The system programmer installs, customizes, and maintains the operating system, and also installs or upgrades products that run on the system.
The system programmer might be presented with the latest version of the operating system to upgrade the existing systems. Alternatively, the installation might be as simple as upgrading a single program.
The system programmer must be skilled at debugging problems with system software. These problems are often capturedin a copy of the computer’s memory contents called a dump, which the system produces in response to a failing software product, user job, or transaction. Armed with a dump and specialized debugging tools, the system programmer can determine where the components have failed. When the error has occurred in a software product, the system programmer works directly with the software vendor’s support representatives to discover whether the problem’s cause is known and whether a patch is available.
Internet: <www-304.ibm.com> (adapted).