Anyone here familiar with IBM mainframe programming?

[DeafMetal]

In particular, z/Architecture.

 

Basically, I have to take a course on Assembly soon, and the school will not let me take it with too many other classes because it's supposed to be hard, which means that they want to extend my graduation period again. So, I'm working on doing the first half of the coursework for the class on my own and basically telling them to go f*ck themselves and let me graduate when I want to.

 

So far, so good, I got two out of eight assignments done. HOWEVER, it's much harder than it needs to be since the internet is almost no help and the notes available to me are vague. I do have a friend who is helping me by giving brief tutoring sessions, but unfortunately, there are circumstances that make it difficult for me to achieve my goal within the time frame I desire.

 

Soooo, basically anyone here familiar with the topic who can possibly serve as a reference for me when I get stuck somewhere?

 

/lifestory

[K^2]

Are your problems with actual z-specific stuff, or general Assembly? Because it's going to be way easier to find good resources on x86 and x86-64 Assembly. And most of the concepts are going to be identical across architectures. You can also build and test the x86 code on your own machine and get better help with debugging it.

 

Of course, you'll need to know nuances of z/Architecture as well, and there are quite a few, but if you understand how machines are programmed in general, you should have no trouble learning the specifics.

 

And what are you using to compile and run the z/Architecture code?

[DeafMetal]

Thank you for responding.

 

Unfortunately, they run a VERY bad Computer Science program in my school, and one of the symptoms of this is that they're very vague and unspecific about the details of what we're working with. They do not explicitly tell the students what they will be doing from what I have gathered by speaking with my friend who is currently taking the course. And, since I am brand new to mainframe programming and not actually taking the class, I wouldn't be able to deduct it, apart from the z/Architecture in one of the recommended readings.

 

If you're interested in possibly lending a hand, let me know by responding again, and I'll PM you the course website.

 

Here's the implicit version of the first program in the course, not sure if that can be of any help in regards to your questions:

* TEST IMPLICIT ASSIGNMENT 1* ADD GOALS + ASSISTS INTO POINTS, XDUMP REGISTERS, STORAGEUSING MAIN, R15*********************************************************************L      R1,GOALS        LOAD REGISTER 1 WITH GOALSL      R2,ASSISTS      LOAD REGISTER 2 WITH ASSISTS AR     R1,R2           STORE THE ADDITION OF R1 AND R2 INTO R1ST     R1,POINTS       STORE POINTS INTO REGISTER 1XDUMP                  XDUMP REGISTERSXDUMP  GOALS, 12       XDUMP GOALS, ASSISTS, POINTSBR R14*********************************************************************GOALS   DC f'172'      SET GOALS TO 172ASSISTS DC f'308'      SET ASSISTS TO 308POINTS  DC f'0'        INITIALIZE POINTS TO NULL

Edit: Just saw your last question... I'm on zombie mode 24/7, sorry. I haven't found a compiler yet due to how vague everything is, but my friend is asking around for possible third-party compilers since the one the school provides requires the student to take the course.

Edited April 11, 2014 by DeafMetal

[K^2]

Whoever came up with that particular brand of Assembly should be dragged behind some wild raptors. Standard mnemonics exist for a reason. But otherwise, it's fairly straight forward.

 

I don't know how much help I can actually be, mainly due to time restrictions, but if you get stuck on anything, feel free to PM me. I can't guarantee that I'll be able to reply to everything, but if I'll have time, I'll help out with what I can. If the course web-site has more sample code, feel free to link me, I'll take a look at it.

[DeafMetal]

Appreciate it. I'll PM you the website in a few minutes.