Category: TAL

Mark Whitfield HP NonStop Tandem experience & Project Management Templates

Mark Whitfield is an experienced IT Project Manager and software developer who has spent over 22 years specialising in HP NonStop (formerly Tandem) systems. He is currently an Engagement Project Manager at Capgemini. 

Career & Expertise

Whitfield’s career in HP NonStop began in 1990 and includes significant technical and leadership roles across the financial and technology sectors: 

  • Software Development: Early in his career, he worked as a programmer for The Software Partnership (later Deluxe Data/FIS), focusing on electronic banking software like sp/ARCHITECT on Tandem mainframes.
  • Insider Technologies (1995–2013): He spent 18 years at Insider Technologies as a Senior Development Engineer and Project Manager. His work involved:
    • Developing monitoring and diagnostic software such as Reflex 80:20, Reflex ONE24, and RTLX (Real-Time Log Extraction) for payment systems.
    • Managing the first HP OpenView Operations Smart Plug-In certification for the NonStop platform.
    • Designing XPERT24, a performance tracking product for ACI’s XPNET layer.
  • Capgemini (2016–Present): As an Engagement Project Manager, he has led digital projects for major clients in the automotive, government, and aerospace sectors, including a cloud migration for UK Government applications. 

Technical Contributions

  • Publications: He has authored articles for globally published journals like The Connection (2013), discussing topics such as querying terabytes of legacy transaction log data from NonStop mainframes.
  • Project History: He has managed high-value projects, including a £5 million initiative to migrate legacy HP NonStop software to AIX-based technologies for a large UK retail bank.
  • Training: He is trained in various NonStop-specific technologies, including TAL (Transaction Application Language), COBOL85, PATHWAY, and NonStop SQL. 

Whitfield also maintains a professional website, mark-whitfield.com, where he provides project management templates and resources related to HP NonStop and Tandem systems. 

Mark Whitfield provides a comprehensive bundle of over 200 editable project management templates designed for Agile, Waterfall, and PRINCE2 methodologies. These templates are based on over 30 years of project delivery experience and are available for purchase via his official website or Etsy shop. 

Key Template Categories

The bundle includes a wide variety of tools across different formats (Excel, PowerPoint, Word, and MS Project): 

  • Planning & Scheduling:
    • Plan on a Page (POaP): Over 30 PowerPoint slide examples for executive-level summaries.
    • Detailed Project Plans: MS Project (MPP) and Excel templates for SDLC, PRINCE2 7th Edition, and Agile Scrum projects.
    • Gantt Charts: Built-in tracking views for both MS Project and Excel.
  • Tracking & Control:
    • RAID Logs: Comprehensive logs for tracking Risks, Actions, Issues, and Dependencies, plus additional tabs for Change Requests and Lessons Learned.
    • RACI Matrix: Templates to define project roles and responsibilities (Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, Informed).
    • Finance Trackers: Tools for internal and external forecast vs. actual costs, including margin and variance tracking.
  • Agile Specific Tools:
    • Burn Down & Burn Up Charts: Excel-based alternatives when tools like Jira are unavailable.
    • Agile Story Dependency Tracking: Specifically for managing dependencies between agile stories and external suppliers.
  • Reporting & Governance:
    • Status Reports: Weekly and monthly templates in Word and PowerPoint formats.
    • Stakeholder Analysis: Power/interest mapping and engagement plan templates.
    • Benefits Realisation: Plans to track project outcomes against initial business goals. 

Purchase Benefits

  • Lifetime Upgrades: Once purchased, all future additions and updates to the template package are provided for free.
  • Compatibility: Templates are designed for Microsoft Office 365 but also include Excel versions compatible with earlier software.
  • Support: The package typically includes walkthrough Word documents to guide users on how to use each major template.

Mark Whitfield HP NonStop Tandem experience & Project Management Templates

IT Career snapshot of Mark Whitfield, Senior IT Project Manager (SC cleared)

This resume summarizes the career of Mark Whitfield, a Senior IT Project Manager with over 30 years of experience specializing in digital and software development lifecycles, cloud migrations, and HP NonStop systems. 

Personal Details

  • Name: Mark A. Whitfield
  • Location: Manchester, UK
  • Nationality: British
  • Security Clearance: SC Cleared to 2031
  • Professional Profiles: Official Website | LinkedIn Profile 

Executive Summary

  • Experience: 30+ years in IT.
  • Core Focus: Senior Project Management for Digital/ Software Development Lifecycles (SDLC).
  • Expertise: Transitioning from a technical background in programming (pre-2000) to senior leadership in large-scale projects for global blue-chip companies. 

