z/VSE: 45 Years of Progress - z/VM - IBM

mainframe operating systems, we have to
recognize these facts:
• The mainframe has reached its highest
quality.
• The quality of operating systems is better
than ever.
• The meantime between failure is less
than 0.01 percent.
• The lifecycle of unchanged mainframe
programs is unparalleled.”
Charles Rice, IT manager for
Hirschfeld Industries, commented on
the significant benefits of user groups
and online forums for z/VSE and its
users:
“User groups have played an important
part in the life of VSE and my career
over the last 47 years. The primary focus
was GUIDE in the ’70s, ’80s, and early
’90s, and then WAVV took over and continues
today. These groups have helped
direct the development of VSE, provided
a forum for the VSE community to share
ideas and meet the experts, and sparked
the development of some of the most useful
tools we continue to use today such as
the VSE-L forum on the Internet.”
Denny Yost, associate publisher of
z/Journal and Mainframe Executive,
addressed the numerous unique individuals
involved in the success of z/VSE
and the z/VSE community:
“The VSE market was and continues
to be one of my favorites. It’s not so much
the technology, the technology’s ability to
process thousands of transactions at low
cost, the evolution of the technology over
the years, or how well VM and VSE seem
to be made for each other. What makes it
a favorite of mine is the people who work
with VSE. From the new systems programmer
trying to learn the best practices
to those more seasoned, it was and continues
to be a joy to be around and talk
with the people who work with VSE. It
seems like VSE professionals are always
open to learning, determining how to do
something better, sharing their knowledge
with others, and getting every last ounce
of performance from each computing
dollar spent. I can’t imagine a better
group to have had the pleasure of being
involved with.”
Our special thanks to these nine
individuals who took time from their
personal pursuits to share their excellent,
thoughtful responses with us.
As an operating system, DOS could
never have become what it is today,
z/VSE, without the dedicated commitment
of many individuals. Those individuals’
actions were often above and
beyond the strict call of duty and often
transcended what was perhaps considered
prudent or wise. z/VSE is the deliverable
for those commitments and the
reward for those jobs well done. So, to
all those individuals and to z/VSE,
happy birthday!
For additional information on where
z/VSE is going during its next 45 years,
please read the “Pete Clark on z/VSE”
column in this issue. It contains the latest
information from the z/VSE laboratory
on z/VSE 4.3.
And thanks for reading this article.
We’ll see you at the 50th anniversary
celebration! Z
Pete Clark works for CPR Systems and has spent more
than 40 years working with VSE/ESA in education, operations,
programming, and technical support positions. It is
his privilege to be associated with the best operating system,
best users, and best support people in the computer
industry. Email: pclark@cprsystems.com
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