In one way or another, I have always been a trainer, a teacher.
A few years ago I retired from my most recent training job, developing
and teaching courses about IBM mainframe (z/OS) application programming.
Now I have put my course materials on Amazon.com.
Each course is
represented by an ebook. This ebook contains information about
the course and a link to the course materials and the password
to access the materials. In addition, purchasing a course on
Amazon grants you unlimited rights for teaching the course.
In addition, I have put 17 z/OS-related technical papers on Amazon.
Finally, here is a link to my site of online courses for creating web pages using Notepad in Windows: Still Plugging Away
Table of z/OS course materials
Table of z/OS technical papers
| Course title | Description / Prerequisite | Days Price (USD) |
Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|
| General / Introduction Courses | |||
| Introduction to Application Programming (z/OS) |
Basic computer concepts: data description; program flow and design;
pseudo-code; examples of programs in various languages; mainframe
hardware overview; data representation; base 10, base 2, base 16;
z/OS vocabulary: virtual storage, DASD organization, TSO/ISPF,
batch vs. online; paper labs only. (180 pages, index) Prerequisite: None, just an apptitude for programming. |
2 120.00 |
B07JDFTD2C |
| Introduction to z/OS |
Intended for developers new to IBM mainframes (or familiar with IBM
mainframes but not familiar with z/OS). Vocabulary and descriptions,
no labs. (198 pages, index) Prerequsite: familiarity with any non-z/OS system |
1 100.00 |
B07JCHPG4P |
| TSO, CLIST, REXX, ISPF / Dialog Manager | |||
| TSO/ISPF in z/OS |
A thorough, intense introduction to ISPF for developers and systems people.
Covers structure / organization of ISPF, many z/OS terms, ISPF commands and
look-and-feel, utility functions (3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4), browse, view, and edit.
Also discusses submitting jobs and looking at the output using ISPF 3.8 or
SDSF, or IOF, or Flasher, or (E)JES. (432 pages, 2-page summary sheet, index) Prerequisite: None, although it helps to have some background such as found in "Introduction to Application Programming (z/OS)" |
3 150.00 |
B07JVRB2HS |
| ISPF Update |
Here's a chance to get up to date with all the changes that have been implemented
in ISPF since you first learned it. There are lots of new commands and new capabilities
that can allow you to be more effective using this tool. (270 pages, index) Prerequisite: ISPF knowledge / background; this is an update for experienced ISPF users |
2 100.00 |
B07JBRF5SF |
| Advanced Topics in ISPF |
A deeper exploration of a few topics in ISPF: how to use the Status Area
(including the undocumented appointment calendar feature), command nesting,
more dslist (ISPF 3.4) commands and features, the edit compare command,
the search and compare dialogs, additional ASCII and Unicode support, an
introduction to edit macros. (152 pages, index) Prerequisite: "TSO/ISPF in z/OS", or equivalent experience. |
1 100.00 |
B07JDZZPLF |
| TSO CLIST Programming in z/OS |
An introduction to the CLIST language, primarily for those who need to
maintain existing CLISTs; also, the only place where we teach the native
TSO edit command. (322 pages, index) Prerequisite: "TSO/ISPF in z/OS", or equivalent experience. |
3 150.00 |
B07JF12844 |
| ISPF and JCL on z/OS |
This is a mashup of "TSO/ISPF in z/OS" and "z/OS JCL and Utilities",
enabling an ISPF / JCL package to fit into a five day work week. This is
done by eliminating redundant passages and dropping a few topics. The
omitted topics are: A short introduction to the mainframe environment;
reference lists; the Workplace shell; ISPF VSAM support; DELETE and LISTC
