mainframes

By bringing together into one very readable location all the disparate topics needed by MVS systems programmers, Dave Elder-Vass, has done a great service not just to beginning systems programmers but even to experienced people. As with any large body of knowledge, people tend to specialize and often are not equally adept in all areas of MVS. This book addresses enough of each area to assist all programmers with MVS. One problem with technical documentation is that by design, it focuses narrowly on the topic at hand. This book resolves that problem by presenting the design philosophy of each topic and moves in a naturally progressive way from each area to the next, from hardware to MVS internals, to software (both maintenance i.e., SMP/E, and Utilities) to MVS initialization, to JES, networking, and to I/O devices and their management. Each of the 19 chapters presents both the goals of the topic and technical discourse on achieving those goals. When you consider that many books have been written on each chapter alone, you begin to develop an appreciation for the enormous scope of what has been accomplished. (Indeed, at the end of each chapter is a list of many technical references devoted to that chapter's topic). An excellent and indispensable book, this one belongs in every system programmer's library.