You can run IBM old OS/360 and many other mainframe OSes using hercules-390 [1], which emulates old and new mainframe architectures and has an active community [2].<p>[1] <a href="http://www.hercules-390.eu" rel="nofollow">http://www.hercules-390.eu</a><p>[2] <a href="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bercules-390" rel="nofollow">http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bercules-390</a>
> It's surprisingly easy to cross the border of native z/OS and the USS border. In fact, there's no border there at all. z/OS is one operating system with two different interfaces. So apart from normal problems and hiccups, you'll probably find that the biggest problem accessing the various services will be getting used to the difference in vocabulary between USS and native z/OS.<p><a href="http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/aix/library/au-bordercrossing/" rel="nofollow">http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/aix/library/au-bordercross...</a>
> Part of the reason I took the job ... because I have a fascination with older computer technology.<p>I was also thinking about going the mainframe route, also because general impression is that the mainframe developer earns big bucks. However, when I started exploring the job offers I was surprised that salaries were not that high at all.<p>So why is that impression still around, and do mainframe developers really earn significantly more money than a full stack enterprise web developer?
The more i learn about mainframes (and minicomputers) the more i feel that the PC world is basically rediscovering old ideas as ICs become ever more potent.
Speaking of mainframes, my favorite talk on hacking IBM mainframes:<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xfl4spvM5DI" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xfl4spvM5DI</a>
By the way, z/OS is not the only way to run IBM mainframes.
There's TPF (Transaction Processing Facility) "because a real operating system is too high level and therefore too slow for real transaction processing needs".
Current users of TPF include Sabre, VISA, American Airlines, American Express, HP SHARES (formerly EDS), Holiday Inn, Alitalia, KLM, Amtrak, Marriott International, Travelport, Citibank, Citifinancial, Air Canada, Delta Air Lines, Japan Airlines and many others.
What exactly is a "mainframe" in a modern sense? I thought it exclusively referred to old-fashioned big iron. Is it a cluster? Or are we actually talking about quarter-century-old monoliths running ancient, indispensable code?
Curious about his point about virtualisation; sure you can't run a VM locally but those mainframe OSs have had excellent support for VMs since the 1960s and are still in many ways far ahead of more mainstream hypervisors.
And has a Golang Port !!!<p>"Building Go for Linux on z System"<p><a href="https://github.com/linux-on-ibm-z/docs/wiki/Building-Go" rel="nofollow">https://github.com/linux-on-ibm-z/docs/wiki/Building-Go</a>