TSO commands. (662 pages, ISPF summary sheet, JCL summary sheet, index) Prerequisite: None, although it helps to have some background such as found in "Introduction to Application Programming (z/OS)" |
200.00 | B07JF13L9L |
| TSO REXX programming in z/OS |
A thorough introduction to REXX on z/OS, including a number of TSO commands,
and how to use the REXX compiler. (520 pages, summary of REXX commands and TSO
commands covered, index) Prerequisite: "TSO/ISPF in z/OS", or equivalent experience. |
5 200.00 |
B07JF1485C |
| Introduction to TSO and REXX APIs |
Covers interaces to TSO and REXX services when running under TSO or in batch;
interaces that allow Assembler and compiled programs to invoke TSO commands
and to access and change REXX variables. How to write programs invoked from
EXECs using ADDRESS LINK, ADDRESS ATTACH, ADDRESS LINKMVS, ADDRESS ATTCHMVS,
ADDRESS LINKPGM and ADDRESS ATTCHPGM. (196 pages, index) Prerequisite: "TSO REXX programming in z/OS" and experience with one of these programming languages: Assembler, COBOL, PL/I, C |
2 120.00 |
B07JDFFHWT |
| Developing Dialog Manager Applications in z/OS |
This fun class assumes prior knowledge of REXX or CLIST and then moves
on to provide a thorough introduction to developing, coding, testing, and
maintaining applications to be run under the ISPF environment. Panel
definition language, ISPF variables and variable services, ISPF service
functions (LIBDEF, DISPLAY, LMxxxx, etc.), ISPF messages and message
services, pop up windows, scrollable fields, menus, debugging, Edit,
View, and Browse, ISPF tables, File tailoring, introduction to Dialog
Tag Language, ISPPDTLC service. (682 pages, appendices, index) Prerequisite: "TSO/ISPF in z/OS" and either "TSO REXX programming in z/OS" or "TSO CLIST Programming in z/OS" or equivalent experience. |
5 200.00 |
B07JF413J1 |
| JCL and Utilities | |||
| z/OS JCL and Utilities |
A very intense introduction to JCL, covering all the essentials
(JOB, EXEC, DD, OUTPUT, IF / THEN, ELSE, ENDIF, INCLUDE, SET, JCLLIB,
PROC, PEND, cataloged and instream procedures, symbolic parameters) as
well as a few utilities (IEBGENER, IDCAMS, SORT). (344 pages,
JCL summary sheet, index) Prerequisite: "TSO/ISPF in z/OS", or equivalent experience. |
3 150.00 |
B07JFQFKDX |
| Advanced Topics in z/OS JCL |
This class covers most of B-610 very quickly, setting environment for
deeper lectures at various points, then moves in to new territory (JCL
debugging, VIO, multi-volume data sets, extended format data sets,
striped data sets, large format data sets, HFS files, IEBGENER, IEBCOPY,
more advanced sort techniques, GDGs, Internal readers, step restart,
JES control statements, and more). (416 pages, JCL and JES control
statements summary, index) Prerequisite: "z/OS JCL and Utilities", or equivalent experience. |
3 150.00 |
B07JFCFL29 |
| Using DFSORT and ICETOOL |
The only DFSORT / ICETOOL course on the market, this is a deep and
extensive examination of these two utilities. (562 pages, appendices,
index) Prerequisite: "z/OS JCL and Utilities", or equivalent experience. |
4 180.00 |
B07JFCFZ2Q |
| Assembler Language | |||
| z/OS Assembler Programming, Part 1: Beginnings |
This first class in the series introduces the fundamental, underlying
concepts, the classic hardware instructions, Assembler instructions
(DS, DC, CSECT, END, START, ORG, DSECT, AMODE, RMODE, EQU, CNOP), and
all the solid fundamentals. (402 pages, instruction summary, index) Prerequisite: "TSO/ISPF in z/OS", or equivalent experience. |
5 200.00 |
B07JF2N66Q |
| z/OS Assembler Programming, Part 2: Interfaces |
Building on the first class in the series, this course covers standard
linkage conventions, QSAM file processing, subroutine linkages, introduction
to the program binder, and debugging. Some system services (WTO, SNAP, TIME,
STCK, CONVTOD, LOAD, DELETE, LINK, XCTL, GETMAIN, FREEMAIN) are discussed.
