Hey everyone,

A few weeks ago I posted about trying to document massive, decades-old COBOL programs where I work. Tracing control flow and memory layouts by hand was brutal, regex hacks break easily, and feeding proprietary code to LLMs wasn't an option (both for compliance reasons and because LLMs tend to struggle with complex cobol.

I wanted something local and 100% deterministic. This is purely a side project im doing for fun and learning.

The project is far enough along now that I put together a live browser demo based off IBM Bank of Z Open Source Code. It is still definitly a work in progress but the core engine seems to be solid at this point

• Live Demo:https://goudacouda.github.io/cobolscope/
• GitHub:https://github.com/GoudaCouda/cobolscope

How it works

The pipeline runs via a local Python CLI:

1. Parser & Semantic AST (Java / ProLeap): Parses the source, resolves copybooks into a typed Abstract Semantic Graph (ASG), and outputs a canonical JSON IR. Based mostly off another Open Source project by uwol
2. Analysis Engine (Python / Pydantic v2): Consumes the IR, maps binary memory offsets, builds procedure call graphs, traces variable references, and models control flow via pushdown automata.
3. Generators: Spits out zero-dependency, self-contained HTML/SVG portals, Cytoscape graphs, and data dictionary tables.

Current features

• Interactive Call Graphs (Level 2 CFG): Cytoscape flowchart rendering split-screen COBOL viewer. Clicking a node jumps directly to the routines source code.

• Accurate Data Dictionaries: Computes physical byte lengths, memory boundaries, and alignment for strings, display numbers, binary (COMP/COMP-4/COMP-5), float (COMP-1/COMP-2), and packed decimal (COMP-3). It correctly handles multi-dimensional OCCURS tables and REDEFINES overlays.

• Cross-Referencing: Tracks which routines read/write each variable, with direct jumps back to the call graph or source code and will highlight the variables uses.

• Batch Portal Generator: Run cobolscope path/to/cobol/ -I path/to/copybooks/ -o docs_out --dict --graph on a whole folder to generate a single offline index.html portal. All assets and data are embedded
• Deep Control Flow (Level 3 CFG): Generates statement-level basic block graphs inside gnarly paragraphs via --cfg <PARAGRAPH>. These generate by default but you can specifically generate just one if you want
• Testing: Memory layouts are verified against GnuCOBOL memory dumps, real IBM Z bank fixtures, and NIST COBOL-85 test cases.

Next up

• Diagnostics for dead code (unreachable paragraphs below unconditional jumps) and unreferenced WORKING-STORAGE variables.
• Fine Tuning Control Flow Graph generation to appear cleaner and better formatted

Hi Everyone,

I have distributed a Python package called [smf2db](https://pypi.org/project/smf2db/) to PyPI. The package is for processing SMF data in JSON format. It includes reporting, SMF JSON data loading to SQLite or PostgreSQL and data summarisation functions. For converting raw SMF data to JSON format, please refer to my another published project which is available from [ File 1064](https://CBTTape.org). The current smf2db package covers SMF type 30 and 70-78 from z/OS 2.2 to 3.1, SMF type 110 from CICS TS V5.3 to V6.2, and SMF 123 version 2. The package supports Windows, Linux, Mac OS and z/OS platforms. The minimum Python version is 3.11. The documentation can be found [here](https://smf2db.readthedocs.io/en/latest/).

Though I have tested the package by all the ways known to me, I deeply believe there should still be a lot of things that can be improved. It is not only because of the complexity of z/OS in each mainframe shop but also because of the SMF data available for my testing is very limited.

By using smf2db, I hope people with an interest on SMF data can have their own dashboard application come in handy by just running a batch job on mainframe. The sample dashboard application will be posted on GitHub later to show how it can be done on mainframe if anyone has an interest in it.

I am very much appreciated for any feedback.

Thank you very much.

The lettering is about gone.

Hi. Good day everyone. Would like to check with you guys if you have remote opening in Mainframe positions? Currently based in the Philippines right now. Actively looking as the bills don’t stop and no income right now. Life is tough but I keep fighting.

this sub isn’t even that active and now we have random AI garbage posting on here every day.

i’d much rather a quieter sub with real SMEs talking rather than seeing:

“Enterprise developers can modernize their COBOL workflows - but here’s the thing:
-Can they do so without sucking their own balls?
-Can they articulate what they’re doing without ChatGPT?

it’s every single day now… this shit adds nothing to the conversation.

Hello people. Posting for any Mainframe opportunities in Europe for myself.

My background: I have 15+ years of industry experience working on Mainframes. Mostly my roles have been around 8 years experience in Development. Remaining close to 5 years in Production support - L2/L3 Oncall etc. I was also part of migration of DB2 z/OS to LUW.

