A Quadrillion Mainframes on Your Lap Your laptop is way more powerful than you might realize – RODNEY BROOK
This article by Mr. Brooks brings back some nostalgia. I got my start at the Grumman Data Systems Institute in the Computer Operations program. I learned all about the IBM System/360. I never actually used any of what I learned there professionally, but I really enjoyed hacking away at the Mainframe. This was back in 1992, when Briarcliffe College took over GDSI. I had the choice of Briarcliffe or GDSI on my certificate (I picked Briarcliffe).
In 1993 I went on to Queens College, where as a Computer Science student, we had to get our Pascal programs working on the college mainframe (another IBM system/360).
Truthfully, I kind of miss programming on the old Mainframes and I kind of wonder what it would be like working on the newer IBM Z Systems for Virtual Machines instead of screwing around with ESX hosts in VMWare.
^ GDSI commercial from back in the day 🙂
Writing this makes me think back to being a Computer Science Student in the 1993. It was a weird time. Comp Sci students take CS101 and CS102 as an introduction to computer programming. Normally you’ll learn a language over two semesters which is meant to be used through the entire program for which to express more complex computer science concepts in. A common language which everyone can relate. Most computer Science programs today use Java or Python for this purpose.
When I started, at GDSI in 1992, I learned RPG III and JCL batch programming. When I finished the program I never used either of those languages again. The mainframe was dying. I then went to CUNY Queens College in 1993. The teaching language at Queens College was Pascal. As soon as I finished CS102 where I became proficient in Pascal programming, the school switched to C++ as it’s core teaching language. I’d never write another line of Pascal code again. The world had moved on. I had to learn C++. I took another introduction class, than took two semesters off. When I returned, the school had already tossed C++ to the rubbish bin and began teaching with Java. I took another introduction course.
I transferred to Pace University thankfully they were also a Java school. I was fortunate enough to finish out my undergrad and grad school (also at Pace) with Java as the core teaching language. I have written very little java outside of school though.
I guess the point I’m making is that technology felt like it was moving at a much faster pace than it does now. Sure there are plenty of computer languages out there, but most of the languages at the top of the TIOBE Language Index have been there since the 1990’s. Python being a newer addition, but C, Java, C++ and most of the top 20 have been around since the 1990’s. According to Wikipedia, Python 2 was released in 2000. I think Go is the newest language on the top 20 list and that’s been around since 2009. The point I’m making is (I think), that while there are a lot of programming languages out there, the landscape has been stable for a long time, vs. when I was learning in the 1990’s it felt like everything was in flux.
Even Operating Systems and computing platforms have stabilized. Back then it was IBM OS/2 vs. Windows vs MAC vs. Commodore 64 vs NeXt Computer vs. the Amiga Computer. It was also Linux vs. FreeBSD vs. NetBSD vs. Solaris.
Today it’s just MAC, Windows and Linux on the x86_64 platform. Things are a lot less confusing.
I digress. It’s late. I’m going to bed.
