The Lab
Four machines, practised six days a week.
Real z/OS
IBM Z Xplore
TSO/ISPF, JCL, COBOL, VSAM, DB2 and USS on a live IBM Z system, through VS Code and Zowe.
My own mainframe
TK5 on Hercules
MVS 3.8j on an emulated System/370, running on my PC: the Big Iron Bank core.
Real IBM i
PUB400
IBM i 7.5: free-form RPG, CL and SQL, the platform I administered at Cognizant.
Modern COBOL
GnuCOBOL
Fast practice on Windows for syntax and logic before it goes to the mainframe.
The plan
| Weeks | Learning | Capstone |
|---|---|---|
| 1 · Sep 28 | z/OS basics, TSO/ISPF | TK5 up, first compile |
| 2 · Oct 5 | JCL, COBOL fundamentals | Copybooks, sample data, VSAM masters |
| 3 · Oct 12 | Files, VSAM, SORT | Edit + sort |
| 4 · Oct 19 | DB2 | Posting, interest, fees, reconciliation |
| 5 · Oct 26 | CICS | Statements |
| 6 · Nov 2 | Zowe, modernization | Restart, teller screen, security layer |
| 7 · Nov 9 | Advanced, IMS, interview prep | DB2 port, finish and document |
Monday to Saturday, 6 AM to 7 PM. Target finish: November 15, 2026.
Alongside it: Programming in ILE RPG (Buck & Meyers) with practice on PUB400, and RACF work for the mainframe-security side.
Badges
IBM Z Xplore badges will appear here as they're earned.