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Host Explorer/CSS TP usage restrictions

PDSE dataset support

  • PDSE datasets are supported but only to the extent that they are similar to a PDS. This means that:
    • Long member names (greater than 8 bytes) are not supported
    • Any user data fields that may be present in the directory entry for a PDSE member are supported, but again only to the extent that they are supported for a PD Extended directory user data beyond standard PDS limitations is not supported.
    • Adding or replacing members of a program library PDSE (for example, a LOADLIB) is not supported This is an IBM limitation imposed by the STOW macro. (Also see the next bullet.)
  • Moving or copying load module members from a standard PDS into a program library PDSE is not supported. Moving or copying load module members from a program library PDSE back to a standard PDS is supported, but the resulting load module members may not be executable.
  • Results from a dataset properties display will not contain utilization results for internal PDSE pages used because this information is IBM proprietary.
  • Member names containing special characters are not supported. Host Explorer only supports member names that conform to the same characters supported by ISPF for specifying member names.
  • The maximum number of members supported for any PDS or PDSE dataset when used with Host Explorer is 32767.
  • PDSE V2 dataset capabilities (e.g., member generations and other features) are not specifically supported; Host Explorer will operate against a PDSE V2 dataset as if it were PDSE V1.

Unsupported datasets

  • Extended format datasets are not supported.
  • Password protected datasets are not supported.
  • Non-SMS VSAM datasets cannot be deleted by Host Explorer. VSAM datasets cannot be browsed or edited by Host Explorer. However, the File-AID/Eclipse plug-in supports browsing and editing of VSAM KSDS, ESDS, and IAM datasets.
  • Source listing type DDIO files are supported if they are VSAM datasets. BDAM or SEQ type source listing DDIO files are not supported by Host Explorer. No report or transaction DDIO files of any type are supported by Host Explorer.
  • Host Explorer dataset functions operate on single-volume datasets only. Multivolume datasets are not supported.
  • Host Explorer dataset functions operate on cataloged datasets only. Except for the allocation of new datasets or a deliberate action to specifically catalog a dataset, any dataset that requires a volser to specify its physical location is not supported.
  • Operations against RECFM=VBS datasets are not supported by Host Explorer. However, Host Explorer can allocate a new dataset specifying RECFM=VBS.

z/OS unix files limitations

  • Currently, Host Explorer only allows the browsing, editing, deleting, and saving of z/OS Unix files. No support exists to rename, copy, or otherwise manipulate these files in any other manner.
  • Information contained within user-assigned file tags associated with z/OS Unix files are always used to facilitate the display of the file's data by Host Explorer. This means that if the file tag specifies a code page (CCSID) number, that number will be used in the conversion of the data for proper display. Files tagged as binary will not be converted. If no file tag is assigned then the data within the file will be converted for display using the code page of the session (that is, the code page selected or defaulted when the user signed on).

Browse/edit limitations

  • The editing of datasets or members that contain binary data that is not part of a normal display character set is not specifically supported. Because all data from the mainframe sent to Host Explorer must be translated from EBCDIC, any attempt to edit binary-type data is risky as it cannot be guaranteed that it will contain the correct binary value if the data were saved back to the mainframe dataset after retranslation back to EBCDIC form. Therefore, editing and saving of binary data is not permitted and any data selected for edit that contains such characters are forced into a browse mode only.

    Warning

    Important

     File-AID Data Editor for File-AID/MVS does permit editing of datasets with binary data

  • Unlike ISPF, Host Explorer supports the editing of RECFM=U datasets. In most cases, these types of datasets are load libraries and extreme caution should be exercised when attempting to edit this type of data. This situation is closely related to the prior limitation regarding the editing of binary data, above.
  • There is no support for the ISPF-like profile data that represents the characteristics of an edit session. For example, if a dataset member previously edited with ISPF using “CAPS ON” was then subsequently edited via Host Explorer, no attempt is made to detect and force caps on. None of the ISPF edit-related profile data is detected, stored, or used. This includes “CAPS ON/OFF”, “HEX ON/OFF”, “TABS”, and many others.
  • Browsing and editing of datasets or members in ISPF “packed” format is supported. However, if a packed dataset or member is edited and then saved, the dataset or member will not be saved in packed format. RECFM=U datasets containing packed data are not supported

JES explorer limitations

  • SYSOUT datasets displayed by the JES Explorer are limited to a maximum record length (LRECL) of 32000 bytes. Records wider than this can be displayed, however, the data displayed will be truncated at 32000 bytes.
  • JES2 or JES3 are the only supported subsystems. One of these two subsystems must be the primary subsystem in order for JES Explorer to operate.
  • The JES Explorer provides a mechanism for Host Explorer users to cancel job output as well as jobs that are in execution. These types of requests cause a JES2 $CJ cancel command or a JES3 MODIFY command to be issued to the system in order to honor the request. Installations wishing to secure or limit what can be canceled can do so by setting the appropriate JES2.CANCEL.* or JES3.MODIFY.* profiles for the security class OPERCMDS using the security software package in use on their system. Please Usage Restrictions A-3 consult your installation's appropriate security software administration documentation for additional information. For RACF installations, controlling access to system operator commands via the OPERCMDS class is documented in the z/OS Security Server RACF Security Administrator's Guide. “Administering the Use of Operator Commands”. Please also refer to section B Security Considerations within this space for additional detailed information about JES Explorer security.
  • The JES Explorer allows Host Explorer users to view output from jobs within the system. Installations wishing to secure this access and limit any or all user access to output from other users can do so by setting the appropriate profiles for the security class JESSPOOL.

Profiles for JESSPOOL are in the format Local-nodename.user ID.jobname.jobid.dsnumber.name

Using combinations of user IDs and wildcard characters, output viewing can be limited on a user ID or group ID basis as the installation chooses.

For installations that simply wish to invoke basic user level security for output where a user can only view their own output and no others, simply activate the JESSPOOL class in their security software and specify no profiles. User owning-only access is then the default action.

Please consult your installation's appropriate security software administration documentation for additional information. For RACF installations, controlling access to output via the JESSPOOL class is documented in the z/OS Security Server RACF Security Administrator's Guide, “Controlling Access to Spool Data”. Please also refer to section B Security Considerations within this space for additional detailed information about JES Explorer security

Miscellaneous

  • Results from a non-VSAM dataset properties display, which returns the DCB attributes and extent information about the dataset, may differ slightly from similar information provided by ISPF. The values for the amount of the extent(s) used can be different because of different calculation methods. Host Explorer uses the last TTR value in the dataset's DSCB to compute this value.
  • SMS managed datasets cannot normally be un-cataloged. Any attempt to uncatalog an SMS dataset will appear to function normally, but the dataset will remain cataloged. This is a normal function of the system and is not an error in Host Explorer processing.
  • The statistical data for individual members is maintained by Host Explorer in a manner similar to that of ISPF. The columns for “Changed”, “Size”, “Init”, and so forth are updated in a compatible fashion. However, the “Mod” field could differ slightly from values computed by ISPF due to different calculation methods.
  • When using Problem View to assist handling compilation errors, using a temporary dataset for the SYSIN DD statement to input the source program into the Language Processor for compilation is not recommended. Because a temporary dataset will be deleted at end of job, the source data will no longer be available for Problem View to access. This includes in-stream data via SYSIN DD * within the JCL.
  • When using Problem View and the same error message occurs repeatedly on multiple lines of the source program, only the first occurrence is reported.
  • Ideally, a user should not be logged on to different workstations using the same user ID because any messages that are routed to that user ID via job notification or command responses may route.



 

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