I've thought about this question ("can JCL be considered a programming
language?") for some years. I usually include it in my list of languages, but
I almost always add "sort of". Still, during my most recent job interview, my
potential boss definitely agreed with me: It counts.
So did it count only after it had IF statements? But no, the COND parm
qualifies as a sort of IF, doesn't it?
JCL is very much like PC-DOS' batch language, which originally was just a
scripting tool ("run this program, now run this program..."); I think we mostly
call .bat a "language" too. Not sure what if anything that proves.
---
Bob Bridges, robhbrid...@gmail.com, cell 336 382-7313
/* ....The Christian is in a different position from other people who are
trying to be good. They hope, by being good, to please God if there is one, or
— if they think there is not — at least they hope to deserve approval from good
men. But the Christian....does not think God will love us because we are good,
but that God will make us good because He loves us.... -from _What Christians
Believe_ by C S Lewis */
-----Original Message-----
From: IBM Mainframe Discussion List <IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU> On Behalf Of
Phil Smith III
Sent: Sunday, November 10, 2024 19:16
First, I'm not disagreeing with you here. But this does make me wonder one more
time, as I have in the past: "Just what IS required for something to be a
'programming language'"?
Does it have to have loops? Variables? A compiler (I'd say "no, or various
scripting languages might not qualify", and I don't think anyone would buy
that)? Does HTML qualify? It has the L-word but that doesn't prove anything.
Etc. I know people who think JCL does count. Can we prove them right or wrong
by some objective definition?
Thoughts?
--- Radoslaw Skorupka wrote, in part:
>JCL is *not* a programming language.
>JCL "piece of code" is called job, not program.
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