List of DAL elements (A-F)

This topic lists and describes the Detail Action Language (DAL) elements in this product.

$ACCT

$ACCT(pattern | %patid | table-id)

This DAL element has the following attributes: 

Attribute

Value

Description

This descriptor represents the account number from the JOB statement. This field has the same meaning as if $ACCTFLD(1,string) had been specified.

Type

Character string descriptor

Maximum length

142 characters.

Valid values

  • pattern—Hard-coded string in 1–142 alphabetic, numeric, or national (#, @, $) characters. It can also include the hyphen (-) and the wildcard characters ? and *. If pattern contains a blank, or any characters other than those previously listed, it must be enclosed in apostrophes.
  • %patternID—The name of a pattern created with the PATTERNDEF statement.
  • tableID—Identifies a specific table and which subtable to search

The pattern, %patternID, or, tableID entry is matched against the descriptor. If a match occurs, a TRUE value is returned.

 For more information about character string facilities, see Character-string-facilities-tutorial. For more information about table support, see DAL-and-JAL-table-management.

Usage

You can use this descriptor in EVALUATE definition statements and DAL Logic statements and also:

  • As an insert in message definition statements.
  • In a substring function.
  • In STRINGDEF and PATTERNDEF statements.
Example

This compares the account field from the JOB statement against the entries contained in the subtable ACCOUNTS from TABLE1.

$ACCT(AB123)

This compares the string A123 to the account field from the JOB statement:

//JOBNAME JOB (AB123), ...

$ACCT($TABLE1(ACCOUNTS))

For more information, see $ACCTFLD.

Important

This descriptor, along with the $ACCTFLD descriptor, is a special case, in that the Language Processor does not know the actual length of the descriptor. This results in an exception in the way comparisons are done.

The job accounting data provided in the JOB statement can be composed of an arbitrary number of fields each with an arbitrary length. The fields are delimited by commas. The total aggregate length is known (142 characters) by the Language Processor, but the length of each field is not known until DAL execution time. In this case, at DAL execution time, the shorter of the strings is extended on the right with blanks until it matches the length of the larger string.

For example, if $ACCT('ABC ') is coded in a DAL statement, and the character string in the account field in the JOB statement was 'ABC', then at the time DAL is executed, the account field from JOB statement would be extended by a blank on the right:

'ABCb'

In this case, when the strings are compared, they are equal. The pattern matching function returns a value of TRUE.

Similarly, if $ACCT('ABC') is coded in a DAL statement, and the character string in the account field in the JOB statement was 'ABC ', then at the time DAL is executed, the string coded in the pattern matching function would be extended by a blank on the right, again resulting in a TRUE value.

$ACCTFLD | $ACCTF

$ACCTFLD(field#,pattern)
or
$ACCTFLD(field#,%patid)
or
$ACCTFLD(field#,table-id)

This DAL element has the following attributes: 

Attribute

Value

Description

Accounting Related Fields

This descriptor represents an accounting related field from the JOB statement.

Type

Character string descriptor

Maximum length

142 characters.

Valid values

  • field#—Indicates the field reference number of the accounting related field and must be specified as decimal digit(s) 1–68.
  • pattern—Hard-coded string in 1–142 alphabetic, numeric, or national (#, @, $) characters. It can also include the hyphen (-) and the wildcard characters ? and *. If pattern contains a blank, or any characters other than those previously listed, it must be enclosed in apostrophes.
  • %patternID—The name of a pattern created with the PATTERNDEF statement.
  • tableID—Identifies a specific table and which subtable to search

The pattern, %patternID, or tableID entry is matched against the descriptor. If a match occurs, a TRUE value is returned.

 For more information about character string facilities, see Character-string-facilities-tutorial. For more information about table support, see DAL-and-JAL-table-management.

Usage

You can use this descriptor EVALUATE definition statements and DAL Logic statements and also:

  • As an insert in message definition statements.
  • In a substring function.
  • In STRINGDEF and PATTERNDEF statements.
Example
$ACCTFLD(1,12345)
$ACCTFLD(2,PAYROLL)

These compare the specified string with the fields from the JOB statement:

//JOBNAME JOB (12345,PAYROLL,'A/P DEPT'), ...
$ACCTF(1,$TABLE2(PAYROLL))

This compares the entries from the subtable PAYROLL of TABLE2 against the first accounting field from the JOB statement.

