Require suggestion for analysing a program.

[Vimal S]

Hi - I have just started as a Mainframe developer. I had a basic training for 1 month. When it comes to realtime scenario, I'm not able to understand and provide appropriate solutions as per the requirements. Sometimes I wonder why I've joined mainframe because many a times with big code it becomes difficult for me to survive. Can anyone suggest which book/which material/any site that can help me in coding as well as getting a good knowledge on mainframes.

Thanks.

[enrico-sorichetti]

Sometimes I wonder why I've joined mainframe because many a times with big code it becomes difficult for me to survive.

would You be more comfortable if You had to write a big Java/c++/web/oracle application?
I guess not

Unfortunately You have fallen into the trap/misunderstanding that
mainframe application development is different from <any other environment> application development

The business rules are just that BUSINESS RULES and they do not depend on the hardware/software/hair color/gender/.../...

so You should not have any problems with those,
somebody has to document them and make them available so that the developer can write the code to implement them ( whatever the aforesaid list )

nowadays You cannot talk generically about mainframe environment,
there are so many middleware components that a developer might never need to know all of them

the best approach is to talk to Your coordinator explaining Your issues and ask for more training ( formal or do it Yourself )

one mont of basic training is enough to write a hello world program,
but not to start writing anything on Your own

[William Collins]

From your join-date here, it looks like you are at least 18 months into it.

Knowing some specific problems you have, and why you can't address those problems through mechanisms at your site, would help.

[Robert Sample]

Your question is so broad as to be meaningless. For example, when you ask for help in coding -- do you mean coding in COBOL, REXX, PL/I, C, JAVA, PERL, FORTRAN, ASSEMBLER (all are used on the mainframe)? Do you mean SQL because you are using DB2? Do you mean the CICS API because you are coding CICS programs?

A much more realistic approach will be to ask specific questions when something comes up that you do not understand or cannot get coded correctly. In the meantime, IBM has a series of Redbooks (topic-specific books about their computer systems); one of the Redbooks is http://www.redbooks.ibm.com/redbooks/pdfs/sg246366.pdf which is titled Introduction to the New Mainframe: z/OS Basics and it would be a good idea for you to read this book from cover to cover.

[zprogrammer]

Sometimes I wonder why I've joined mainframe because many a times with big code it becomes difficult for me to survive

My suggestion is to practice practice practice...

Also never get scared of looking at the LOC... You need to understand why things are done and how it is done..

[enrico-sorichetti]

I wonder why we waste time....
almost one week from the initial post and the TS did not care to acknowledge or clarify his issues

I could post a LOOOONG list of links with the same unprofessional behaviour