Includes handling of variable length records, QSAM update in place, 31-bit
addressing concerns and writing re-entant code. (304 pages, appendices, index) Prerequisite: "z/OS Assembler Programming, Part 1". |
3 150.00 |
B07JF2LXRH |
| z/OS Assembler Programming, Part 3: Update |
This course covers new hardware instructions introduced by machines in the 1990's
as well as features introduced in HALSM V1R4. Includes the halfword immediate
instructions, relative branching, Unicode support, new Assembler parm features,
and new USING features. (144 pages, appendix, index) Prerequisite: "z/OS Assembler Programming, Part 2", or equivalent experience. |
1 100.00 |
B07JF2TCFP |
| z/OS Assembler Programming, Part 4: z/Architecture |
Keeping it all current, this course covers all the new hardware instructions
introduced with the various System z machines (at least, those features
relevant to application programs) as well as the new facilities in HLASM V1R5
and V1R6. Includes working with 64-bit addresses and integers, new save area
conventions, some of the new system services (IARV64 especially) and some of
the enhanced support in the program binder. Also includes a description of the
new instructions in the new zEC12 mainframe from IBM, announced in August of 2012.
(552 pages, index) Prerequisite: "z/OS Assembler Programming, Part 3", or equivalent experience. |
4 180.00 |
B07JDVDB4Z |
| COBOL | |||
| Structured COBOL Workshop for Enterprise COBOL |
This is a first course for programmers new to COBOL. It could be
their first programming language, or it also works if the programmer
is adding COBOL to their existing skill set. (524 pages, appendix, index) Prerequisite: "TSO/ISPF in z/OS", or equivalent experience. |
5 200.00 |
B07J9KCVY7 |
| Advanced Topics in COBOL (Enterprise COBOL, z/OS) |
This course builds on the previous course by adding discussions on subroutines,
tables (with subscripts and indexes), variable length records, string handling,
and, optionally, the COBOL SORT and MERGE verbs. (302 pages, index) Prerequisite: "Structured COBOL Workshop for Enterprise COBOL", or equivalent experience. |
3 150.00 |
B07JD9SNCP |
| Enterprise COBOL Debugging and Maintenance |
This course focuses on debugging COBOL programs, including using
LE dumps (CEEDUMPs), tools available in the COBOL language, and LE
condition handling. It also includes a deeper look into subroutines
and the program binder. (314 pages, appendices, index) Prerequisite: "Advanced Topics in COBOL (Enterprise COBOL, z/OS)", or equivalent experience. |
2 120.00 |
B07JDDSSHT |
| Enterprise COBOL Update |
Intended for experienced programmers who have not had a chance to get
caught up with the latest IBM COBOL compilers, this course covers all
the significant changes in COBOL from COBOL II V3 through Enterprise
COBOL V4R2, including a brief introduction to Language Environment.
(404 pages, appendix on Millenium Language Extensions, index) Prerequisite: Experience writing COBOL programs. |
2 120.00 |
B07JCM4NDT |
| Enterprise COBOL Unicode and XML Support |
This course if for the experienced COBOL programmer who has a need
to process XML data from a COBOL program. Since Unicode plays a prominent
role in XML, we begin with a look at the features included in COBOL for
working with Unicode data, then we explore XML PARSE and XML GENERATE
(using both XMLPARSE(COMPAT) and XMLPARSE(XMLSS) options). (228 pages,
appendix, index) Prerequisite: "Enterprise COBOL Update", or equivalent experience. |
2 120.00 |
B07JCLZTZ5 |
| VSAM | |||
| VSAM With Access Method Services |
Here we cover VSAM vocabulary and concepts then how to load
and display records from VSAM data sets, (includes coverage
of ESDS, KSDS, RRDS, and AIX) and how to estimate space
requirements for VSAM data sets. (196 pages, index) Prerequisite: "TSO/ISPF in z/OS", or equivalent experience. |
2 120.00 |
B07JW2RPL5 |
| VSAM for PL/I Programmers |
Here we cover VSAM vocabulary and concepts then how to load,
access, and update VSAM data sets from PL/I programs (includes
coverage of ESDS, KSDS, RRDS, and AIX). (186 pages, index) Prerequisite: Experience writing PL/I programs. |
2 120.00 |
B07JF3QRVL |
| VSAM for COBOL Programmers |
Here we cover VSAM vocabulary and concepts then how to load,
access, and update VSAM data sets from COBOL programs (includes
coverage of ESDS, KSDS, RRDS, and AIX). (260 pages, index) Prerequisite: Experience writing COBOL programs. |
2 120.00 |
B07JBM5PBT |
| Language Environment, InterLanguage Communication, DLLs | |||
| Using LE Services in z/OS |
A thorough introduction to the terms, vocabulary, and concepts
of Language Environment. This course also examines all the run
time options and callable services and many ways to use these
services from programs written in COBOL, Assembler, PL/I, and C.
