Creation date: 12/15/99
Authored by: Karl Ho

Mainframe user Y2K Survival guide

This survival guide provides information for mainframe users to adopt a backup plan in case mainframe applications be interrupted at the Y2K cutover.    It is recommended to backup data and move to other platforms such as UNIX and Windows so data files can be accessed elsewhere than CMS or MVS.  This guide is also designed for SPSS for CMS users, who should move to other versions of the software.   Beginning October 1, 1999, UNT discontinued support of the software due to the fact that the SPSS Inc. stops development of the software and to render it Y2K-compliant.   For more details, please consult the Benchmarks August 1999 article by Dr. Philip Baczewski, Associate Director of Academic
Computing Services. 

How do I know I will be affected?

If you still use SPSS for CMS and you have SPSS system files on CMS, you need to first convert all your files into SPSS portable file format:

GET FILE "FILENAME SPSSFILE A"
EXPORT OUTFILE "FILENAME POR A"

where FILENAME SPSSFILE A is the SPSS system file on your minidisk and FILENAME POR A is the new SPSS portable file.  Note that POR is the conventional filetype for portable files.

If you have all files converted to portable files, you may upload the files to MVS or move the files to other platforms such as Windows or UNIX.

The following are other links that may be useful for mainframe users.

RSS0003. How to upload data to OS/MVS from CMS?
RSS0004. How to create temporary disk space on CMS?
RSS0008. How to create a file on MVS?
RSS0009. How to download files from MVS?
RSS0010. How to send multiple files to other users in CMS?
SAS0001. How to convert a SAS data set from the mainframe to SAS for Windows?

Now, you should be safe and sit back to enjoy the new millennium.   Happy Y2K.

Last updated: 01/18/06 by Karl Ho