For more information, see $ACCT.

Important

If you use this descriptor with the character substring function the format is:

($ACCTFLD(field#),length,[starting-position])

This descriptor, along with the $ACCT descriptor, is a special case, in that the Language Processor does not know the actual length of the descriptor. This results in an exception in the way comparisons are done.

The job accounting data provided in the JOB statement can be composed of an arbitrary number of fields each with an arbitrary length. The fields are delimited by commas. The total aggregate length is known (142 characters) by the Language Processor, but the length of each field is not known until DAL execution time. In this case, at DAL execution time, the shorter of the strings is extended on the right with blanks until it matches the length of the larger string.

For example, if $ACCTFLD(1,'ABC ') is coded in a DAL statement, and the character string in the account field in the JOB statement was 'ABC', then at the time DAL is executed, the account field from JOB statement would be extended by a blank on the right:

'ABC '

In this case, when the strings are compared, they are equal. The pattern matching function returns a value of TRUE.

Similarly, if $ACCTFLD(1,'ABC') is coded in a DAL statement, and the character string in the account field in the JOB statement was 'ABC ', then at the time DAL is executed, the string coded in the pattern matching function would be extended by a blank on the right, again resulting in a TRUE value.

$ACF2_LIDUSER

STRINGDEF %stringid ($ACF2_LIDUSER,length[,start])

This DAL element has the following attributes: 

Attribute

Value

Description

This descriptor allows you to extract a substring from the ACF2 user information.

Type

Character string descriptor

Maximum length

192 characters

Valid values

  • %stringid—Unique identification name for the character string that is extracted. The first character must be % followed by 1 to 23 alphabetic, numeric, national (#, @, $), or underscore (_) characters. 
  • length—Number of characters extracted from the range 1–192.
  • start—Starting position within the ACF2 user information at which extraction is to begin. If this parameter is omitted, the default is 1 (the first character).

Usage

This descriptor can be used only in STRINGDEF definition statements.

Example
STRINGDEF %ACF2INFO ($ACF2_LIDUSER,8,10)

In this example, the 8 bytes starting at byte 10 in the ACF2 user information are extracted and placed in the string variable %ACF2INFO.

For more information, see $ACF2_LIDUSERX and STRINGDEF

Important

This descriptor contains data only in an ACF2 environment. In other environments, it returns blanks.

$ACF2_LIDUSERX

STRINGDEF %stringid ($ACF2_LIDUSER,length[,start])

This DAL element has the following attributes: 

Attribute

Value

Description

You can use this descriptor to extract a substring from the ACF2 user information extension

Type

Character string descriptor

Maximum length

192 characters

Valid values

  • %stringid—Unique identification name for the character string that is extracted. The first character must be % followed by 1 to 23 alphabetic, numeric, national (#, @, $), or underscore (_) characters.
  • length—Number of characters to be extracted, from the range 1-192.
  • start—Starting position within the ACF2 user information extension at which extraction is to begin. If this parameter is omitted, the default is 1 (the first character).

Usage

This descriptor can be used only in STRINGDEF definition statements.

Example

In this example, the 32 bytes starting at byte 4 in the ACF2 user information extension are extracted and placed in the string variable %ACF2XINFO.

STRINGDEF %ACF2XINFO ($ACF2_LIDUSERX,32,4)

Important

This descriptor contains data only in an ACF2 environment. In other environments, it returns blanks.

For more information, see $ACF2_LIDUSER and STRINGDEF. 

$ACFLID

$ACFLID(pattern | %patid | table-id)

This DAL element has the following attributes: 

Attribute

Value

Description

This descriptor represents the 8 byte ACF2 logon ID

Type

Character string descriptor

Maximum length

8 characters

Valid value

  • pattern—Hard- coded string in 1–8 alphabetic, numeric, or national (#, @, $) characters. It can also include the hyphen (-) and the wildcard characters ? and *.
  • %patternID—Name of a pattern created with the PATTERNDEF statement
  • tableID —Identifies a specific table and which subtable to search

The pattern, %patternID, or tableID entry is matched against the descriptor. If a match occurs, a TRUE value is returned.

