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MVS TSO, Part 1: Concepts and ISPF

by Doug Lowe
8 chapters, 467 pages, 239 illustrations
Published 1991, new cover design in 2002
ISBN 978-0-911625-56-1
Print: $42.50

On an IBM mainframe running any MVS-related operating system (the current release is z/OS), you use TSO/ISPF to do everyday tasks of program development, like editing source programs, compiling and running them, displaying file contents, and much more. This is our classic book on the subject that was published in 1991.

Today, it doesn't make sense to update a book like this because the mainframe book market has become so small. But if you're working on a mainframe, most of the information in this book is still useful. One reason is that IBM has always prided itself on the upward-compatibility of its software.

Incidentally, this book was published before we converted to our "paired pages" format. This was still the best-selling book on the subject, though, because there has always been a lot more to our books than our paired pages...like clear, concise writing, practical examples, and the right content presented in the right order for effective training and reference.

I really enjoyed attending the ‘TSO/ISPF for Non-Programmers’ class, and your textbook made my understanding of what I was to learn almost like ABC’s. I have never read a textbook that explained everything so well.”

E. H., Data Processor, Chattanooga, Tennessee

  • About this Book
  • Table of Contents
  • Reviews

Who this book is for

Although this book was written when MVS was the primary operating system on large IBM mainframes, it still works for anyone who's developing programs under any MVS successor (the current one is z/OS). That includes beginning and experienced programmers, application and systems programmers, and computer operators.

This book is especially for those who are new to the operating system and ISPF. But we've found that even experienced ISPF users are surprised at how many time-saving tips they pick up from this book:

"MVS TSO, Part 1 is a good learning tool. Even though I've been an ISPF user for 10 years, there are many new techniques I will now try."
- C. N., Sr. Programmer/Analyst, Simi Valley, California

What you’ll learn in this book

Chapter 1 introduces you to the operating system and shows you how TSO/ISPF ties in so you’ll understand how to use ISPF to control the operating system functions.

The remaining 7 chapters teach you how to use ISPF for everyday programming tasks: editing source programs; compiling, link-editing, and executing programs; displaying file contents; creating, copying, and deleting data sets; managing program libraries; and much more.

Although these ISPF tasks are tough to figure out on your own, you’ll master them easily with this book. You’ll also find that you can do some tasks in more than one way. So this book does more than teach you how to use the ISPF options—it also tells you what options do similar things, which ones are the most useful, and when and why you would use each one.

Companion books

MVS TSO, Part 2: Commands, CLIST, and REXX

This is the second book in our classic two-book series on TSO. It teaches ISPF users how to go a level deeper and use TSO commands directly for program-development tasks. Then, it teaches how to combine those commands into time-saving CLIST or REXX procedures.

Murach’s OS/390 and z/OS JCL

This book shows you how to use Job Control Language (JCL) to compile and execute your programs. Since several ISPF options rely on JCL, you won’t last long in an IBM environment without knowing how to use it.

To view the table of contents for this book in a PDF, just click on the link below:

Table of Contents

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