(620 pages, appendices, index) Prerequisite: "TSO/ISPF in z/OS" and experience with one of these programming languages: Assembler, COBOL, PL/I, C. |
3 150.00 |
B07JG29W1Z |
| Cross Program Communication in z/OS |
This course explores the intricacies of one program calling
another. The calling program and the called program may be
written in the same language or a different language (the
course covers Assembler, COBOL, PL/I, and C: students choose
the language(s) they want to explore). We explore static calls
and dynamic calls. How to define variables, structures, and
tables is explored, and how to pass these items (by reference,
by content, by value) and how to receive them. This includes
passing and recieving a variable number of parameters. The
class delves into the structure of object code and the workings
of the program binder. We also examine the creation and use of
multiple entry points and shared data. (490 pages, appendices, index) Prerequisite: "Using LE Services in z/OS" and experience with one of these programming languages: Assembler, COBOL, PL/I, C. |
3 150.00 |
B07JG24GW6 |
| Creating and Using DLLs in z/OS |
In this course we examine the concepts and vocabulary of DLLs
(Dynamic Link Libraries) and then put them into practice with
labs that created and invoke DLLs. DLLs may be written in
Assembler, COBOL, PL/I, and C, and they may be invoked from
programs written in Assembler, COBOL, PL/I, and C - the invoking
program does not have to be written in the same language as the
DLL being invoked. We also discuss PL/I packages. (150 pages, index) Prerequisite: "Cross Program Communication in z/OS" and experience with one of these programming languages: Assembler, COBOL, PL/I, C. |
1 100.00 |
B07JDVG398 |
| z/OS UNIX System Services and the World Wide Web | |||
| Introduction to z/OS UNIX |
This class provides a solid introduction to working in the
z/OS UNIX environment, including over 60 commands and building
a small (three page) website. Also discusses UDList (ISPF 3.17)
and telnet. (512 pages, appendices including command summary, index) Prerequisite: "TSO/ISPF in z/OS" or equivalent experience. |
3 150.00 |
B07JG2HDHS |
| Shell Script Programming in z/OS UNIX |
This course extends the work done in the above course by discussing additional
commands and how to create and run shell scripts. Includes user-defined
fucntions, sed, and the BPXBATCH facility. The interested student will
also find a good introduction to vi and the bc programming language.
(580 pages, appendicies, index) Prerequisite: "Introduction to z/OS UNIX" or equivalent experience. | 3 150.00 |
B07JFHV8PS |
| You and z/OS and the World Wide Web |
This course is thorough introduction to HTML, as embodied by the evolving
HTML 5 standard, as well as CSS (Cascading Style Sheets), JavaScript,
DOM (the Document Object Model), tables, client side maps, cookies, iframes,
audio and video elements, lots more, all intended to be produced and served
from your z/OS system. (662 pages, appendices, summaries, index) Prerequisite: "Introduction to z/OS UNIX" or equivalent experience. |
5 200.00 |
B07JGDMRSR |
| Developing Applications for z/OS UNIX |
Here we move into coding programs that use z/OS UNIX facilities. The
course supports Assembler, COBOL, PL/I, and C languages: the students
each choose the language(s) they prefer to work in. The programs
created can: interact with the user at a terminal, handle files
(classic MVS files or z/OS files), and dynamically call subroutines.
