TIMESHARE400 IS NO LONGER ACCEPTING NEW ACCOUNTS. WE WILL SHUT DOWN PERMANENTLY AS OF MAY 31, 2025 IF NOT SOONER.
So you’ve had this GREAT idea for AS/400 software that you’ve been burning to develop, but you don’t have the ten or twenty THOUSAND dollars needed to buy your own AS/400. Buying an old used AS/400 isn’t even an option any more, since the box won’t come with any licensed programs, development languages, etc – just the operating system. And IBM charges thousands of dollars for the software you’d need to start developing. Don’t use your ‘day job’ company’s AS/400 to develop it. If you get caught you could end up losing your job, and your company could end up owning the software that you developed!
TimeShare400 provides a current AS/400 platform that you can access from any internet connected computer, using widely available terminal emulation software. You can do your development from home, over lunch, any time. You won’t have to buy your own AS/400 and you won’t have the systems management issues, either. Just log on and go!
A basic developer account includes the following features:
one user ID | |
two simultaneous 5250 display device sessions | |
one 5250 printer session | |
multiple signons per device (via system request or group jobs) | |
up to ten libraries – one reserved for save file backups (see the information on backups below) | |
one batch job queue | |
two output queues | |
100 MB of storage |
Programming Languages and Tools
You will have access to RPG, Cobol, C, Java, Query, SQL, ADTS (SEU, SDA, PDM, etc), DFU, FTP, Code/400, VRPG, WRKDBF, DB2 UDB and more! If you need additional languages, or have a question about a specific programming language or tool, please contact us with the form below.
Security
Your libraries will be not be visible to other developers, nor will you be able to see other developers’ libraries (unless you specifically override the default security when you create the library).
Compiles and other long running batch jobs….
Your development AS/400 will be a shared resource. You will have one single threaded batch queue to use for long running processes, like compiles and other big batch jobs. The system will be monitored for performance purposes. Users found to be abusing the interactive subsystem by running tasks that should be submitted to batch will be contacted and asked to submit such jobs to their batch queue. Failure to follow these and other generally accepted “rules of etiquette” may result in cancellation of your account.
Backups
One of your libraries will be a ‘save file’ library. Your host AS/400 will be backed up on a regular basis for PTF and disaster recovery purposes, but any requests for us to restore something for you will incur a hefty penalty… So DO YOUR OWN BACKUPS. Since you will want (and need) easy access to save and restore your objects as you see fit, we recommend that you do your own back ups to save files in your ‘save file library’. You should also plan to FTP those save files off of the AS400 and to your own PC for off-site safekeeping. You can then do your own restores as needed. The save file backup libraries are backed up nightly, but we provide no guarantees on this. So, in the event of disaster the system will be restored from the full system backup tapes and the save file libraries will be restored from the daily backups. But… again…. backups are YOUR OWN RESPONSIBILITY. If you’re really stuck, we will try to help you, but it’ll cost you. 🙂
Emulation Software
If you need terminal emulation software, we have some recommendations. Click here for more information.
RESTRICTIONS
As implied in the name, this type of account is for INDIVIDUALS looking for a machine to play with. This is NOT to be used with any commercial activity – development… testing… outsourcing… If you are an individual working on a project that may some day turn into a commercial product, that’s awesome. When you do go commercial, please contact us for information about moving your account to a ‘company development’ account.
Any subscribers found to be abusing an individual account by using it in any way for commercial purposes will have their accounts immediately disabled until payment for a company developer account is received.
Key Benefits
Develop your software on a current machine | |
Low cost – no big cash outlay for your own AS/400 | |
Easy access from any PC with an internet connection | |
No system management hassles – just sign on and go |
Pricing
Pricing is available month-to-month, or save $$ by pre-paying your subscription.
Description | SKU # | Monthly Price |
---|---|---|
Basic Developer Account | BDA-1 | $15/month$75/6 mo$120/yr |
Additional 5 libraries |
BDA-2 | $10/month$50/6 mo$75/yr |
Upgrade to 200MB |
BDA-3 | $10/month$50/6 mo$75/yr |
Upgrade to 500 MB |
BDA-4 | $20/month$100/6 mo$150/yr |
CD Image Creation |
BDA-5 | $20/each |
Tape Backup / Restore | BDA-6 | $50/tape (plus cost of tape if applicable) |
Restore from MY save fileRestore from my offline SAVF |
STX-1STX-2 | $100$200 |
Pricing is subject to change without notice.
Subscriber Agreement
Your account will be subject to certain terms and conditions. Please review our Subscriber Agreement by clicking HERE.
Individual Account Request Form
Select the items that apply, and then let us know how to contact you.
Have a salesperson contact me I’d like to set up an account
Please note – please complete ALL fields on this form, including first and last names, address, phone, etc. INCOMPLETE APPLICATIONS WILL BE DISCARDED.
You will receive an email with further information regarding payment.