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All Systems z are Go: IBM ports Google language to mainframes

Hm, why could that be? Could it be to run things like Docker?

IBM has been spotted bringing the open-source Go programming language to its System z mainframes.

Big Blue made its port available via a GitHub repository and its Linux on IBM z Systems project – which is working on bringing across various other packages, too.

Developed by Google and released in 2009, Go is designed with an emphasis on concurrency among other features, and is used in Google's own applications as well as technology from Linux container biz Docker and anti-DDoS outfit CloudFlare.

IBM, meanwhile, has seen its System z mainframes emerge as one of the few bright spots in its hardware lineup. IBM's last quarterly report [PDF] noted that while the hardware business as a whole was down 39 per cent, z Systems revenues were up 15 per cent on the year-ago quarter.

Strategically for Big Blue, the move means yet another option it can give to customers who would like to pair the mainframe with Linux and Go-based apps, and a bit more flexibility for a System z mainframe operation that is helping to keep some hardware revenues flowing in. ®

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