pankaj.s
New User
Joined: 24 Oct 2006
Posts: 1
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Hi ,
I have 1 year experience in assembler programming , and getting lots of job offer with comprataviley beater package in comparison to cobol etc. Was wondering is it a safe decison to go ahead with Assembler as a career . what is the future prospect , will it be in demand say after 5 years . please guide.
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Bill O'Boyle
CICS Moderator
Joined: 14 Jan 2008
Posts: 2501
Location: Atlanta, Georgia, USA
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I'm also unsure about the future of Assembler. IBM has made compliant 64-Bit support for Assembler, PL/I and (of course) JAVA, which makes me scratch my head.
Interestingly, COBOL has not and probably will NOT be 64-Bit compliant as JAVA is the unofficial anointed language of the future.
However, there's been many articles written about COBOL, indicating it will be around for a while and with that, COBOL's primary language partner, Assembler, will also be around too.
There's still a lot of Assembler code running day-to-day operations worldwide, but I don't see too much development going its way as many Assembler programmers are either dieing or retiring. But, knowing Assembler is always a plus as (IMHO) it portray's to me the technician's desire to understand HLL's and how these languages base Assembler upon their execution.
Also, at "Geek" parties, if you're able to recite OP Codes and Formats from memory, you're probably going to draw attention. 
Strangely enough, even the latest/greatest version/release of CICS is not 64-Bit compliant, only CONTAINERS and CHANNELS utilise storage above the bar. During SHARE Feb-2008, representatives from Hursley Park at the breakout sessions were reluctant to discuss (when asked) 64-Bit compliant CICS and basically said that there aren't any steadfast plans.
Because of Hursley's non-committal, this makes me wonder why Assembler, PL/I and JAVA are 64-Bit compliant, but COBOL (the most popular language used with CICS) will probably never be 64-Bit compliant. Perhaps, 64-Bit Assembler (or Assembler in general) does have a future, but that's a SWAG going forward.
I would recommend to always keep your Assembler skills current as you never know, someone may come knocking at your door someday requesting your expertise and willing to pay you handsomely for your skills.
Regards,
Bill |
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