For more information about character string facilities, see Character-string-facilities-tutorial. For more information about table support, see DAL-and-JAL-table-management.

Usage

You can use this descriptor in the EVALUATE definition statements and DAL Logic statements and also:

  • As an insert in message definition statements.
  • In a substring function.
  • In STRINGDEF and PATTERNDEF statements.
Example

$ACFLID(AB1234)
$ACFLID(JONES)
$ACFLID($TABLE3(*))

Important

ACF2 data is only available if the optional BMC ThruPut Manager ACF2 support is installed and activated on your system. 

For more information, see $ACFSID and $ACFUID.

$ACFSID

$ACFSID(pattern | %patid | table-id)

This DAL element has the following attributes: 

Attribute

Value

Description

This descriptor represents the 8 byte ACF2 source id.

Type

Character string descriptor

Maximum length

8 characters

Valid value

  • pattern—Hard- coded string in 1–8 alphabetic, numeric, or national (#, @, $) characters. It can also include the hyphen (-) and the wildcard characters ? and *. If pattern contains a blank, or any characters other than those previously listed, it must be enclosed in apostrophes.
  • %patternID—Name of a pattern created with the PATTERNDEF statement
  • tableID —Identifies a specific table and which subtable to search

The pattern, %patternID, or tableID entry is matched against the descriptor. If a match occurs, a TRUE value is returned.

For more information about character string facilities, see Character-string-facilities-tutorial. For more information about table support, see DAL-and-JAL-table-management.

Usage

You can use this descriptor EVALUATE definition statements and DAL Logic statements and also as:

  • As an insert in message definition statements.
  • In a substring function.
  • In STRINGDEF and PATTERNDEF statements.
Example

$ACFSID(READER1)
$ACFSID($TABLE1(SOURCES))

Important

ACF2 data is only available if the optional BMC ThruPut Manager ACF2 support is installed and activated on your system. 

For more information, see $ACFLID and $ACFUID. 

$ACFUID

$ACFUID(pattern | %patid | table-id)

This DAL element has the following attributes: 

Attribute

Value

Description

This descriptor represents the 24 byte ACF2 UID string.

Type

Character string descriptor

Maximum length

24 characters

Valid value

  • pattern—Hard- coded string in 1–24 alphabetic, numeric, or national (#, @, $) characters. It can also include the hyphen (-) and the wildcard characters ? and *. If pattern contains a blank, or any characters other than those previously listed, it must be enclosed in apostrophes.
  • %patternID—Name of a pattern created with the PATTERNDEF statement
  • tableID —Identifies a specific table and which subtable to search

The pattern, %patternID, or tableID entry is matched against the descriptor. If a match occurs, a TRUE value is returned.

For more information about character string facilities, see Character-string-facilities-tutorial. For more information about table support, see DAL-and-JAL-table-management.

Usage

You can use this descriptor in EVALUATE definition statements and DAL Logic statements and also:

  • As an insert in message definition statements.
  • In a substring function.
  • In STRINGDEF and PATTERNDEF statements.
Example

$ACFUID(OPERATIONS)
$ACFUID('CICS TEST #4')
$ACFUID($TABLE3(OPS))


Important

ACF2 data is only available if the optional BMC ThruPut Manager ACF2 support is installed and activated on your system.

For more information, see $ACFLID and $ACFSID. 

$ADDRSPC

$ADDRSPC(REAL | VIRT)

This DAL element has the following attributes: 

Attribute

Value

Description

You can use this logic variable to check the type of storage that the job has requested. The type of storage is set with the ADDRSPC or REGION keyword of the JOB statement or with the SET REGION Action statement.

Type

Logic variable

Maximum length

Not applicable

Valid value

  • REAL—Returns a TRUE value if central (real) storage was requested.
  • VIRT—Returns a TRUE value if virtual storage was requested.

Usage

You can use this variable in EVALUATE definition statements and DAL Logic statements, and also as an insert in message definition statements.

$BLANK

$Descriptor($BLANK)
or %strid($BLANK)

This DAL element has the following attributes: 

Attribute

Value

Description

This reserved word is used as a pattern to see if a character descriptor is all blanks.

Type

Reserved word

Maximum length

Not applicable

Valid value

  • $Descriptor—A character string descriptor.
  • %strid—The name of a character string created with the STRINGDEF statement.

