IBM® Airline Control System V2® (ALCS) is a software interface between application programs and the z/OS® operating system.
ALSC runs as a job or started task under z/OS, providing real-time transaction processing facilities for airlines, banks, hotels, and other industries that generate high transaction rates and require fast response times and high system availability. Typical applications are passenger and cargo reservations for airlines and railroads, hotel booking systems, and credit card authorization.
ALCS provides high performance and capacity, a high level of system availability, along with high transaction rates.
ALCS connects with other transaction processing platforms as well as access to relational databases for business applications.
ALCS uses a z/OS environment for existing TPF applications, including z/OS data processing facilities and features.
ALCS gives you a high degree of application portability between ALCS and the Transaction Processing Facility (TPF).
IBM® Airline Control System V2® (ALCS) has a centralized database and program system that provides many advantages over a distributed system, including: immediate access to data changes and program updates; central control for security; and the ability to extract current financial, business and data-processing information for both business management and IT planning purposes.
The ALCS application program interface (API) enables you to use applications written for use with z/TPF (Version 1.1), TPF (Version 4.1 or earlier releases) and all earlier versions of ALCS with few source code changes. With ALCS, you have access to the full range of applications developed for the TPF family of products. You can participate in an active marketplace where you can buy and sell individual applications or complete application systems.
ALCS provides Logical Unit (LU) 6.2 communications. It is fully compatible with WebSphere® MQ for z/OS®. This allows ALCS applications to exchange messages with other ALCS applications or other applications on the same or similar systems, or on other platforms that support message queuing using the IBM WebSphere MQ products. ALCS can use TCP/IP to communicate with other applications in the same operating system region or with remote applications and devices.
ALCS interfaces with Tivoli® NetView for automated operation of ALCS and its applications – including REXX. It includes Interactive System Productivity Facility (ISPF) panels to improve usability and simplify maintenance. The system takeover facility allows for a hot ALCS standby system – reducing the time needed for planned and unplanned switchovers. It also has real-time database reorganization for online expansion, contraction and optimization of the real-time database.
ALCS has high-level language support. It interfaces with the IBM Language Environment® for MVS file medium supported by the MVS Data Facility Product to be written in the C, C++, PL/I, and COBOL languages. ALCS also provides relational database support. It interfaces to IBM Db2® for z/OS® to provide full support for Structured Query Language (SQL) – including dynamic SQL This allows application programs read and write access to data in relational databases.
The 64-bit addressing allows ALCS to use virtual and real memory above 2 GB, removing memory constraints. Its e-mail facility transmits and receives e-mail messages over TCP/IP networks using an external mail server or mail transfer agent (MTA). You can use the ALCS Web Server facility to deliver web pages and application function to Web Browser clients over TCP/IP networks. ALCS also includes an enhanced context-sensitive online help facility to create help files specific to your location.
A table of APARs for the IPARS sample application provided with IBM Airline Control System V2.4.1.
Provides a secure platform for developing and sharing mainframe workloads.
Maintain the highest degree of availability on IBM Z® systems networks.
Simplify and enhance the user experience for z/OS DevOps tools.
IBM WebSphere® Application Server accelerates application delivery with a highly reliable, secured and flexible Java Enterprise Edition (Java EE)-based runtime environment.