SabreTalk
Encyclopedia
SabreTalk is a dialect of PL/I
for the S/360 IBM mainframe
s running the TPF
platform. SabreTalk was developed jointly by American Airlines
, Eastern Air Lines
and IBM
.
SabreTalk programs are still running in the British Airways
Flight Operations system (FICO), although a commercially available automatic converter is being used to translate SabreTalk programs to C
programs. Both the Reservations and Operations Support System (OSS) of Delta Air Lines
were developed using both SabreTalk and IBM 360 Assembler. Although development is currently restricted to C++
, the majority of Delta's programming platform remains in SabreTalk.
Because of the translator
from SabreTalk to C
and because it is no longer supported by the original developers, several companies are beginning the move away from SabreTalk to purely C-based programs.
Code Sample:
SAMPLE: PROCEDURE;
DECLARE ARRAY(10) DECIMAL(5) BASED(POINTUR);
DECLARE COUNTER BINARY(15) ALIGNED;
DECLARE TOTAL BINARY(31) ALIGNED;
START(POINTUR=#RG1); /* RECEIVE POINTER TO ARRAY IN REGISTER 1 */
TOTAL = 0;
LOOP:
DO COUNTER = 0 TO 10 BY 2;
TOTAL = TOTAL + ARRAY(COUNTER); /* TALLY EVEN NUMBERED ITEMS */
END LOOP;
IF TOTAL = 0 THEN /* VALUE OF TOTAL COMPUTED? */
ENTRC ERRO; /* N=CHECK VALIDITY IN PROG ERRO W/RETURN EXPECTED*/
BACKC(#RAC= TOTAL); /* BACK TO CALLING PROGRAM PASSING VALUE OF */
END SAMPLE; /* TOTAL IN REGISTER RAC. */
PL/I
PL/I is a procedural, imperative computer programming language designed for scientific, engineering, business and systems programming applications...
for the S/360 IBM mainframe
IBM mainframe
IBM mainframes are large computer systems produced by IBM from 1952 to the present. During the 1960s and 1970s, the term mainframe computer was almost synonymous with IBM products due to their marketshare...
s running the TPF
Transaction Processing Facility
TPF is an IBM real-time operating system for mainframes descended from the IBM System/360 family, including zSeries and System z9. The name is an initialism for Transaction Processing Facility....
platform. SabreTalk was developed jointly by American Airlines
American Airlines
American Airlines, Inc. is the world's fourth-largest airline in passenger miles transported and operating revenues. American Airlines is a subsidiary of the AMR Corporation and is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas adjacent to its largest hub at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport...
, Eastern Air Lines
Eastern Air Lines
Eastern Air Lines was a major United States airline that existed from 1926 to 1991. Before its dissolution it was headquartered at Miami International Airport in unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Florida.-History:...
and IBM
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
.
SabreTalk programs are still running in the British Airways
British Airways
British Airways is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom, based in Waterside, near its main hub at London Heathrow Airport. British Airways is the largest airline in the UK based on fleet size, international flights and international destinations...
Flight Operations system (FICO), although a commercially available automatic converter is being used to translate SabreTalk programs to C
C (programming language)
C is a general-purpose computer programming language developed between 1969 and 1973 by Dennis Ritchie at the Bell Telephone Laboratories for use with the Unix operating system....
programs. Both the Reservations and Operations Support System (OSS) of Delta Air Lines
Delta Air Lines
Delta Air Lines, Inc. is a major airline based in the United States and headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. The airline operates an extensive domestic and international network serving all continents except Antarctica. Delta and its subsidiaries operate over 4,000 flights every day...
were developed using both SabreTalk and IBM 360 Assembler. Although development is currently restricted to C++
C++
C++ is a statically typed, free-form, multi-paradigm, compiled, general-purpose programming language. It is regarded as an intermediate-level language, as it comprises a combination of both high-level and low-level language features. It was developed by Bjarne Stroustrup starting in 1979 at Bell...
, the majority of Delta's programming platform remains in SabreTalk.
Because of the translator
from SabreTalk to C
C (programming language)
C is a general-purpose computer programming language developed between 1969 and 1973 by Dennis Ritchie at the Bell Telephone Laboratories for use with the Unix operating system....
and because it is no longer supported by the original developers, several companies are beginning the move away from SabreTalk to purely C-based programs.
Code Sample:
SAMPLE: PROCEDURE;
DECLARE ARRAY(10) DECIMAL(5) BASED(POINTUR);
DECLARE COUNTER BINARY(15) ALIGNED;
DECLARE TOTAL BINARY(31) ALIGNED;
START(POINTUR=#RG1); /* RECEIVE POINTER TO ARRAY IN REGISTER 1 */
TOTAL = 0;
LOOP:
DO COUNTER = 0 TO 10 BY 2;
TOTAL = TOTAL + ARRAY(COUNTER); /* TALLY EVEN NUMBERED ITEMS */
END LOOP;
IF TOTAL = 0 THEN /* VALUE OF TOTAL COMPUTED? */
ENTRC ERRO; /* N=CHECK VALIDITY IN PROG ERRO W/RETURN EXPECTED*/
BACKC(#RAC= TOTAL); /* BACK TO CALLING PROGRAM PASSING VALUE OF */
END SAMPLE; /* TOTAL IN REGISTER RAC. */
External links
- Sabretalk Programmer's Reference Guide
- Moving From SabreTalk to "C", by Jeff Robinson, March 2001, ACP/TPF Today