The programs can be run from the shell or, in some cases, in batch.
We cover Assembling / compiling, and binding using z/OS UNIX commands
instead of JCL. A deep exploration of make and makefiles allows creating
procedures to simplify the maintenance process. (492 pages, appendices,
index) Prerequisite: "Introduction to z/OS UNIX" or equivalent experience, plus experience with one of these programming languages: Assembler, COBOL, PL/I, C. |
3 150.00 |
B07JW8GRZY |
| Introduction to CGIs in z/OS |
This course lays the groundwork for creating and running CGIs
on a z/OS system used as a web server. Common terms, procedures,
and data formats are discussed. Sample CGIs in many languages
are used as examples. This course is expected to be followed by
one of our langauge-specific CGI courses. (208 pages, appendix, index) Prerequisite: "You and z/OS and the World Wide Web" or equivalent experience. | 1 100.00 |
B07JGF4Q1W |
| Writing z/OS CGIs in COBOL |
Using techniques learned in previous courses, the student now
learns how to code and run CGIs written in COBOL. These include
handling redirection requests and both GET and POST requests.
The CGIs access VSAM files and (if DB2 is available) DB2 tables.
The use of Unicode is also covered, as well as submitting jobs
to the batch from a CGI. (220 pages, appendix, index) Prerequisite: "Introduction to CGIs in z/OS" or equivalent experience and experience writing COBOL programs. | 2 120.00 |
B07JFSMJVC |
| Writing z/OS CGIs in Assembler |
Using techniques learned in previous courses, the student now
learns how to code and run CGIs written in Assembler. These
include handling redirection requests and both GET and POST
requests. The CGIs access VSAM files and (if DB2 is available)
DB2 tables. The use of Unicode is also covered, as well as
submitting jobs to the batch from a CGI. (262 pages, appendix, index) Prerequisite: "Introduction to CGIs in z/OS" or equivalent experience and experience writing Assembler programs. | 2 120.00 |
B07JGFGLNB |
| Title of paper | # pages | Price (USD) | Amazon ID |
|---|---|---|---|
| Doing Packed Decimal Arithmetic in Assembler | 100 | 9.50 | B075673DHR |
| The Arc of DB2 (Using DB2 to work the World Wide Web) | 100 | 9.50 | B07566QG56 |
| Enterprise COBOL - A Tool for Growth | 77 | 9.50 | B0756753FH |
| z/OS, Language Environment, and UNIX: How They Work Together | 157 | 9.95 | B07566G6KC |
| z/OS Control Blocks for Beginners | 52 | 9.95 | B07565MGXT |
| Hosting a Website on z/OS: one person's experience | 17 | 9.75 | B07566F2ZN |
| Coding AJAX Applications (Using HTML, JavaScript and COBOL on z/OS) | 80 | 9.75 | B07564K97C |
| Setting up the IBM HTTP Server: A near-cookbook to get you going | 40 | 8.00 | B07563N1D6 |
| Writing Reentrant Programs | 26 | 6.50 | B0756HWSZN |
| The Future of Mainframes is Now | 28 | 2.99 | B0756GLTX5 |
| An Introduction to Unicode | 52 | 3.50 | B07563SCWL |
| Creating Modern Business Computer Applications on z/OS | 24 | 2.99 | B0756H6GN5 |
| The UNIX bc programming language | 36 | 3.00 | B07566YKKP |
| Applications Assembler Programming for z: a discourse | 47 | 4.00 | B0756H67PW |
| Introduction to eXtensible Stylesheet Language for Transfomation (XSLT) | 30 | 3.50 | B0756JL756 |
| I/O and AMODE 31 | 7 | 3.20 | B07567W8FD |
| Enterprise COBOL Version 5.1 Differences | 7 | 4.50 | B07566JG9K |
Again, here is my site for online courses for creating web pages using Notepad in Windows: Still Plugging Away
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