, like female usb3.0, u can still insert male usb2.0 & transfer data.. Can't do micro usb with usb c. 
    2. While duckduckgoing or googling (for the rest of the world), i saw cobol books, so as ibm cobol books. The name of the books exactly 'ibm cobol' etc. So.. what's!? 🧐 Is it a 1998 nokia charger vs 2018 lightning cable case? Or simply ibm version of cobol is all that is left of cobol? Learning 'simply cobol' will get me nowhere? 
    3. I did go through internet archive site, still..u have books recommendation? .pdf link appreciated 🤗. 
    4. Are all learning resources withn ibm training is sufficient? From zero to henry cavill? 

    Thanks in advance.



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    d'sportsscientist
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  • 2.  RE: Q: COBOL books

    Posted Fri January 19, 2024 04:41 PM

    z/OS Cobol was pretty much v1.x in the 1980s. We are now Cobol v6.x in 2020s. 

    Mostly z/OS Cobol v6 is backward compatabile with Cobol v3, v4 (Cobol v5 was not so popular or widely adopted).

    Hence you are better of starting with z/OS Cobol v6 study materials. v6.1 was released 8 years back in 2016, so you already have 8 years old material to start with.  v5 was anyway not popular as mentioned earlier.

    Most shops that are currently running at v3 or v4 Cobol would be exploring migration to v6 right now, using IBM Automated Tools. Refer IBM Cobol Migration website for more info related to this. Murach's Mainframe COBOL hardcopy book is pretty much the standard, if you prefer Books.

    Finally I do not know about Henry Cavill (I assume you mean Superman). But among Mainframers, the highest level possible to attain in any area by mortals is Bruce Wayne aka Batman :-)



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    RK
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    Original Message


  • 3.  RE: Q: COBOL books

    Posted Mon January 22, 2024 05:34 PM
    Edited by Paul Newton Mon January 22, 2024 05:37 PM

    d'sportsscientist,

    If not already aware, COBOL is an industry standard ISO/IEC 1989:2023

    Enterprise COBOL is the name of the COBOL compiler that runs on IBM Z mainframe flagship operating system z/OS.

    Enterprise COBOL for z/OS documentation library

    Ibm remove preview
    Enterprise COBOL for z/OS documentation library
    A collection of product documentation, white papers, announcement letters, data sheets, and other resources for Enterprise COBOL for z/OS. Note: Choose the appropriate COBOL product version from the following table. If the COBOL version is no longer supported, you can still download the PDF format documentation or view other resources.
    View this on Ibm >

    I recommend joining the Open Mainframe Project COBOL slack channel and github.

    GitHub - openmainframeproject/cobol-programming-course: Training materials and labs for a "Getting Started" level course on COBOL

    GitHub remove preview
    GitHub - openmainframeproject/cobol-programming-course: Training materials and labs for a "Getting Started" level course on COBOL
    Training materials and labs for a "Getting Started" level course on COBOL - GitHub - openmainframeproject/cobol-programming-course: Training materials and labs for a "Getting Started" level course on COBOL
    View this on GitHub >



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    Paul Newton
    Consulting IT Specialist
    IBM
    Coppell TX
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    Original Message