<s>
In	O
computing	O
,	O
Interactive	B-Operating_System
System	I-Operating_System
Productivity	I-Operating_System
Facility	I-Operating_System
(	O
ISPF	B-Operating_System
)	O
is	O
a	O
software	O
product	O
for	O
many	O
historic	O
IBM	B-Device
mainframe	I-Device
operating	O
systems	O
and	O
currently	O
the	O
z/OS	B-Application
and	O
z/VM	B-Application
operating	O
systems	O
that	O
run	O
on	O
IBM	B-Device
mainframes	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
includes	O
a	O
screen	B-Application
editor	I-Application
,	O
the	O
user	B-Application
interface	I-Application
of	O
which	O
was	O
emulated	O
by	O
some	O
microcomputer	O
editors	O
sold	O
commercially	O
starting	O
in	O
the	O
late	O
1980s	O
,	O
including	O
SPF/PC	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
ISPF	B-Operating_System
primarily	O
provides	O
an	O
IBM	B-Operating_System
3270	I-Operating_System
terminal	O
interface	B-Application
with	O
a	O
set	O
of	O
panels	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Each	O
panel	O
may	O
include	O
menus	O
and	O
dialogs	O
to	O
run	O
tools	O
on	O
the	O
underlying	O
environment	O
,	O
e.g.	O
,	O
Time	B-Application
Sharing	I-Application
Option	I-Application
(	O
TSO	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Generally	O
,	O
these	O
panels	O
just	O
provide	O
a	O
convenient	O
interface	B-Application
to	O
do	O
tasks	O
—	O
most	O
of	O
them	O
execute	O
modules	O
of	O
IBM	B-Application
mainframe	I-Application
utility	I-Application
programs	I-Application
to	O
do	O
the	O
actual	O
work	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
ISPF	B-Operating_System
is	O
frequently	O
used	O
to	O
manipulate	O
z/OS	B-Application
data	B-Application
sets	I-Application
via	O
its	O
Program	B-Operating_System
Development	I-Operating_System
Facility	I-Operating_System
(	O
ISPF/PDF	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
ISPF	B-Operating_System
is	O
user-extensible	O
and	O
it	O
is	O
often	O
used	O
as	O
an	O
application	B-Application
programming	I-Application
interface	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Many	O
vendors	O
have	O
created	O
products	O
for	O
z/OS	B-Application
that	O
use	O
the	O
ISPF	B-Operating_System
interface	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
early	O
version	O
was	O
called	O
Structured	B-Operating_System
Programming	I-Operating_System
Facility	I-Operating_System
(	O
SPF	O
)	O
and	O
introduced	O
in	O
SVS	B-Application
and	O
MVS	B-Application
systems	O
in	O
1974	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
IBM	O
chose	O
the	O
name	O
because	O
SPF	O
was	O
introduced	O
about	O
the	O
same	O
time	O
as	O
structured	B-Language
programming	I-Language
concepts	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1979	O
IBM	O
introduced	O
a	O
new	O
version	O
and	O
a	O
compatible	O
product	O
for	O
CMS	B-Operating_System
under	O
Virtual	B-Application
Machine	I-Application
Facility/370	I-Application
Release	O
5	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1980	O
IBM	O
changed	O
its	O
name	O
to	O
System	B-Operating_System
Productivity	I-Operating_System
Facility	I-Operating_System
and	O
offered	O
a	O
version	O
for	O
CMS	B-Operating_System
under	O
VM/SP	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1982	O
IBM	O
changed	O
the	O
name	O
to	O
Interactive	B-Operating_System
System	I-Operating_System
Productivity	I-Operating_System
Facility	I-Operating_System
,	O
split	O
off	O
some	O
facilities	O
into	O
Interactive	O
System	O
Productivity	O
Facility/Program	O
Development	O
Facility	O
(	O
ISPF/PDF	O
)	O
and	O
offered	O
a	O
version	O
for	O
VSE/AF	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1984	O
IBM	O
released	O
ISPF	B-Operating_System
Version	O
2	O
and	O
ISPF/PDF	O
Version	O
2	O
;	O
the	O
VM	B-Application
versions	O
allowed	O
the	O
user	O
to	O
select	O
either	O
the	O
PDF	O
editor	O
or	O
XEDIT	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
ISPF	B-Operating_System
