Discussion:
DEBE?
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l***@gmail.com
2015-04-15 21:34:45 UTC
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The original DEBE program was written before S/360 had dasd. There was no OS or DOS. There was BAL or Basic Assembler Language and it's card based compiler. DEBE resided on a ¾ in tape spool and had to be mounted on a tape drive to be IPL'd.
It was not a program that accommodated adding functions.
It was developed by me at the Chicago Datacenter 1964-65 timeframe. I understood programming and was very good at debugging our customers' programs as it was part of my job. Any programmer looking at the original DEBE source code would agree that I was not a programmer.
When the first 360's came to the datacenter the only utility programs to help the developers were the Card and Tape Utilities, an IBM Type I program. They had a lot of flexibility but required punching up some control cards to function. And, the control cards had to be tested to make sure they did job.
In the testing environment at the Datacenter and in the customers' home shops there was a need for a set of simple utilities. DEBE provided those utilities.
It was extremely easy to use when compared to the alternatives at that time.
After IPLing DEBE from tape the console would type ENT PROGID for the user to enter a simple 2-3 letter code. The codes were simple to remember. CC was card to card, TP was tape to printer, TT was tape to tape, TD (as I remember) was a hex print of tape's contents.
The commands were followed by requests for tape addresses and format.
There was no formatting of input or output.
Crude? Yes! Useful? In a great majority of IBM 360 installations you would likely see a DEBE tape hung on tape drive or lying about near by for quick access.
After the Tape DEBE someone came along and put together a DOSDEBE and someone else came up with an OS DEBE. I am very sure they didn't look at my code. I never used one of these but I'm assuming they had a lot of function and probably some formatting enhancements.
These programs were written by individuals, not development teams. Including DEBE in their names I take as a compliment.
Lowell DeFrance
Richard Fink
2023-11-05 20:36:45 UTC
Permalink
The original DEBE program was written before S/360 had dasd. There was no OS or DOS. There was BAL or Basic Assembler Language and it's card based compiler. DEBE resided on a ¾ in tape spool and had to be mounted on a tape drive to be IPL'd.
It was not a program that accommodated adding functions.
It was developed by me at the Chicago Datacenter 1964-65 timeframe. I understood programming and was very good at debugging our customers' programs as it was part of my job. Any programmer looking at the original DEBE source code would agree that I was not a programmer.
When the first 360's came to the datacenter the only utility programs to help the developers were the Card and Tape Utilities, an IBM Type I program. They had a lot of flexibility but required punching up some control cards to function. And, the control cards had to be tested to make sure they did job.
In the testing environment at the Datacenter and in the customers' home shops there was a need for a set of simple utilities. DEBE provided those utilities.
It was extremely easy to use when compared to the alternatives at that time.
After IPLing DEBE from tape the console would type ENT PROGID for the user to enter a simple 2-3 letter code. The codes were simple to remember. CC was card to card, TP was tape to printer, TT was tape to tape, TD (as I remember) was a hex print of tape's contents.
The commands were followed by requests for tape addresses and format.
There was no formatting of input or output.
Crude? Yes! Useful? In a great majority of IBM 360 installations you would likely see a DEBE tape hung on tape drive or lying about near by for quick access.
After the Tape DEBE someone came along and put together a DOSDEBE and someone else came up with an OS DEBE. I am very sure they didn't look at my code. I never used one of these but I'm assuming they had a lot of function and probably some formatting enhancements.
These programs were written by individuals, not development teams. Including DEBE in their names I take as a compliment.
Lowell DeFrance
Lowell, what a dang privilege to be able to thank you personally for your early utility!
My 2 copies were, I believe, from your original work. They surely did have to be IPL'd as a standalone utility. I spent many years on s/360's in the USA and /370's in the USA and Kenya. Your DEBE tape was always with me and never failed me. How amazing that at this late year in my life I have the opportunity to acknowledge you! Sir, from a million years ago... Thank You!
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