/Awesome-Mainframes

Awesome list of mainframe related resources & projects

Awesome Mainframes Awesome

system 360

Awesome list of mainframe related resources & projects.

The target audience of this list are those that are interested in learning about mainframes with emphasis on the System/360 and it's descendants.

If you would like to contribute to this list, please submit a pull request. If you are not familiar with git pull request and want to just submit a minor correction or a new link, just open an "issue" in github. This will ensure that any submissions are not overlooked.

This list is licensed under CC0.

Contents

IBM System/360, System/370, System/390, z Mainframes

Getting Started

General

Emulators

  • Hercules Spinhawk - Hercules 3.x - spinhawk is the repository for the production-quality version (release 3.xx) of the Hercules mainframe virtualization platform
  • Hercules Hyperion - The Hyperion version of Hercules is the official development version of the Hercules emulator and contains the latest bleeding edge changes made by Hercules developers to address various bugs that may exist in the production version.
  • SDL Hercules Hyperion - (github) SoftDevLabs (SDL) version of Hercules 4.x

Hercules GUI Front Ends

  • HercGUI - "HercGUI The Hercules graphical user interface for Windows is a standard Windows program that makes using the Hercules emulator much easier and more enjoyable. It automatically maintains your Hercules configuration and log files by means of standard Windows dialogs and provides realistic real-time feedback of your virtual mainframe's activity." From Software Development Laboratories.
  • HercStudio - Hercules Studio is a GUI front-end to the Hercules mainframe Emulator on Mac and Linux. Written by Jacob Dekel.
  • Jason - "Jason 1.00 is an integrated graphical frontend to the Hercules S/370, ESA/390 and z/Architecture Emulator. What, you haven't heard of Hercules before? It's a masterpiece that emulates IBM mainframes, from old good IBM System/360 and up to the modern z Series."
  • MVS Ops - A web application that simplifies management of MVS running on Hercules.

TN3270 Terminal Emulators

  • Vista TN3270 - Tom Brennan's feature packed TN3270 emulator for Microsoft Windows and runs on Linux and Mac with WINE. "Vista tn3270 is a Windows program designed to emulate IBM 3270 terminals connected to a host via IP link. Currently it is available for a free 30 day trial, and costs only $30. If you are looking for an emulator created with mainframe programmers in mind, then give this one a try. You might find some unique features unavailable even on the highest priced commercial emulators."
  • x3270 - x3270 is an IBM 3270 terminal emulator for the X Window System and Windows. It runs on most Unix-like operating systems -- e.g., Linux, Mac OS X, Solaris and Cygwin. For running natively on Windows, download and install wc3270.
  • tn3270 for Macintosh - Free TN3270 emulator for macOS X versions prior to 10.15 (Catalina) as it requires 32-bit application support.
  • PW3270 (github) - Opensource (GPL2) TN3270 emulator
  • ZOC: SSH Client and Terminal Emulator for Windows and macOS - ZOC is a commercial, cross-platform terminal emulator with TN3270 emulation support.

TN3270/3270 Technical Information

Operating Systems

MVS

  • Tur(n)key MVS 3.8j TK4- - The easiest way to get started with MVS. TK4- is a pre-built distribution of MVS with many enhancements, bundled with programming languages and additional tools. It is ready to run on Linux, MacOS X, Windows, and even a Raspberry Pi (in the more recent releases).
  • Tur(n)key MVS 3.8j TK3 - Volker Bandke's Tur(n)key MVS 3.8 TK3 distribution.
  • Installing and running MVS 3.8j - A hands on approach to generating a working MVS 3.8j system starting from the IBM MVS 3.7 starter system.
  • MVS/380 - MVS/380 is a patched version of MVS 3.8 and Hercules that allows access to 31-bit address space.

MVS Information

MVS Videos

VM/370

VM/370 Videos

MUSIC/SP

MUSIC/SP (Multi-User System for Interactive Computing/System Product; originally "McGill University System for Interactive Computing") was developed at McGill University in the 1970s from an early IBM time-sharing system called RAX (Remote Access Computing System).

  • MUSIC/SP - MUSIC/SP is short for Multi-User System for Interactive Computing / System Product. It is an operating system, similar in some ways to Unix. It is a true multi-tasking, multi-user system.

Michigan Terminal System

The Michigan Terminal System (MTS) is one of the first time-sharing computer operating systems.Developed in 1967 at the University of Michigan for use on IBM S/360-67, S/370 and compatible mainframe computers.

