What happened to the TAA Tools?

Jim Sloan had written all of the TAA Tools while he was a software Planner for IBM. After Jim retired from IBM, there was no one to maintain the tools. Rather than just withdraw the tools, IBM and Jim Sloan, Inc. reached an agreement where Jim Sloan, Inc. would include the tools in a product and IBM would withdraw the tools. Since then, the product (TAA Productivity Tools) has been significantly enhanced.

When did IBM announce the change?

IBM announced the change on June 21, 1995. V3R1 was the last release to contain the source for the TAA Tools.

Why didn't IBM continue to ship the old TAA source?

As with all programming, code gets old. This is particularly true for applications that work as closely with the system such as the TAA tools. Without anyone to maintain the code, shipping old code would compound problems.

Were there non-TAA Tools in QUSRTOOL?

Yes, and many of them still exist. The QUSRTOOL library is still shipped as part of the system. It is the TAA Tools that were withdrawn from QUSRTOOL. The TAA Tools represented the vast majority of tools in QUSRTOOL.

Can I still use the QUSRTOOL TAA Tools?

Yes, this code is considered to be in the public marketplace. You can use it and maintain it as if it were your own.

Will the QUSRTOOL tools work on RISC?

The default for creating the tools with the CRTTAATOOL command was to remove observability. This was done to save space. A program created on a CISC system without observability cannot be executed on a RISC system. The tools must be created with observability on CISC and then restored to RISC or just re-created on a RISC system.

What if I no longer have the QUSRTOOL TAA source?

You can either borrow the QUSRTOOL TAA source from an old V3R1 version or license the TAA Productivity Tools product.

What if there is a problem with a QUSRTOOL TAA tool?

You are on your own. IBM no longer supports V3R1. You can fix the code yourself or license the TAA Productivity Tools product. Jim Sloan, Inc. fully supports the product.

Are the QUSRTOOL TAA tools ready for Year 2000?

Many of the tools do not have any considerations. Some tools do and will not function correctly in the Year 2000 and beyond. You must handle year 2000 considerations as if you had written the applications. All of the TAA Productivity Tools are ready for the year 2000.

Does the product contain all of the QUSRTOOL TAA Tools?

Yes and then some. Many of the former QUSRTOOL TAA Tools have been enhanced and the product now has over three times as many tools as existed in QUSRTOOL.

© 1995, 2002 - Jim Sloan, Inc.