Usage

The $BLANK reserved word is designed to test for string character descriptors that are blank.

Example
EVALUATE FIELD3_BLANK ($ACCTFLD(3,$BLANK))

The Property FIELD3_BLANK has a value of TRUE if the third account field was not specified or is all blanks.

$BYTES

$BYTES   [0,]name1,start2,name2[,...,startN,nameN]

This DAL element has the following attributes: 

Attribute

Value

Description

This descriptor represents the estimated number of output bytes.

Type

Range definition descriptor

Maximum length

99999 expressed in 1000's of bytes

Valid value

  • start—Starting point of a segment. The first starting point (if specified) must be 0. Starting points are specified in thousands of bytes as 1-5 decimal digits.
  • name—Unique property name assigned to a segment of the range, consisting of 1–24 alphabetic, numeric, national (#,@,$), or underscore (_) characters. The first character of each name cannot be a dollar sign ($) or underscore (_). You can code the single character dollar sign ($) in place of a property name for ranges that you want to ignore.

Usage

You can use this descriptor in the Definition Section of DAL, and also as an insert in message definition statements.

Example
$BYTES FEW_BYTES,1000,MANY_BYTES,100000,TOO_MANY_BYTES

Important

This descriptor represents cards as well as printed output.

For more information, see $CARDS, $LINES, and $PAGES. 

$CARDS

$CARDS    [0,]name1,start2,name2[,...,startN,nameN]

This DAL element has the following attributes: 

Attribute

Value

Description

This descriptor represents the estimated number of output cards.

Type

Range definition descriptor

Maximum length

9999999 expressed in number of cards.

Valid value

  • start—Starting point of a segment. The first starting point (if specified) must be 0. Starting points are specified in number of cards as 1-7 decimal digits.
  • name—Unique property name assigned to a segment of the range, consisting of 1–24 alphabetic, numeric, national (#,@,$), or underscore (_) characters. The first character of each name cannot be a dollar sign ($) or underscore (_). You can code the single character dollar sign ($) in place of a property name for ranges that you want to ignore.

Usage

You can use this descriptor the Definition Section of DAL, and also as an insert in message definition statements.

Example
$CARDS NO_CARDS,1,CARDS

For more information, see $BYTES, $LINES, and $PAGES. 

$CA7

$CA7(NO | YES)

This DAL element has the following attributes: 

Attribute

Value

Description

You can use this logic variable to determine whether the job was submitted by the CA7 job scheduler.

Type

Logic variable

Maximum length

Not applicable

Valid value

  • NO—This job was not submitted by the CA7 job scheduler.
  • YES—Indicates that this job was submitted by the CA7 job scheduler.

Usage

You can use this variable in EVALUATE definition statements and DAL Logic statements, and also as an insert in message definition statements.

Example

IF ($CA7(YES))
   WTCA7 ...
ELSE
   WTU ...
ENDIF

$CA7_DUEOUT_DATE

$CA7_DUEOUT_DATE

This DAL element has the following attributes: 

Attribute

Value

Description

This display variable allows you to display in a message, in Julian format, the year and date that the job is due out.

Type

Display variable

Maximum length

8 characters

Valid value

  • $CA7_DUEOUT_DATE—Is a valid insert in a MSGDEF statement.

Usage

Use this variable only as an insert in message definition statements.

Important

If the job was not submitted by CA7, this descriptor returns zeroes.

For more information, see $CA7 and $CA7_DUEOUT_TIME.

$CA7_DUEOUT_TIME

$CA7_DUEOUT_TIME

This DAL element has the following attributes: 

Attribute

Value

Description

You can use this display variable allows you to display in a message, in the format hh:mm, the time that the job is due out.

Type

Display variable

Maximum length

5characters

Valid value

  • $CA7_DUEOUT_TIME—Is a valid insert in a MSGDEF statement.

Usage

Use this variable only as an insert in message definition statements.

Important

If the job was not submitted by CA7, this descriptor returns zeroes.

For more information, see $CA7 and $CA7_DUEOUT_DATE.

$CA7_ENTRY

$CA7_ENTRY(method)

This DAL element has the following attributes: 

Attribute

Value

Description

You can use this descriptor to determine the method used to bring the job into the CA7 request queue.

