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Do you know where I can obtain more information about Java with OS/390 for application developers? I am a Developer consultant working with the County of Riverside, California.
Mimi Nila
Information for application developers comes in one of three types. Information specific to the product will be published in the product documentation. For example, enhancements to support Java in CICS or DB2 will be published in the CICS or DB2 manuals. We also publish practical information for developers in IBM Redbooks. For example, we have just published a new Redbook on using Java with CICS: its number is SG24-5275. (See next letter for details on finding Redbooks.) I will also be writing an article with Peggy Abelite of DB2 development for publication in a future issue of ESJ on using Java with DB2. The final type of documentation is on generic Java application development. Because the OS/390 Java is completely compatible with the 100 percent Pure Java initiative, you can use any books that discuss Pure Java application development.
Mark Cathcart, Principal Consultant,
IBM System/390 Division
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At the end of Mark Cathcart’s "OO Alternatives for S/390" article, he refers to two IBM documents -- SG24-5142 and SG24-5342. My IBM contact … cannot locate SG24-5342. Is this a typographical error?
Emil Mikulik
No, this isn’t a typographical error; it may have been one of timing though. Initially, this book was to have been available in March ’99 but it was delayed while we made a few last minute updates. It will be available in hardcopy at the end of May ’99. The best way to find out information about IBM Redbooks is to visit www.ibm.com/redbooks. In the top left corner there is a search field and you can find both published and many-draft Redbooks, which are available to download at no charge in Adobe PDF format, including SG24-5342.
M.C.
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I enjoyed the article by Mark Cathcart on "OO Alternatives for S/390." Is there any reason why Visual Age Smalltalk for MVS was not discussed? It is an extremely productive and reliable development environment.
Enoch Sower, Objectician
You make a good point. The purpose of my article was to introduce and position the emerging object technologies of Component Broker and Java, with systems and subsystems, such as WebSphere and CICS. Smalltalk for MVS does offer an excellent virtual machine and integration with OS/390, and we have many customers using it today for both classical and transactional SmallTalk applications.
M.C.