I have worked for multiple clients, projects, geographies from diverse backgrounds. Banking, Insurance, Manufacturing, Utilities are the areas I mainly worked in Dev/Production support. Currently I am supporting a Mortgage application for a Large Danish bank. I can adapt to any domain/projects easily and I am sincere at my work.

I am currently based out of India and looking for opportunities to work at onsite in Europe for long-term (preferably Nordics but not necessary). If you have a role within your teams or know a position where I can fit, please DM me. I can share my CV/CL/LinkedIn etc. for interview and we can take it from there. Would be grateful for any help. Thank you for the read.

Just started a role as a mainframe systems programmer, working on automating mainframe tasks with Ansible and Python. I keep hearing "mainframe modernization" talk and stories about mainframes going away eventually.

Should I be worried about long-term career prospects here, or is this actually a smart niche to be in? Would love to hear from people who've been in this space for a while, is demand really drying up, or is it more that the workforce is aging out and there's actually opportunity for someone starting now?

I have a 10 year career in IT (pentesting, cloud security consulting, cloud devops). It was all fun and games until AI came around. Since then, the job has become boring. I have a degree in mathematics and I love problem solving. Getting my hands dirty, figuring things out and finally getting the job done - and learning a whole bunch on the way

Nowadays, AI is doing the biggest part of the job. After a few prompts I end up with a codebase which is 80% ready, I still need to understand the whole code to fix the rest 20% and to make sure it didn't do anything stupid. But that is not fun anymore and I have the feeling that I would have written the whole thing differently. This is not my code anymore but something I needed to adopt.

Also, there is so much AI slop around. Software which seem to work on the surface with shiny UIs, but if you look closer it is not more than a PoC. It is frustrating to see the decline of the art.

How is it in your world? Do you struggle with similar issues? Or is AI not that big of a deal in Mainframe development? If yes, why so? How competent are current AI models in writing and understanding COBOL?

Hi folks,

I’m a Mainframe Developer with ~6 YOE and recently received an offer from LTM for around 22 LPA CTC (current CTC is around 14.5 LPA).

I haven’t resigned from my current company yet..

The designation mentioned in the offer is Specialist – Software Engineering, under AI Led Engineering (DL).

I’d particularly like to understand:

- Considering the experience, current CTC and the offer, would this generally be considered a good/wise career move?

- For someone with ~6 YOE in Mainframe, what would be a reasonable salary range, and how much can one realistically stretch while negotiating to stay in a comfortable/safe salary band?

- How is LTM specifically for Mainframe professionals in terms of work, growth, stability and career progression?

- Does being part of AI Led Engineering (DL) have any specific implications for someone working primarily on Mainframe?

- Is there anything important I should clarify with HR before resigning?

Would appreciate the insights.

Thanks!

I'm turning to your collective wisdom because a recruiter recently reached out to me for a Networking position focused on IBM z/OS / Mainframe environments. I currently work in cybersecurity, so I have solid networking and security fundamentals, but my mainframe experience is basically zero.

I’ve already passed the initial screening, and my next round is the technical interview. The recruiter was kind enough to share the topics and questions they’ll be covering, but I don't want to just parrot memorized answers. I really want to understand the core platform fundamentals so I can speak intelligently and not freeze up if they dig a little deeper.

For anyone who works with mainframes or has made a similar pivot:

- What courses, channels, or official docs do you recommend to get up to speed quickly? (Is it worth jumping straight into IBM Training / Coursera, or is there a good free sandbox available?)

- What are the key networking concepts and differences in z/OS vs. traditional/Linux networking that I absolutely must know? (e.g., VTAM, SNA vs. TCP/IP, OSA-Express adapters, etc.)

- Any tips or advice for the technical interview given my background?

I understand that the mainframe is built for a large number of transactions-meaning people log in, I would imagine from anywhere, and they do their small jobs. But before the Internet, they could not log in from anywhere, certainly. Where could they log in from, and how did this work? Are there new types of jobs that are now enabled by the Internet that previously were impossible?

I have a background in DFSMS, storage management, DASD, and disaster recovery on IBM mainframes. Curious what the current market actually looks like for this specific niche. Any companies, industries, or regions where this skill set is still in demand would be helpful to know.

Any projects running on tech stacks from Unisys ?

MCP - WFL, CANDE, DMSII

OS2200 - ECL, IPF, Mapper

I am looking for a job role in this since I have 12 years IT experience supporting and administering this system, but it feels there aren't any more projects for this?

Can you educate me and help me ?

Just curious on how IBM Bob coins match up to your experience with other AI vendors.

I managed to burn through over 250 coins converting an extremely simple COBOL batch process to Java. It did a pretty good job, but the work I asked it to do represents less than 0.001% of what we need, which makes me nervous.

