Java for S/390 and AS/400 COBOL Programmers

Written by mainframe and midrange professionals George Farr and Phil Coulthard, ava for S/390 and AS/400 COBOL Programmers is designed to help COBOL programmers make the jump to Java. It teaches COBOL programmers how to read and write Java programs and helps them understand the concepts necessary to continue to improve their Java skills.

Rather than serve merely as an overview, Java for S/390 and AS/400 COBOL Programmers is a massive work of more than 900 pages that addresses Java's syntax and much of the Java Development Kit's (JDK's) functionality through comparisons with COBOL. It also introduces applets, Java Native Interface (JNI), Remote Method Invocation (RMI), serialization, JavaBeans, Enterprise JavaBeans, servlets, JavaServer Pages, and even Extensible Markup Language (XML). Because VisualAge for Java (VAJ) is by far the most widely used Java tool among AS/400 and S/390 programmers, the book also includes an introduction to VAJ with both AS/400 and S/390 details. The book contains separate appendices, geared explicitly to OS/400 and OS/390 readers, with platform-specific information.

Many analysts are predicting that Java will overtake COBOL's commanding lead as the language of choice for business applications running on mainframe and midrange computers. This leaves COBOL programmers with a huge problem. They do not know Java, nor do they understand object-oriented concepts. They have never seen a function, let alone free-form C-style syntax, classes, objects, or methods. Although there are hundreds of books about Java on the market, they all assume C, C++, or Visual Basic knowledge. It can be a humbling, daunting, and frustrating experience for a COBOL professional to try to learn Java without the proper prerequisite knowledge. This book will make learning Java as comfortable as possible.

Included with the book is a CD-ROM containing IBM's VisualAge for Java, Enterprise Edition for Windows 95, Windows 98, and Windows NT, Version 3.0

Upon completion of this book, you will be able to:
   • Read any Java program
   • Write, compile, and run Java programs
   • Deploy Java programs on the AS/400 and S/390
   • Understand the basics of Java applications, applets, JavaBeans, servlets, and server pages
   • Understand options for accessing existing programs, data, and transactions on AS/400 and S/390
   • Know where to go to get additional information



Phil Coulthard is the lead architect for AS/400 application development projects at the IBM Toronto Laboratory. He has worked as a developer, team leader, manager, and general advocate of AS/400 application developments since 1986.

George N. Farr is IBM's technical development manager for RPG IV as well as VisualAge for RPG products. He has held the position of developer, team leader, and development manager and has been an AS/400 planner and architect since 1985.

More About the Authors:

George Farr
Phil Coulthard