Linux

DOS/360

There are at least four installation procedures available. The first three are in the H390-DOS/VS groups.io group (free registration required) and the fourth is a stand-alone web site.

DOS/VS

  • Yahoo! user ceo1944's 2314DOS.zip - See zipped file within the files.zip zipped archive: 2314dos.zip. This link downloads a zip archive of JCL and instructions from the H390-DOS/VS groups.io group; free registration required.
  • DOSVSE - DOS/VS, DOS/VSE, VSE/ESA, z/VSE related JCL, scripts, jobs and software from Moshix

OS/360 MFT

OS/360 MVT

IBM OS/360 MVT is a non-virtual storage operating system.

TSS/370

CICS

Programming Languages

APL

Assembler

Assembler Tutorials / Courses

BASIC

C

CLIST

  • Jay Moseley's TSO Tutorial - Although intended to be a TSO tutorial, the later parts of the turorial focus on Command Lists (CLIST).

COBOL

COBOL Tutorials / Courses

COBOL Videos

JCL

REXX

  • BREXX/370 - BREXX/370 is an actively maintained MVS-only port of Vasilis Vlachoudis' awesome rexx implementation. Mike Grossmann and Peter-Jacob have fixed several bugs and added many features, including support for VSAM and FSS full-screen interactive panels.

REXX Tutorials / Courses

Mainframe Related YouTube Channels

The list below are YouTube Channels that feature mainframe related videos.

  • Moshix Mainframe Channel - Moshix is a mainframe veteran with a large following of nearly 4,000 subscribers. He frequently posts new videos covering everything mainframe-related.
  • Mainframes & More with Matthew - Videos on IBM mainframes and mini-computers. He has a series of videos detailing how to sysgen (install) MVS 3.8 from scratch.

HNET / BITNET

BITNET was a co-operative U.S. university computer network founded in 1981 by Ira Fuchs at the City University of New York (CUNY) and Greydon Freeman at Yale University. BITNET's NJE (Network Job Entry) network protocols, called RSCS, were used for the huge IBM internal network known as VNET. The BITNET protocols were eventually ported to non-IBM mainframe operating systems, and became particularly widely implemented under VAX/VMS, in addition to DECnet.

HNET is Moshix' BITNET compatible network of mainframes (both big iron and emulated), as well as Linux and VAX systems built upon NJE over TCP/IP.

  • NJE Subsystems for MVS 3.8J - This is Bob Polmanter's genial NJE subsystem for MVS 3.8. It works perfectly with TK4- MVS 3.8 (update 8).
  • NetNJE - Yvan Janssens's NJE (Network Job Entry) server and client implemented in C#
  • LinuxNJE - NJE for Linux. LinuxNJE is the third incarnation of the Hebrew University of Jersualem NJE protocol for UNIX and VMS. This version was updated by Moshix so that it compiles cleanly on modern gcc compiler and runs on modern Linux distribitions.
  • HUJInje - The original Hebrew University of Jerusalem NJE software.

HNET / BITNET Videos

Mainframe Blogs

Courses

Free or Opensource Software to run on your Mainframe

  • CBT Tape - The CBT tape is a collection of freeware almost all open-source distribution for the IBM mainframe MVS and OS/390 operating system environment.
  • Pycroft Six - Pycroft Six's free MVS User Mods and Software, including REVIEW, a full-screen TSO browser and editor.

Other lists of links

Communities / Forums / Mailing Lists

groups.io

Many of these groups originated as a Yahoo! Group but after changes with Yahoo!, most of the members have migrated discussions to groups.io. Access to group messages, files and links are only available after joining each group (free membership).

Others / Yet to be categorized

Other IBM Mainframes (IBM 1401, 1620, 7090/7094, System 3)

Although the original intention of this list was to focus on the IBM System/360 and its descendants, RattyDAVE reminded me of SimH, which emulates some of IBM's other mainframes, so I am including a section for those machines on this list as well.

Emulators

  • SimH (github) SimH (History Simulator) is a collection of simulators for historically significant or just plain interesting computer hardware and software from the past. It emulates IBM 1401, 1620, 7090/7094, System 3, as well as many other historical computers.
  • IBM 1401 EMULATOR IN BAL 360 ASSEMBLY - An emulator for the IBM 1401 computer, written in BAL360 - intended to work on MVS 3.8

Software

  • SimH Software Kits - Various historical operating systems and software to run on your SimH emulated systems.