Key Skills & Competencies

  • Methodologies: PRINCE2 Practitioner, Agile (Scrum/ Kanban), Waterfall, ITIL, ISO QA.
  • Project Controls: MS Project, Budget & Burn Tracking, GDPR compliance, Supplier & Stakeholder Management, Statement of Work (SoW).
  • Technical Proficiencies:
    • Platforms: HP NonStop (Tandem), Cloud Migration (Hybrid).
    • Languages (Historical): C/C++, Java, COBOL85, TAL, TACL, SCOBOL, SQL, MS SQL.
    • Utilities: PATHWAY, SCF, FUP, INSPECT, XPNET. 

Professional Experience

  • Senior IT Project Manager (Various Projects):
    • Managed large-scale solutions for clients including Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), Heathrow, Royal Mail Group (RMG), NATS, and Euroclear.
    • Extensive work within the financial sector for Bank of England, Barclays, HSBC, Santander, Standard Chartered, Deutsche Bank, and Global Payments.
    • Government and public sector projects for Defra, UKEF, Welsh Water, and Scottish Water.
  • Early Career (Programmer / Technical Lead):
    • 1990 – 1995: Programmer at The Software Partnership (later Deluxe Data) in Runcorn, specializing in electronic banking software (sp/ARCHITECT-BANK) on Tandem Mainframe Computers. 

Education & Certifications

  • Degree: Higher National Diploma (HND) in Computing (Distinction, Graduated 1990).
  • Certifications:
    • Microsoft Azure Fundamentals (Certified).
    • PRINCE2 Practitioner.
    • Agile/ Radtac Course Completion. 

HPE NonStop Tandem Programming Languages, a development timeline

HPE NonStop (formerly Tandem) has evolved through distinct architectural eras, each introducing specific programming languages and environments to maintain its legendary fault tolerance. 

1. The Tandem Stack Machine Era (1974–1990)

This era focused on the proprietary 16-bit stack-based architecture (TNS), where software was designed to “fail-fast” and operate in process pairs. 

  • Nov 1974: Tandem Computers founded by Jimmy Treybig.
  • May 1976: TAL (Transaction Application Language) launched with the first Tandem/16 (NonStop I) system. It was the only language available at launch, derived from HP 3000’s SPL.
  • Late 1970s: COBOL74, FORTRAN, and MUMPS were added to support business and scientific applications.
  • 1981: NonStop II introduced support for 32-bit addressing, enabling larger application memory.
  • 1983: SCOBOL (Screen COBOL) emerged alongside the Pathway transaction manager to handle terminal-based user interfaces and fault-tolerant logic.
  • 1986: NonStop SQL released as the first fault-tolerant relational database language.
  • 1987: C was introduced to the platform.
  • 1989: Integrity S2 line launched using MIPS processors, introducing a variant of Unix called NonStop UX. 

2. The MIPS RISC / Himalaya Era (1991–2004)

As Tandem migrated to MIPS processors (TNS/R), it introduced a Unix-like personality to attract modern developers while maintaining its legacy Guardian environment. 

  • 1991: Cyclone/R launched. Most software still ran in TNS stack mode using an “Accelerator” tool to translate code to MIPS instructions.
  • 1993: Himalaya K-Series released with native-mode compilers for C and COBOL to leverage MIPS performance.
  • 1994/1995: Open System Services (OSS) introduced a POSIX-compliant environment, enabling C++ and standard Unix utilities.
  • 1995: Java was first supported on the platform.
  • 1997: Compaq acquired Tandem; ServerNet became the standard interconnect.
  • Late 1990s: Support for scripting languages like Perl, Python, and PHP began appearing in the OSS environment.

3. The HP Integrity Itanium Era (2005–2013)

Following the HP merger, the architecture moved to Intel Itanium (TNS/E), branded as HP Integrity NonStop. 

  • 2005: NonStop i introduced. Compilers for C, C++, and Java were updated for the Itanium architecture.
  • 2000s: pTAL (Portable TAL) became the standard for system-level programming to bridge legacy TAL code to modern RISC/Itanium architectures.
  • 2011: Enhanced support for modern web languages and frameworks within the OSS environment. 

4. The Modern x86 / NonStop X Era (2014–Present)

HPE migrated the entire stack to standard Intel x86-64 processors (TNS/X) while retaining binary compatibility for legacy applications. 

