Re: No DBAs needed on AS400

Can't help you there.

The AS/400 evolved from the S/34, S/36, and S/38 line of IBM machines. My 77-yr-old stepfather (at the time, 62-yrs-old) bought a S/38 for his trucking company in NJ, complete with payroll, GL, AR, AP, etc software. He didn't have an IT department, needless to say. They just wheeled the machine in, the IBM guy set it up, then he (my stepfather) watched the IBM guy run everything for 2-3 days, then he picked up the manual (he wasn't even a mechanic, just a driver who built a company) and ran the system for years until he sold the company and retired. Did backups and everything. Had his drivers deliver the tapes in a firebox to his two other truck terminals. He is always a little amused that I can make a full-time living on computers...

It's not hyperbole -- it's fact. IBM built some sweet machines for years, and the AS/400 is not only easy to operate but also the fastest commercial machine on the planet to this day. I've always suspected that was one reason why Oracle never bothered to port to AS/400, because DB2/400 was waiting there to slap them silly...

Fatal flaw: they don't talk to non-AS/400s or non-mainframes easily. Hence "open systems". It's an old story. Remeber: technical merit doesn't always win the day. After all, just compare the relative fortunes of DEC (or IBM) against Microsoft.

If your new director is determined to go the AS/400 route (which includes isolating your company from just about everything except what runs on AS/400 and IBM mainframes), then you'd better brush up on your resume...

Sorry...

• Original Message ----- To: "Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L" <ORACLE-L_at_fatcity.com> Sent: Thursday, April 11, 2002 7:54 AM

We are going through a merger, and management is looking to eliminate positions. Here is a brief summary of my discussion with the new director of IT:

Director: "Back when I we were using an AS400, we didn't need a DBA." Me: "Then you probably were just using files." Director: "No, it was a database."
Me: "Could you issue SQL commands?"
Director: "Yes. But we didn't need a DBA. I guess it was just one of those mysteries of life."

My thoughts are that he is using the term "database" in the generic sense of the word (our "files" are our database), or he was using some proprietary database that doesn't even begin to compare to Oracle.

For those of you who know AS400s, I would appreciate some insight that would demonstrate why he needs to keep me as a DBA.

Thanks,
Jay

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