Table of Contents
JCL Job-code Language Coding Needed To Submit Programs To Mainframe
| Field | Programming | |
| Went Obsolete | Mid-eighties | (False, JCL skills still have value) |
| Made Obsolete By | PCs? a pc-based compilers plus local servers | (False, Mainframes are growing & evolving) |
| Knowledge Assumed | Taking JCL punch cards, making minor changes, and crossing your fingers. | |
| When useful | In your worst nightmare. |
/* JCL is still a useful skill. Mainframes continue to evolve, although few people realize how often they are actually using a mainframe these days since the interface has changed so that most people never see JCL. IBM has seen GROWTH in sales of MIPS that run on mainframes. */
The Job-Control-Language code, on punch cards, had to be put in front of your program to get it to run when submitted to the mainframe. Typically someone who worked in the computer center would give you the JCL but you also had to insert your account number and some other stuff that specified who was paying for the CPU time.
But you sometimes had to make small changes in order to work outside the box you were originally given.
