How Language

Language Environment® establishes a common runtime environment for all participating HLLs. It combines essential runtime services, such as routines for runtime message handling, condition handling, and storage management. These services are available through a set of interfaces that are consistent across programming languages. The application program can either call these interfaces directly, or use language-specific services that call the interfaces.

With Language Environment, you can use one runtime environment for your applications, regardless of the application's programming language or system resource needs.

Figure 1 shows the components in the Language Environment, including:

Basic routines that support starting and stopping programs, allocating storage, communicating with programs written in different languages, and indicating and handling conditions.
Common library services, such as math or date and time services, that are commonly needed by programs running on the system. These functions are supported through a library of callable services.
Language-specific portions of the runtime library.

Figure 1. z/OS Language Environment components

Language Environment is the prerequisite runtime environment for applications generated with the following IBM® compiler products:

z/OS® C/C++
C/C++ Compiler for z/OS
AD/Cycle® C/370™ Compiler
VisualAge® for Java™, Enterprise Edition for OS/390®
Enterprise COBOL for z/OS and OS/390
COBOL for z/OS
Enterprise PL/I for z/OS and OS/390
PL/I for MVS™ and VM (formerly AD/Cycle PL/I for MVS and VM)
VS FORTRAN and FORTRAN IV (in compatibility mode).

In many cases, you can run compiled code generated from the previous versions of the above compilers. A set of assembler macros is also provided to allow assembler routines to run with Language Environment.