Type

Character string descriptor

Maximum length

4 characters

Valid value

  • method—Is one of the methods by which the job is brought into the CA7 request queue, such as RUN (for a job brought in by the RUN command) or EXTL (for a job submitted external to CA7). The method is matched against the descriptor. If a match occurs, a TRUE value is returned.

For a list of valid methods, see to the CA7 supplier-provided documentation.

Usage

You can use this descriptor EVALUATE definition statements and DAL Logic statements and also:

  • As an insert in message definition statements.
  • In a substring function.
  • In STRINGDEF and PATTERNDEF statements.

Important

If the job was not submitted by CA7, this descriptor returns blanks.

For more information, s ee $CA7. 

$CA7_INSTANCE_ALIAS

$CA7_INSTANCE_ALIAS(pattern | %patid | table-id)

This DAL element has the following attributes: 

Attribute

Value

Description

You can use this descriptor to determine the alias of the CA7 tracking instance that submitted the job.

Type

Character string descriptor

Maximum length

4 characters

Valid value

  • pattern—Hard-coded string in 1–4 alphabetic, numeric, or national (#, @, $) characters. It can also include the hyphen (-), the period (.), and the wildcard characters ? and *. If pattern contains a blank, or any characters other than those previously listed, it must be enclosed in apostrophes.
  • %patternID—Name of a pattern created with the PATTERNDEF statement.
  • tableID—Identifies a specific table and which subtable to search.

The pattern,  %patternID, or  tableID  entry is matched against the descriptor If a match occurs, a TRUE value is returned.

For more information about character string facilities, see Character string facilities tutorial. For more information about table support, see DAL and JAL table management.

Usage

You can use this descriptor EVALUATE definition statements and JAL Logic statements and also:

  • As an insert in message definition statements.
  • In a substring function.
  • In STRINGDEF and PATTERNDEF statements.
  • In JLS_LIMITDEF and JLS_CNTLDEF statements.
Example

$CA7_INSTANCE_ALIAS(PROD)
$CA7_INSTANCE_ALIAS(PTABLE(NAMES))

Important

If the job was not submitted by CA7, this descriptor returns blanks.

If the CA7 tracking instance has no alias, this descriptor returns the CA7 instance ID.

For more information, see $CA7 and $CA7_INSTANCE_ID. 

$CA7_INSTANCE_ID

$CA7_INSTANCE_ID(pattern | %patid | table-id)

This DAL element has the following attributes: 

Attribute

Value

Description

You can use this descriptor to determine the ID of the CA7 tracking instance that submitted the job.

Type

Character string descriptor

Maximum length

4 characters

Valid value

  • pattern—Hard-coded string in 1–4 alphabetic, numeric, or national (#, @, $) characters. It can also include the hyphen (-), the period (.), and the wildcard characters ? and *. If pattern contains a blank, or any characters other than those previously listed, it must be enclosed in apostrophes.
  • %patternID—Name of a pattern created with the PATTERNDEF statement.
  • tableID—Identifies a specific table and which subtable to search.

The pattern,  %patternID, or  tableID  entry is matched against the descriptor If a match occurs, a TRUE value is returned.

For more information about character string facilities, see Character string facilities tutorial. For more information about table support, see DAL and JAL table management.

Usage

You can use this descriptor EVALUATE definition statements and JAL Logic statements and also:

  • As an insert in message definition statements.
  • In a substring function.
  • In STRINGDEF and PATTERNDEF statements.
  • In JLS_LIMITDEF and JLS_CNTLDEF statements.
Example

$CA7_INSTANCE_ID(CA73)
$CA7_INSTANCE_ALIAS(PTABLE(CA7IDS))

Important

If the job was not submitted by CA7, this descriptor returns blanks.

For more information, see $CA7 and $CA7_INSTANCE_ALIAS. 

$CA7_JCLID

$CA7_JCLID

This DAL element has the following attributes: 

Attribute

Value

Description

You can use this descriptor to display in a message the CA7 job ID.

Type

Display variable

Maximum length

3 characters

Valid value

  • $CA7_JCLID—Is a valid insert in a MSGDEF statement.

Usage

Use this variable only as an insert in message definition statements.

