Preface

Since approximately 1980, I worked many times with the Interactive System Productivity Facility (ISPF) (a subsystem of z/OS driven by TSO) during my activities as external advisor, programmer and lecturer in the IBM host. As the name already says, this subsystem is designed to help the users in the IBM Mainframe host environment to a higher productivity at their work in IBM z/OS. I can promise you, ISPF fulfils this task very well.

As soon as I was more familiar with ISPF and so had outgrown to the beginners stage, the desire emerged in me to automate and accelerate some recurring operational sequences if possible. I have looked around myself on the book market which book can support me with the realization of the desire on a high level. However, I found no book, which would be suitable.

Since I developed at home and abroad a set of procedures and programs during my lecturer, adviser and programming activities in different enterprises, which brought me often a substantial accelerations of my work in z/OS, I decided to publish my experiences in developing ISPF applications as well as the developed programs in this book. This program collection is SMART ISPF UTILITIES called. The procedures and programs described in this book can be from internet downloaded.

This book will support you to reach your full potential in using ISPF as an application programmer, a system programmer or another z/OS-ISPF user. You will learn how you use the ISPF programming facilities to develop professional ISPF application programs. Additionally you can enhance your programming skills by referencing the programs of SMART ISPF UTILITIES available on internet, in order to become a skillful ISPF application programmer.