This past month and a half, I've been updating all the courses I'm responsible for to reflect changes brought about by z/OS 1.9 in each course's subject area. Since most folks don't get a chance to explore the new features, thought I'd list the features introduced in 1.9 that I think might be of interest to applications programmers.
If you are not an application programmer, you might pass this on: some of these are very nice to know about. On the other hand, even if you are not an application programmer, some of these might be nice to know about. The usefulness of any particular feature will vary from person to person, of course; I figure if you see something that looks helpful to you that you can check the docs (or, of course, schedule a class!) Seems like the biggest impacts for this particular release are in ISPF and the Dialog Manager services. _TSO, CLIST, REXX, ISPF/Dialog Manager:_ * ISPF: scrollable fields; introduced in 1.5, enhanced in 1.8 (ZCLRSFLD command), more widely used in 1.9 [discussed in "ISPF Update"; details covered in "Developing Dialog Manager Applications in z/OS"] * ISPF Edit and View: SOURCE command allows you to edit and view data in ASCII; LF command lets you set x'0A's to EBCDIC new lines [discussed in "Advanced ISPF in z/OS"] * DSLIST can display total number of tracks in all datasets in the list [discussed in "TSO/ISPF in z/OS", "ISPF Update", and in "ISPF and JCL on z/OS"] * Two new options on Primary Option Menu: 12 - z/OS System programmer facilities 13 - z/OS application programmer facilities [all ISPF screen shots of Primary Option Menu updated] * Many ISPF data set name entry fields now support z/OS HFS UNIX files * Edit and View entry panel * Edit / View CREATE / REPLACE / COPY / MOVE [discussed in "TSO/ISPF in z/OS", "ISPF Update", and in "ISPF and JCL on z/OS"] * HFS file names and path names can be kept in personal reference lists) [discussed in "TSO/ISPF in z/OS", "ISPF Update", and in "ISPF and JCL on z/OS"] * ISPF profile can be set so that SAVE does not clear out the undo buffer; thus, UNDO might be able to restore data to its condition before the last SAVE [discussed in "TSO/ISPF in z/OS", "ISPF Update", and in "ISPF and JCL on z/OS"] * The UNIX Directory List Utility (3.17) now uses edit and browse instead of oedit and obrowse; there is also a view option now. [discussed in "ISPF Update" and "Introduction to z/OS UNIX"] * Dialog Manager panel language now supports system symbols in DSNAMEx parameters for VER statement [discussed in "Developing Dialog Manager Applications in z/OS"] * Dialog Manager panel language now supports VSYM builtin function and VSYM statement to process system symbols [discussed in "Developing Dialog Manager Applications in z/OS"] * Dialog Manager BROWSE, EDIT, and VIEW services now support z/OS UNIX files [discussed in "Developing Dialog Manager Applications in z/OS"] * Dialog Manager file tailoring adds support for the &VSYM function to support system symbol resolution during file tailoring [discussed in "Developing Dialog Manager Applications in z/OS"] _Program Binder_ * Specify -IMMED on REPLACE and CHANGE statements to make changes apply to target before these statements instead of after [discussed in "Secrets of Inter-Language Communication in z/OS"] * Binder COMPAT can be specified as ZOSV1R9 [discussed in "Secrets of Inter-Language Communication in z/OS"] - several other changes, not related to content of courses we offer _Language Environment (LE)_ * CEEDUMP runtime parameter can request CEEDUMP attributes if CEEDUMP DD statement not supplied [discussed in "Using LE Services in z/OS"] * Message tag files may be z/OS UNIX files, the CEEBLDTX exec has been ported to also run under the z/OS UNIX shell, and the outputs can be z/OS UNIX files [discussed in "Using LE Services in z/OS"] * HEAPPOOLS runtime parameter can request that cells in certain heap pools not cross cache line [discussed in "Using LE Services in z/OS"] * CEE3DLY callable service - suspends program for specified number of seconds (up to an hour); can use under CICS [discussed in "Using LE Services in z/OS"] * CEEDLYM callable service - suspends program for specified number of miiliseconds (up to an hour); can not use under CICS [discussed in "Using LE Services in z/OS"] * CEE3MC2 callable service - returns the currency symbol for the current country, and the international currecny symbol for the current country [discussed in "Using LE Services in z/OS"] * Point to IBM link to our courses at http://www-03.ibm.com/servers/eserver/zseries/zos/le/assist/education/trainers.html * CEEDUMP traceback table format has changed [discussed in "Using LE Services in z/OS" and "Enterprise COBOL Debugging and Maintenance"] _z/OS UNIX System Services_ * Support expanded for version 3 of the Single Unix Standard, changing the behavior of some commands such as ed, file, tr [discussed in "Introduction to z/OS UNIX" and "Shell Script Programming in z/OS UNIX", as appropriate] * Support for new versions of C code: C can be compiled with the METAL option, which generates C code without LE linkages; can also support explicit inclusion of assembler instructions; some z/OS UNIX commands have options to support this kind of program - not discussed in our courses, since these features are intended for the systems programmer; but they are kinda' cool.- And, of course, all languages references to Assembler, COBOL, PL/I, and so on, are current with their release level. Do your other course authors keep this current? -- Kind regards, -Steve Comstock The Trainer's Friend, Inc. 303-393-8716 http://www.trainersfriend.com z/OS Application development made easier * Our classes include + How things work + Programming examples with realistic applications + Starter / skeleton code + Complete working programs + Useful utilities and subroutines + Tips and techniques ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the message: GET IBM-MAIN INFO Search the archives at http://bama.ua.edu/archives/ibm-main.html
