Modern Mainframe Development

Chapter 8. Databases and Transaction Managers

The worldwide database software market is enormous. According to research from ReportLinker, the spending was over $142 billion in 2020. Of course, the major players include companies like Oracle, SAP, and Microsoft. But Amazon has become a major factor in the market, and a variety of startups, such as MongoDB, Couchbase, and Trino, have been quickly gaining traction.

Since the early days of mainframe computers, the database has been critical. Businesses need efficient ways to store huge amounts of data on customers, inventory, payroll, and so on. In fact, databases have been essential for economic growth since there is less need for paper-based files.

But until recently, the innovation in the industry has been generally slow. The rise of AI and analytics has created a surge in demand for new types of databases, such as NoSQL platforms.

In this chapter, we’ll take a look at the two traditional databases for the mainframe: IMS and Db2. We’ll also look at transaction systems, such as CICS, which handle huge amounts of data in near real time.

Information Management System

The origins of IBM’s Information Management System (IMS) go back to the mid-1960s. The development of this database was spurred by the Apollo space program, which needed to create a system that could manage the accounting for the construction of space modules, which each had over two million parts.

IBM joined a team of other companies, which included North American ...