Over the past decade or so, we’ve heard the “news” that IBM is dropping support for PL/I on the IBM I. To some, this is a dreadful prospect for owners of CA 2E (Synon) applications since it’s developed on PL/I and would theoretically, at some point, no longer work.
Fortunately for those who maintain CA 2E (Synon) systems, they should be just fine.
From Broadcom:
“We want to assure all of our CA 2E customers that Broadcom is committed to maintain and support CA 2E for the foreseeable future. Any change in a product’s direction will be announced via Broadcom’s official support notifications, rather than from other unofficial sources.”
More from Broadcom regarding ownership change:
“During the six years since Broadcom acquired CA Technologies (including CA 2E), Broadcom has continued to support CA 2E as usual. That change in ownership has had no impact on CA 2E’s long term viability.”
Tim Rowe at IBM, STSM – Application Development & System Management, who made the initial announcement, assures us that everything will be just fine for maintainers of CA 2E (Synon) systems in spite of sunsetting support.
Tim made the announcement 10 years ago that PL/I would no longer be sold to new customers on IBM I, allowing that existing customers can continue to use it, and that IBM and other major customers use it. He also professed that he doesn’t see a scenario where PL/I will no longer work.
So fear not, maintainers of CA 2E (Synon) systems. By all accounts, we are good to go.