Important

If the job was not submitted by CA7, this descriptor returns zeroes.

For more information, see $CA7, $CA7_JOB# and $CA7_SCHID. 

$CA7_JOB#

$CA7_JOB#

This DAL element has the following attributes: 

Attribute

Value

Description

You can use this descriptor to display in a message the CA7 job number.

Type

Display variable

Maximum length

4 characters

Valid value

  • $CA7_JOB#—Is a valid insert in a MSGDEF statement.

Usage

Use this variable only as an insert in message definition statements.

Important

If the job was not submitted by CA7, this descriptor returns zeroes.

For more information, see $CA7_JCLID and $CA7_SCHID. 

$CA7_SCHID

$CA7_SCHID

This DAL element has the following attributes: 

Attribute

Value

Description

You can use this display variable to display in a message the CA7.

Type

Display variable

Maximum length

3 characters

Valid value

  • $CA7_SCHID—Is a valid insert in a MSGDEF statement.

Usage

Use this variable only as an insert in message definition statements.

Important

If the job was not submitted by CA7, this descriptor returns zeroes.

For more information, see $CA7_JCLID and $CA7_JOB#. 

$CHANGED

$CHANGED name (DAL JSS_TABLE | TABLES)

This DAL element has the following attributes: 

Attribute

Value

Description

You can use this descriptor to check for changes in the BMC ThruPut Manager environment, such as refreshed DAL or newly disabled/enabled tables.

Type

Unique descriptor

Maximum length

Not applicable

Valid value

  • name—Unique property name assigned to a segment of the range, consisting of 1–24 alphabetic, numeric, national (#,@,$), or underscore (_) characters. The first character of each name cannot be a dollar sign ($) or underscore (_). 
  • DAL—Returns a value of TRUE if this is the first invocation for this type of DAL after a /DAL REFRESH operator command, or after BMC ThruPut Manager has been started.
  • JSS_TABLE—Returns a value of TRUE if this is the first invocation of this type of DAL after a /TBL DISABLE, /TBL ENABLE, or /TBL REFRESH operator command has been issued for the JSS table, or after BMC ThruPut Manager has been started.
  • TABLES—Returns a value of TRUE if this is the first invocation of this type of DAL after a /TBL DISABLE, /TBL ENABLE, or /TBL REFRESH operator command, or after BMC ThruPut Manager has been started.
Example

PROCEDURE ID(DAL) TYPE(DCS)
...
$CHANGED FIRST_TIME (DAL)

This statement evaluates to TRUE the first time DCS DAL is invoked after BMC ThruPut Manager starts, or after a /DAL REFRESH DCS operator command is issued, but is FALSE for other types of DAL and subsequent invocations of DCS DAL, even within the same job.

Important

This descriptor evaluates to TRUE for the first and only the first invocation of each type of DAL after a change, regardless of the job in which this occurs. The DAL types are TM, DCS, and SOS.

This descriptor is set to FALSE if you check for changes to tables that have never been loaded.

CHARSET

CHARSET %setid (‘chars’)

This DAL element has the following attributes: 

Attribute

Value

Description

You can use this statement to check for changes in the BMC ThruPut Manager environment, such as refreshed DAL or newly disabled/enabled tables.

Type

Definition statement

Maximum length

255 characters

Valid value

  • chars—Is 1-255 characters (enclosed in single quotes) that will result in a TRUE value when a character in a descriptor is tested using a PATTERNDEFX statement. Because the string is enclosed in quotes, the set can include a blank character. 
  • %setid—Unique identification name for the character set that is created with this statement. The first character must be %, followed by 1 to 23 alphabetic, numeric, national (#, @, $), or underscore (_) characters.

Usage

A CHARSET definition can be used only in a PATTERNDEFX statement. Each occurrence of the CHARSET name in the PATTERNDEFX statement is compared against one character in the target descriptor.

Example

Assume you want to test for odd digits. The definition would be:

CHARSET %ODD ('13579')

You could then test for a four digit odd number, for example:

CHARSET      %ODD            (‘13579’)
PATTERNDEFX  %TEST_ODD_NUM   (###,%ODD)

For more information, see $CONCAT

$CONCAT

$CONCAT(NO | YES)

This DAL element has the following attributes: 

Attribute

Value

Description

This logic variable allows you to determine if the data set being processed is associated with a concatenation group of DD statements. The first DD statement of the concatenation returns a TRUE value. If you want to know if it is the first, you can test the range descriptor $CONCAT# for a value of 0.

