Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Getting an IBM AS/400 Midrange Computer on the Internet

justanotherelectronicsblog.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

31–40 of 41 posts

Re: Getting an IBM AS/400 Midrange Computer on the Internet

#31

Post by cyberferret »

I recall helping IBM to implement an AS/400 system in a local government department here back in the mid 80's. I cannot remember the exact model, but it was definitely a lot larger than the one in the article. Basically the size of two filing cabinets placed front to back. And beige, not black, which would have been way cooler.

I wasn't in charge of the software on that - mainly just helped with hooking it up to the local (Token Ring, IIRC) network in the building. I did however look after the backups on a VAX PDP/8 on another floor in the same building! :)

Re: Getting an IBM AS/400 Midrange Computer on the Internet

#32

Post by ianai »

ludwigvan wrote: post #30

I recently wrote an article about how storing code in plain text files is a local maximum we need to overcome as the software industry. The db based file system in OS400 fascinates me, though I have little experience with it. https://medium.com/@ustunozgur/the-nosql-database-every-soft...

I’m thinking git was a response to this concern. Maybe adding some features to git may answer your local maximum criticism.

Re: Getting an IBM AS/400 Midrange Computer on the Internet

#33

Post by ianai »

bluedino wrote: post #15

>> Well, run businesses mostly. There are no games, no leisure programs, only business. Just how IBM likes it I guess. Oh, there are games! http://www.jcrcmds.com/jcrgames2.html Battleship, blackjack, minesweeper, video poker... That site has a bunch of useful stuff on it, actually. Zend also has PHP which you can install. And IBM has WebSphere which is based on an ancient version of Apache, you can actually serve we…

Oh, those games are a good “hit” of AS400! It feels so nerdy to imagine a game on an AS400, but also not because it’s still AS400

Re: Getting an IBM AS/400 Midrange Computer on the Internet

#34

Post by ianai »

anyfoo wrote: post #3

Awesome. I've been wanting to get an AS/400 for quite a while, but every time I look they cost much more than I would spend for that side hobby. Plus, a lot of them seem very clunky (more so if you're willing to spend less, it seems), and then it wasn't always entirely clear to me whether I'd separately need to buy licenses. AS/400 (or iSeries now) is so very different, but with many interesting concepts that did not…

Addressing both ram and storage is definitely “early”, future tech. We’ll definitely get there someday. Once SSDs close the gap.

Re: Getting an IBM AS/400 Midrange Computer on the Internet

#35

Post by rbg246 »

ak39 wrote: post #27

I began my programming career in 1997 with the IBM AS/400 and a Windows version of a 5250 terminal emulator. Setting up an intelligent colour scheme was considered a talking point at water towers. COBOL and RPG were the only two business compilers on it and DB/2 was stock. DB/2 kicked ass as it was one of the few RDBMSs at that time to allow new generation heretics like us to do in-line SQL directly in our COBOL and…

Thank you I really enjoyed reading your comment!

Sounds like quite the programming adventure.

Re: Getting an IBM AS/400 Midrange Computer on the Internet

#36

Post by jzwinck »

tapland wrote: post #26
d4rti wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I found this PDF: https://www.ibm.com/ibm/history/documents/pdf/as400.pdf > 1994 >A new generation of AS/400 computers called the AS/400 >Advanced Series is introduced in >May, including the AS/400 Advanced System, AS/400 Advanced >Server and the AS/400 >Advanced Portable.

Isn't the Advanced Portable just a regular ATX-sized box?

Yes, the AS/400 9401 "Advanced Portable" is the size of a regular desktop PC. Some pictures are here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/31231773@N02/albums/7215762371...

I have one. Even at the time it was considered a toy, too small to do anything serious. Another 9401 model called "Advanced Entry" was significantly more capable, and was the smallest anyone would actually buy. Documentation (last updated in 2013, about 20 years after the machine was current): http://www-01.ibm.com/common/ssi/printableversion.wss?docURL...

The portable was more of a sales and training tool, with a base 8 MB of RAM (maximum 16 MB in 1994, 56 MB in 1995) and billed as a single-user machine: https://www-01.ibm.com/common/ssi/cgi-bin/ssialias?appname=s...

IBM also claimed the portable could be used for "low cost kiosks." The starting price adjusted for inflation to 2019 was over $12k.

Re: Getting an IBM AS/400 Midrange Computer on the Internet

#37

Post by kitd »

helloworld wrote: post #12

OS/400 -- now called IBM i -- sounds like it was ahead of its time: IBM designed IBM i as a "turnkey" operating system, requiring little or no on-site attention from IT staff during normal operation. For example, IBM i has a built-in DB2 database which does not require separate installation. Disks are multiply redundant, and can be replaced on line without interrupting work. System administration has been wizard-driv…

You forgot the on/off switch - designed to be used only twice.

Re: Getting an IBM AS/400 Midrange Computer on the Internet

#38

Post by icedchai »

My uncle's company used to have a System/36, predecessor to the AS/400. It was the size of a large refrigerator turned on its side. I think it had 256K (yes, K) of RAM and 200 megabytes of HD. It had roughly 12 terminals and a couple of huge line printers. Interesting stuff.

In the 90's, they replaced it with a bunch of networked PC's.

Re: Getting an IBM AS/400 Midrange Computer on the Internet

#39

Post by ASalazarMX »

Moru wrote: post #11
ASalazarMX wrote: post #5

> There are no games, no leisure programs, only business. Back in the late 90s, for some reason I had to attend work the last week of the year. There was barely anything to do, so I entertained myself doing an AS/400 Reversi game. It had a rudimentary AI inspired by the way the CPU played the same game on my cheap Ericsson phone: most squares had a value (3 for corners, 2 for notable squares and 1 for everything else…

Everyone here were using their PC with terminal emulators so no need for gaming on the AS/400 :-)

Pragmatically, yes, but where's the challenge in that?

Re: Getting an IBM AS/400 Midrange Computer on the Internet

#40

Post by p_l »

ludwigvan wrote: post #30

I recently wrote an article about how storing code in plain text files is a local maximum we need to overcome as the software industry. The db based file system in OS400 fascinates me, though I have little experience with it. https://medium.com/@ustunozgur/the-nosql-database-every-soft...

Have you looked at how Smalltalk and late Xerox Interlisp/Xerox Common Lisp machines managed that?

I haven't worked with specifics of storage in Smalltalk environments, but Xerox Interlisp didn't use text at all, nor files IIRC

Post reply on HN