can	O
also	O
be	O
run	O
from	O
a	O
z/OS	B-Application
batch	O
job	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
When	O
a	O
foreground	O
(	O
interactive	O
)	O
TSO	O
user	O
invokes	O
ISPF	B-Operating_System
,	O
it	O
provides	O
a	O
menuing	O
system	O
,	O
normally	O
with	O
an	O
initial	O
display	O
of	O
a	O
Primary	O
Option	O
Menu	O
this	O
provides	O
them	O
access	O
to	O
many	O
useful	O
tools	O
for	O
application	O
development	O
and	O
for	O
administering	O
the	O
z/OS	B-Application
operating	O
system	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Browse	O
-	O
for	O
viewing	O
data	B-Application
sets	I-Application
,	O
partitioned	O
data	B-Application
set	I-Application
(	O
PDS	O
)	O
members	O
,	O
and	O
Unix	B-Operating_System
System	I-Operating_System
Services	I-Operating_System
files	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Edit	O
-	O
for	O
editing	O
data	B-Application
sets	I-Application
,	O
PDS	O
members	O
,	O
and	O
Unix	B-Operating_System
System	I-Operating_System
Services	I-Operating_System
files	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Data	B-Application
Set	I-Application
List	O
-	O
which	O
allows	O
the	O
user	O
to	O
list	O
and	O
manipulate	O
(	O
copy	O
,	O
move	O
,	O
rename	O
,	O
print	O
,	O
catalog	O
,	O
delete	O
,	O
etc	O
.	O
)	O
</s>
<s>
files	O
(	O
termed	O
"	O
data	B-Application
sets	I-Application
"	O
in	O
the	O
z/OS	B-Application
environment	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Search	O
facilities	O
for	O
finding	O
modules	O
or	O
text	O
within	O
members	O
or	O
data	B-Application
sets	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Compare	O
facilities	O
for	O
comparing	O
members	O
or	O
data	B-Application
sets	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Underlying	O
ISPF/PDF	O
is	O
an	O
extensive	O
set	O
of	O
tools	O
that	O
allow	O
application	O
developers	O
to	O
create	O
panel-driven	O
applications	O
,	O
and	O
a	O
set	O
of	O
guidelines	O
to	O
promote	O
consistent	O
use	O
of	O
ISPF	B-Operating_System
functions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
"	O
panel	O
"	O
is	O
a	O
character-based	B-Application
"	O
window	O
"	O
which	O
can	O
encompass	O
all	O
or	O
part	O
of	O
a	O
3270	B-Operating_System
session	O
's	O
screen	O
real	O
estate	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
See	O
Text-based	B-Application
user	I-Application
interfaces	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Most	O
mainframe	O
software	O
vendors	O
used	O
ISPF	B-Operating_System
functions	O
to	O
create	O
their	O
applications	O
,	O
so	O
their	O
tools	O
are	O
similar	O
in	O
appearance	O
and	O
operation	O
to	O
ISPF	B-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
Similarly	O
,	O
many	O
installations	O
write	O
their	O
own	O
informal	O
tools	O
that	O
use	O
ISPF	B-Operating_System
services	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
ISPF	B-Operating_System
services	O
are	O
generally	O
available	O
to	O
any	O
programmer	O
in	O
the	O
shop	O
,	O
and	O
can	O
be	O
used	O
to	O
write	O
panels	O
for	O
either	O
personal	O
or	O
shop-wide	O
use	O
,	O
writing	O
in	O
either	O
compiled	O
languages	O
such	O
as	O
C	B-Language
,	O
COBOL	B-Application
,	O
PL/I	B-Language
,	O
or	O
interpreted	O
languages	O
such	O
as	O
CLIST	B-Operating_System
and	O
REXX	B-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
ISPF	B-Operating_System
applications	O
can	O
be	O
used	O
to	O
perform	O
so-called	O
"	O
file	O
tailoring	O
"	O
functions	O
,	O
customisation	O
of	O
specially	O
crafted	O
JCL	B-Application
members	O
called	O
"	O
skeletons	O
"	O
,	O
which	O
can	O
then	O
be	O
submitted	O
as	O
batch	O
jobs	O
to	O
the	O
mainframe	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
ISPF	B-Operating_System
provides	O
the	O
'	O
editor	O
interface	B-Application
 '	O
which	O
lets	O
an	O
application	O
program	O
display	O
arbitrary	O
data	O
in	O
the	O
familiar	O
editor	O
panel	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Thus	O
