…installing a “Transaction Monitor” When I first heard someone talking about COBOL online programs, they always used the term “transaction monitor” and CICS. As a Java developer, I wondered why monitoring a database transaction is so important for developing the 3270-Screens. As I learned now, I couldn’t be more wrong! In “Jurassic Park” a “monitor” is neither a device to show some UI on a screen nor a program that…

… when two worlds come together Hercules is actively developed under the project Hercules Hyperion, and the current release, 4.5 is available on GitHub. I tried to compile it on my macOS but had some trouble with the software not being available, so I decided to give Docker a chance and carry this cute little Dinosaur. And it was actually relatively easy. (Attention: This approach is only tested on x86…

The easy part… installing and starting HERCULES today (2023) really is no problem at all. It can run on any commonly used OS like Windows, macOS, and Linux. I chose my old Raspberry Pi 3B as my mainframe platform. And it does the job quite well for one user. So, how is it going: My first try was running Raspberry Pi OS 64-bit and downloading the tk4-current.zip distribution. You can…

… welcome to Jurassic Parc. The world of the Dinosaurs. I’ve been a Java programmer since my very first days as a professional software engineer. Before that, I started programming with BASIC and Assembler on a Commodore +4. During my studies, is programmed C on an ATARI-ST or Solaris Workstations. My first job was in the military domain, where I helped create a RADAR system’s firmware. So, I really never…