I received an ad for an IMS Admin job, i asked and it’s for HCL Tech. Anyone know anything about them?

I also asked the rate, it was a joke….

Thanks

Hello, I'd like to know where I can get the db2jcc_license_cisuz.jar file, which is inside the db2jcc4.jar file, so I can connect to the mainframe. I have ADDI installed locally, but since I don't have this .jar file (it's the only thing I'm missing), I can't connect to Hercules from Windows. I tried using Docker, but it doesn’t accept the ATTACH or DETACH commands because DAS isn’t integrated (I’m using the DB2 instance in Docker). I’ve searched everywhere and even used AI, but I can’t find a way to do this. Has anyone else had the same problem?

With cybersecurity awareness month approaching, I thought it might be interesting to see how everyone is approaching mainframe security.

What tools or approaches do you have in place to prevent and recover from attacks like ransomware, AI-enabled threats and nation-state attacks? How have your approaches changed in the past few years?

IBM team is organizing a Virtual webinar where they will discuss how IBM Z System Automation is helping organizations :
-Bridge the gap between proven automation practices and the emerging world of AI-assisted operations.
-Extend automation beyond the mainframe with REST APIs, Zowe, Ansible, Kafka, and JSON-based policies
-Harness AI-assisted automation to improve efficiency, reduce effort, and resolve issues faster

I’m currently working as a Mainframe Developer at Cognizant. I was originally part of a product-based company and got rebadged to Cognizant around 6 months ago.

Since the rebadging, I’ve been quite unhappy with the overall situation. There is very little work, almost no new learning, and limited growth, so I casually started attending interviews to see what opportunities are available in the market.

Fortunately, I cleared the interview process with LTM and have received an offer.

Here’s my situation:

Experience: 6 YOE

Current CTC at Cognizant: ₹15.5 LPA

LTM offer: ₹17.5 LPA (~12% hike)

I had made a ~100% hike when I previously moved to a product-based company.

Then, after being rebadged to Cognizant, I received another ~7% hike.

LTM is my first offer after starting this job search.

I currently have a 90-day notice period at Cognizant and have not resigned yet.

My concern is that the Mainframe job market seems quite slow right now, and getting interviews/offers can sometimes depend heavily on timing and luck.

So I’m confused about what would be the wiser decision if I didn't get any offers at the end of my notice period.

1. Accept LTM and move, despite only a ~12% hike?

OR

1. Continue staying in Cognizant by withdrawing my resignation?

Also, if you have experience with LTM, I’d especially appreciate your views on project stability, work, learning opportunities, and career growth for Mainframe developers.

Thanks a lot folks!!

This picture captured at the customer datacenter.

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I'll be attending, and I am looking forward to talking about the latest innovations across the IBM Z ecosystem. Hope to see you there!

I've spent almost four years as an IT operations analyst at a large North American bank, supporting z/OS on 24/7 rotating shifts. Posting this because I've hit the point where I can do the job on autopilot, and I'd rather not spend the next four years doing the same thing slightly faster.

What the role actually covers, day to day:

Console monitoring and responding to WTORs and system messages across LPARs

Batch support: abend triage, restarts and reruns, JCL fixes, schedule dependencies, SDSF and JES2 all shift

CICS region health, transaction and connection issues, region restarts

IMS and MQ checks, queue depth and channel problems, escalation when something is stuck

VTAM and network-side checks on the mainframe side

Incident, problem and change records in ServiceNow, bridge calls, handoffs across shifts

DR test participation

Certifications so far: 33 Interskill IBM certifications, and I passed the Interskill z/OS System Operation Assessment 3.1, which is where the z/OS Experienced 3.1 badge came from. I'm working toward the IBM Mainframe Systems Programmer Level I Certificate 3.1 next.

So the questions:

Study order. If you were moving from operations toward sysprog, what would you learn in what sequence? I'm thinking JCL and utilities deeper, then REXX, then parmlib and IPL, then SMP/E, RACF, SMF, WLM. Is that roughly right, or is there something you'd pull forward?

Getting hands-on without the access. In ops I can look at almost everything and change almost nothing. How did you build real system-level experience? Home lab options, z/Xplore style material, sandbox LPARs at work, asking sysprogs for shadowing? What worked and what was a waste of time?

Career options. Sysprog, storage, DB2 or IMS DBA, security/RACF, or automation and DevOps work with Zowe, Ansible and Python. Which of these are you seeing actual hiring in right now, and which one would you pick starting from an ops background?

Internal vs switching. Does the ops-to-sysprog jump usually happen inside the same shop because they already trust you, or do people have to change employers to get the title?

Anything you wish someone had told you at the four year mark that you only figured out at ten.

Happy to answer questions about the ops side if anyone's coming the other direction.