Take a Reality Check

To be a successful mainframe programmer, you are typically required to learn COBOL programming and many supportive technologies and tools. To illustrate this point in the previous section, I felt it was necessary to take a trip down memory lane in great detail. After being in the business for 10 to 20 years , it is likely that you have forgotten what it took to get where you are. After some time, you may take for granted just how many things you actually needed to learn to become proficient.

Note  

The list of eight training phases in the previous section is by no means a "complete" training program for every company. Nevertheless, it is close enough for illustrative (and contrastive) purposes. Additionally, some organizations may prefer to alter the sequencing of the training phases.

Now, if you are really "getting" my point, the following thought may have occurred to you by now: In the mainframe world, it would have taken at least 20 textbooks and manuals to properly train my friend Bob across all eight training phases listed in the preceding section. Understanding this point, you can now appreciate the comprehensive approach taken in this one textbook that you have in your hands. In effect, this book will serve as your complete guide to continued learning as you transition from being a mainframe programmer to being (what I like to call) an enterprise developer.

To complete your learning objectives, you will want to drill down in further detail (truer for some topics than others). To aid you in the later phases of your training, I include many supplementary references (Internet links and text referrals) for your use in the "To Learn More" section at the end of each chapter. Please take advantage of these references. As you absorb the contents of this book, you should find yourself enabled to continue your training endeavor with more precision and confidence.

OK, you've been prepped, refreshed, warned , and perhaps even preached to. Still, you have continued forward with determination. Look, you're already well into the third chapter of this book. I suppose you've already decided that you're going to see this through. You're going to complete this journey. Good! Your next step, then, is to dive into the following section, which will introduce you to the first group (of two ^[4] ) of .NET retraining prerequisites.

^[4] You can find the second of the two groups of .NET retraining prerequisites in Chapter 4.