many	O
vendor	O
packages	O
use	O
this	O
familiar	O
interface	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
ISPF	B-Operating_System
is	O
designed	O
to	O
be	O
customized	O
for	O
each	O
user	O
(	O
a	O
fairly	O
new	O
concept	O
in	O
1974	O
,	O
when	O
it	O
was	O
introduced	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
of	O
the	O
customization	O
is	O
global	O
and	O
some	O
is	O
specific	O
to	O
an	O
ISPF	B-Operating_System
application	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
supports	O
a	O
set	O
of	O
24	O
function	B-Application
keys	I-Application
which	O
,	O
when	O
pressed	O
,	O
execute	O
commands	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Most	O
personal	B-Device
computers	I-Device
copied	O
this	O
,	O
and	O
have	O
a	O
set	O
of	O
12	O
or	O
24	O
function	B-Application
keys	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Even	O
some	O
defaults	O
have	O
endured	O
:	O
the	O
F1	B-Application
key	I-Application
triggers	O
a	O
"	O
help	O
"	O
function	O
on	O
a	O
large	O
number	O
of	O
mainframe	O
&	O
PC	B-Device
programs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
ISPF	B-Operating_System
remembers	O
each	O
user	O
's	O
choices	O
for	O
such	O
things	O
as	O
screen	O
colors	O
&	O
layout	O
,	O
the	O
location	O
of	O
the	O
command	O
line	O
and	O
scrolling	O
preferences	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
also	O
remembers	O
the	O
last-used	O
data	B-Application
set	I-Application
names	O
on	O
each	O
panel	O
,	O
so	O
the	O
next	O
time	O
the	O
panel	O
is	O
used	O
the	O
names	O
are	O
already	O
filled	O
in	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Many	O
of	O
the	O
early	O
users	O
of	O
PCs	B-Device
were	O
mainframe	O
programmers	O
or	O
users	O
,	O
who	O
were	O
accustomed	O
to	O
and	O
liked	O
the	O
ISPF	B-Operating_System
panel	O
system	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
led	O
several	O
companies	O
to	O
create	O
partial	O
clones	O
of	O
ISPF	B-Operating_System
that	O
run	O
on	O
DOS	B-Device
,	O
OS/2	B-Application
,	O
Windows	B-Application
or	O
Unix	B-Application
PC	B-Device
systems	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1984	O
IBM	O
introduced	O
the	O
EZ-VU	O
dialog	O
manager	O
for	O
DOS	B-Device
PCs	B-Device
,	O
and	O
later	O
OS/2	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1991	O
Tritus	O
,	O
Inc	O
introduced	O
Tritus	O
SPF	O
(	O
TSPF	O
)	O
,	O
a	O
program	O
to	O
allow	O
use	O
of	O
mainframe	O
ISPF	B-Operating_System
applications	O
and	O
edit	O
macros	O
written	O
in	O
REXX	B-Language
on	O
DOS	B-Device
,	O
OS/2	B-Application
and	O
Windows	B-Application
;	O
the	O
last	O
release	O
was	O
1.2.8	O
in	O
1994	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
and	O
editors	O
are	O
still	O
sold	O
currently	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
free	O
SPFlite	B-Application
is	O
currently	O
available	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1994	O
IBM	O
introduced	O
a	O
built-in	O
downloadable	O
client	O
program	O
called	O
the	O
ISPF	B-Operating_System
Workstation	O
Agent	O
(	O
WSA	O
)	O
that	O
can	O
install	O
and	O
run	O
on	O
OS/2	B-Application
,	O
Windows	B-Application
and	O
selected	O
UNIX	B-Application
workstations	O
;	O
the	O
z/OS	B-Application
version	O
of	O
ISPF	B-Operating_System
only	O
includes	O
WSA	O
for	O
Windows	B-Application
and	O
selected	O
UNIX	B-Application
workstations	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
WSA	O
communicates	O
directly	O
with	O
ISPF	B-Operating_System
on	O
z/OS	B-Application
and	O
provides	O
a	O
point-and-click	O
graphical	B-Application
user	I-Application
interface	I-Application
automatically	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
ISPF	B-Operating_System
Workstation	O
Agent	O
can	O
be	O
used	O
to	O
edit	O
PC	B-Device
based	O
files	O
from	O
the	O
ISPF	B-Operating_System
editor	O
to	O
take	O
advantage	O
of	O
the	O
editor	O
's	O
strengths	O
.	O
</s>