  • 2014: NonStop X launched. All languages (COBOL, C, C++, Java) were migrated to target x86-64.
  • 2015: Transition to Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) branding.
  • Recent Years: Integration of modern open-source dev-ops tools and languages, including JavaScript (Node.js), Python 3, Go, and Samba via the HPE NonStop OSS environment. 

HPE NonStop (formerly Tandem) programming has evolved from proprietary languages designed for fault-tolerant, transaction-oriented processing (TAL, COBOL85) to supporting open-source languages (Java, C++, Python, PHP) on modern x86-64 hardware. The ecosystem spans from the initial Guardian OS to modern J-series and L-series OS, supporting TNS, TNS/R, TNS/E, and TNS/X architectures. 

Key Programming Languages & OS Timeline

  • 1970s–1980s (Tandem Guardian): Core development centered on TAL (Transaction Application Language) (system programming), COBOL85 (business logic), and TACL (Tandem Advanced Command Language) (command shell scripting).
  • 1990s (Guardian 90 / NonStop UX): Introduction of C and C++ for more flexible application development, alongside Pascal and FORTRAN.
  • 2000s (H-Series / J-Series – Itanium): Shift towards Java and enhanced support for C/C++ in the Pathway server environment.
  • 2010s–Present (J-Series / L-Series – x86-64): Modern NonStop systems, particularly on x86-64, expanded to include scripting languages like Perl, PHP, and Python within the Open System Services (OSS) environment.
  • pTAL (Portable TAL): Introduced to bridge native TAL to newer, more portable processor architectures. 

Operating System & Architecture Evolution

  • Guardian (TNS): The foundational OS, relying on Tandem’s native stack, with TAL as the primary low-level language.
  • OSS (Open System Services): Introduced to bring POSIX-compliant, Unix-like functionality to NonStop, enabling easier porting of C/C++ and open-source applications.
  • Modern OS (J-series/L-series): Supports both Guardian (native) and OSS environments, allowing for a hybrid approach where traditional transaction processing (COBOL/TAL) mixes with modern web services (Java/Python).

HPE NonStop Tandem TAL Detailed Timeline

TAL (Tandem Application Language) is the original system programming language for the HPE NonStop (formerly Tandem) platform. Developed by Tandem Computers in the mid-1970s, it was designed to provide high-level efficiency while allowing low-level machine access, similar to C but with a syntax influenced by ALGOL. 

Detailed Development Timeline

  • Mid-1970s: The Genesis
    • Tandem Computers, founded by James Treybig, introduces the first NonStop I system in 1976.
    • TAL is released as the primary language for writing the Guardian Operating System and system-level utilities.
    • The Tandem Advanced Command Language (TACL) is initially developed during this decade using TAL.
  • 1980s: Growth and Maturity
    • 1981–1983: Introduction of the NonStop II and TXP systems. TAL becomes the standard for developing mission-critical transaction applications like banking and point-of-sale systems.
    • 1985: The TAL Reference Manual is updated (March 1985), formalising advanced features like DEFINEs, LITERALs, and complex pointer arithmetic.
  • 1990s: Transition to RISC
    • Tandem introduces TNS/R (RISC) systems based on MIPS processors.
    • pTAL (Portable TAL) is introduced to allow TAL code to run “natively” on RISC hardware, offering better performance than the emulated TNS environment.
  • 2000s–Present: Modernisation and Maintenance
    • 2003–2005: HP (which acquired Compaq, who had bought Tandem) migrates NonStop to Intel Itanium (TNS/E) and later x86 architectures (TNS/X).
    • 2006: The Common Run-Time Environment (CRE) is enhanced to support mixed-language programs (C, COBOL, pTAL) seamlessly.
    • Current Status: TAL is considered a legacy language, with most new development occurring in C/C++ or Java. However, it remains vital for maintaining the core Guardian OS and legacy banking kernels. 

Typical Program Development Workflow

According to the TAL Programmer’s Guide, a developer follows this “timeline” to create a program:

  1. Source Code Creation: Writing statements, removing comments, and defining PROCs and SUBPROCs.
  2. Compilation: Running the TAL Compiler to generate an object file.
  3. Binding: Using the Binder Program to link the object file with the TALLIB Run-Time Library.
  4. Acceleration: Running the Accelerator (for TNS code) to optimise it for native hardware execution.
  5. Execution: Deploying via the TACL interface. 

HPE NonStop Tandem TAL Detailed Timeline