CMS - Conversational Monitor System

Key Characteristics

• • Single-User Environment: Each CMS instance runs within a dedicated virtual machine, providing a private and isolated workspace for a single user, distinct from multi-user operating systems like z/OS.
  • Interactive Command Line: Features a powerful command-line interface (CLI) for executing commands, utilities, and user programs, making it highly suitable for interactive development and testing.
  • Virtual Machine Integration: Operates directly on a virtual machine provided by the VM Control Program (CP), leveraging virtualized hardware resources like CPU, memory, and I/O devices.
  • Minidisk File System: Utilizes minidisks, which are logical subdivisions of real disk volumes, to store user files and system software, offering a flexible and isolated file management system.
  • Scripting Language Support: Fully supports REXX (Restructured Extended Executor) and EXEC 2 as powerful scripting languages for automation, command procedures, and application development within the CMS environment.
  • Program Development: Provides compilers and tools for various languages, including COBOL, FORTRAN, PL/I, and C, enabling application development directly within the interactive environment.

Use Cases

• • Interactive Application Development: Developers use CMS for writing, compiling, testing, and debugging programs interactively, benefiting from immediate feedback and a responsive environment before deployment to production z/OS systems.
  • Text Editing and Document Preparation: Its powerful full-screen editor (XEDIT) is widely used for creating and modifying source code, JCL, documentation, and other text files.
  • REXX Scripting and Automation: System programmers and users leverage REXX to automate repetitive tasks, create custom utilities, and build complex command procedures to manage their virtual machine.
  • Personal Productivity and Data Analysis: Users can run various applications for data manipulation, statistical analysis, and personal computing tasks within their isolated CMS environment.
  • System Administration Tasks: While CP manages the overall VM system, CMS can be used by system administrators within their virtual machines to run utilities, monitor resources, and manage their own minidisks.

Related Concepts