Possibly stupid question for you IBM mainframers... :-)

From: Richard Steiner (rsteiner_at_visi.com)
Date: 07/12/04 

Date: Mon, 12 Jul 2004 12:18:39 -0500

Hi, guys...

I've been out of work for a while, and while I know COBOL well enough
on both the Unisys 2200 and A-series platforms (I've written code in
both of those environments now), most of the mainframe work I see out
there is in IBMland.

No, this isn't a surprise to me. :-)

My question, though: How does a person like me go about learning more
about CICS, COBOL2, DB2, etc., on the IBM side...?

I already know how to operate in environments like TSO/ISPF (having
used various tools in that environment for over a decade at a former
workplace), and I have a couple of Doug Lowe's books on CICS "for the
COBOL programmer" which seem quite interesting at first glance, but
I've been too busy reading up on Javascript and other seemingly more
marketable things to spend too much time reading things IBMish.

So many books, so little time. :-(

How does one learn about the IBM world nowadays? Or is that something
which is no longer a realistic desire?

Am I crazy for even being interested?

Is there a better newsgroup to ask this? Maybe I'll also fork this to
a.f.c (since I know a lot of former IBMers post there as well). 

-- 
 -Rich Steiner >>>---> http://www.visi.com/~rsteiner >>>---> Eden Prairie, MN
  OS/2 + eCS + Linux + Win95 + DOS + PC/GEOS + Executor = PC Hobbyist Heaven!
     Applications analyst/designer/developer (14 yrs) seeking employment.
              See web site above for resume/CV and background.

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