Right, I forgot about that. Gotta give you that one. --- Bob Bridges, robhbrid...@gmail.com, cell 336 382-7313
/* I think what happens to toddlers is that they suddenly realize their parents have essentially been lying to them their whole lives. We represent the world as this wonderful place where you are free to do as you please, not even stopping to use the bathroom if you don’t feel like it, and everyone keeps bringing you toys and your food comes from breasts. We keep it up until you are far too big to climb back in the womb, and then, surprise! Broccoli! -W Bruce Cameron on the Terrible Twos, May 2006 */ -----Original Message----- From: IBM Mainframe Discussion List <IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU> On Behalf Of Pommier, Rex Sent: Monday, March 27, 2023 18:02 That's why I said "most basic". :-) And if you want to get pedantic, COND= logic (as backwards as it started out, everybody remember "if it's true you're through"?) was a REALLY primitive if/then construct. -----Original Message----- From: IBM Mainframe Discussion List <IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU> On Behalf Of Bob Bridges Sent: Monday, March 27, 2023 4:41 PM I ~mostly~ agree with your definition of "programming language", but I usually add that it has to have at least some primitive sort of if-then construction. JCL didn't use to make the grade, but it does now. So yeah, when I'm listing the programming languages I can use I sometimes include JCL ... barely. -----Original Message----- From: IBM Mainframe Discussion List <IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU> On Behalf Of Pommier, Rex Sent: Monday, March 27, 2023 16:18 Using my most basic definition of a computer language - it's a list of commands that can be saved to run it multiple times just by invoking the list name, then both JCL and CLIST are languages (as is HTML), and both have redeeming qualities. How many of you (hypothetically) are running JCL "decks" (and I used that term on purpose) that were first built on punch cards with little to no change since they were first built? JOL anybody? I would say a redeeming value of JCL is that there's nothing out there to easily replace it. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to lists...@listserv.ua.edu with the message: INFO IBM-MAIN