Product/components used and version/fix level:
Detailed explanation of the problem:
Error messages / full error message screenshot / log file:
Question related to a free trial, or to a production (customer) instance?
'Hi All,
I m a mainframe developer,
Natural and Adabas keep coming up in roles I’m interested in, and I’d like to learn them properly rather than just at a vocabulary level. I’ve found the Adabas & Natural Community Edition for Docker and I’m planning to get that running locally this week.
A few things I’d really value input on from people who work with it day to day:
-
Coming from COBOL and DB2, what are the concepts that trip people up most? I’m guessing the Adabas data model is the big adjustment — I’m used to relational thinking with DB2, and my understanding is Adabas works quite differently with multiple-value fields and periodic groups. Is that the main conceptual hurdle, or is there something else that catches COBOL people out?
-
Once I have the Community Edition running and I’ve worked through the demo application, what would you suggest building next? I learn much better with a real project than with exercises, so I’d like something that exercises the parts that actually matter in production.
-
Is NaturalONE the standard way people develop now, or are a lot of shops still working in the traditional editor? I want to learn what’s actually used, not just what’s newest.
-
What does a shop typically expect from someone new to Natural but senior on the mainframe generally? I’m trying to get a realistic sense of the ramp-up, and of how much of my COBOL and z/OS background actually transfers.
-
Anything on Natural for z/OS specifically that differs from the Linux/Docker version I’d be learning on — things I should be aware of so I’m not learning habits that don’t apply?
Happy to be pointed at documentation, courses, or old forum threads. And if there’s a piece of advice you’d give someone at the start of this, I’d genuinely like to hear it.
Thanks in advance — appreciate any time anyone can spare.