Wildcards for object names
When you specify an object name, you can include wildcard characters.
For most types of services, DASD MANAGER PLUS expands object names that include wildcards into one utility statement for each object that matches the wildcard object name pattern and object type. The characters shown in the following table are wildcards and use an SQL LIKE operator for expansion.
Wildcard characters
Wildcard | Description |
|---|---|
* (asterisk) | Matches zero to any number of characters |
% (percent) | Matches zero to any number of characters |
_ (underscore) | Matches any single character |
? (question mark) | Matches any single character |
If the qualifier does not contain one of those characters, the product uses an equal (=) operator to locate a match. DASD MANAGER PLUS does not support delimited identifiers when you specify a qualifier in a pattern. However, patterns can resolve to delimited object names.
Although expanding single-pattern wildcards is adequate for many situations, some situations require more control over object selection during utility generation. For example, you might need to specify multiple wildcard object name patterns or exclude specific objects, which makes object sets a better choice than simple patterns.
An object set name cannot contain an asterisk (*), percent (%), or embedded spaces. The owner and object set name together must be a unique name. For more information about the owner name, see Controlling-access-to-Object-Sets.