SHARE (computing)

SHARE Inc. is a group of people who like to work with IBM mainframe computers. It started in 1955 when some users of the IBM 704 computer system in Los Angeles wanted to share their ideas and learn from each other.

Today, SHARE is a place where people who use IBM computers, from small to very big businesses, can talk about programming languages, operating systems, and database systems. They share their experiences and help each other solve problems.

Even though the name is written in all capital letters, SHARE is not short for anything—it just means what the group does: sharing knowledge and helping each other. The group works with many types of IBM computers, like the IBM S/360, IBM S/370, zSeries, pSeries, and xSeries.

Overview

SHARE is a helpful place for people who use IBM computers to share their ideas and tools. From the start, SHARE had a library where users could share small changes they made to programs. This helped create what we now call open source software.

In 1959, SHARE made a special operating system called SHARE Operating System (SOS) for early IBM computers. This was one of the first times people worked together to build software, a way of working that is common today. Later, SHARE helped create a programming language called PL/I.

SHARE also has members in Europe, and they have their own group called SHARE Europe. The group meets twice a year and puts out a newsletter to keep everyone updated. Over time, SHARE grew to include many big companies that use IBM computers.