Totally missed the point of 'device drivers' !
When the 360 came out the only devices peripherals was from IBM so
needless to say the code to talk to the concentrators or controllers was
included at sysgen subject to what was installed.
With the arrival of the 370 third party peripherals came on the the
market to:
1 Increase the range
2 Reduce TCO
3. Improve the product type in through put and/or reliability.
How ever it did mean the engineer requirements went up as you had one
(or more) for the IBM supplied system and one or more for the 3rd party kit.
Of course more space to house the extra manuals so any site had a full
reference for the engineers.
Many of which were in ring binders (handy for the update pages) that IBM
charged extra for those site that did not negotiate a tight contract.
The 3rd party suppliers have thinned down some what over the years but
the support requirements stays.
The secondary suppliers have to supply the code for sysgen or its later
sisters when a new version of the system is built which does tend to
keep the sysprogs amused.
So basically there does exist a form of device drivers but it is not the
same.
If you really want to look at the code for specific peripherals take a
look at the input libraries to sysgen.
Some site do the the sources of these again depending on the purchase
contracts but there again any one with brains or more importantly been
sting once will make sure of this.
Here ends the lesson thanks to almost 60 years experience..
Vince.
Post by ***@yahoo.com.au [hercules-os380]What is the reason for that difference
between mainframe and PC?
Post by Tony Harminc ***@gmail.com [hercules-os380]This is a brilliant concept, and one of the few things where the PC
has outdone S/360 and its descendants.
Not the first time I've seen this from Tony - ascribing to the PC
and obscuring the actual historical origins of something that
actually came down to us via Ken Thompson or Dennis Ritchie.
In this case the term "device driver" goes back at least as far as the
1978 Bell System Technical Journal issue on the Unix Time-Sharing
System.
Not saying it doesn't go back further than that, just that it's sufficient to
document an instance that predates the PC.... The same issue contains
articles that should make clear many areas where S/360 and its
descendants were brilliantly outdone (including some interesting
commentary on Brooks and his Mythical Man Month).
In case all this isn't clear, take a look at any URL, including (most
likely) the one at the top of the page you're viewing this message in.
In the URL, note which way the directory separator characters point
(i.e. it's http:// - not http:\\)