Type

Logic variable

Maximum length

Not applicable

Valid value

  • NO—When this subparameter is coded, $CONCAT is TRUE for data sets that are not concatenated.
  • YES—When this subparameter is coded, $CONCAT is TRUE for data sets that are concatenated.

Usage

You can use this variable in EVALUATE definition statements and DAL Logic statements, and also as an insert in message definition statements.

For more information, see $CONCAT#. 

$CONCAT#

$CONCAT# [0,]name1,start2,name2[,...,startN,nameN]

This DAL element has the following attributes: 

Attribute

Value

Description

You can use this descriptor to determine the concatenation number for the DD/data set being processed. The first DD statement of a group of concatenated DD statements has a value of 0.

Type

Range definition descriptor

Maximum length

99999 concatenated DD statements

Valid value

  • start—Starting point of a segment. The first starting point (if specified) must be 0.
  • name—Unique property name assigned to a segment of the range, consisting of 1–24 alphabetic, numeric, national (#,@,$), or underscore (_) characters. The first character of each name cannot be a dollar sign ($) or underscore (_). You can code the single character dollar sign ($) in place of a property name for ranges that you want to ignore.

Usage

You can use this descriptor the Definition Section of DAL, and also as an insert in message definition statements.

Important

A DD statement that is not part of a concatenation returns a value of zero. This is the same value as the first statement in a concatenation group of DD statements. To determine whether or not a DD statement is part of a concatenation, use the logic variable $CONCAT.

For more information, see $CONCAT. 

$CONTROL_M

$CONTROL_M(YES | NO)

This DAL element has the following attributes: 

Attribute

Value

Description

You can use this logic variable to determine whether the job was submitted by the Control-M job scheduler.

This function returns a TRUE/FALSE value depending on whether or not the job was submitted by the Control-M job scheduler.

Type

Logic variable

Maximum length

Not applicable

Valid value

  • YES—Returns a value of TRUE if this job was submitted by the Control-M job scheduler, otherwise it returns a FALSE value.
  • NO—Returns a value of TRUE if this job was not submitted by the Control-M job scheduler, otherwise it returns a FALSE value.

Usage

You can use this variable in EVALUATE definition statements and DAL Logic statements, and also as an insert in message definition statements.

Example

IF ($CONTROL_M(YES))
 ELSE
   WTU ...
ENDIF

$CONVERTER_ERROR

$CONVERTER_ERROR(NO | YES)

This DAL element has the following attributes: 

Attribute

Value

Description

JBS only. You can use this logic variable to determine whether the job was failed because of an error in the converter.

This function returns a TRUE/FALSE value depending on whether or not the job was submitted by the Control-M job scheduler.

Type

Logic variable

Maximum length

Not applicable

Valid value

  • NO—This job did not encounter errors during JCL conversion.
  • YES—Indicates that this job was failed because of an error during JCL conversion.

Usage

You can use this variable in EVALUATE definition statements and DAL Logic statements, and also as an insert in message definition statements.

Example

IF ($CONVERTER_ERROR(YES)) 
   WTU CONVERT_ERR_MSG
   ...

Important

This descriptor is only useful in cases where asymmetric nodes exist, and jobs submitted on one node fail during conversion although they do not fail on the node at which they will actually run. By testing for a converter error and inserting an appropriate JBS XMIT agent, you can allow the job to remain in the system and ultimately be transmitted to the target node.

$CURCLASS | $CRCL

$CURCLASS(class | *)

This DAL element has the following attributes: 

Attribute

Value

Description

This descriptor represents the class in which the BMC ThruPut Manager Job Analyzer is currently processing the job (the Job Analysis Class or a Deferred Job Analysis Class).

Type

Character string descriptor

Maximum length

1 character

Valid value

  • class—A hard-coded single character from A-Z or 0-9.
  • *—Job Analysis Class.

Usage

You can use this descriptor EVALUATE definition statements and DAL Logic statements and also:

  • As an insert in message definition statements.
  • In a substring function.
  • In STRINGDEF and PATTERNDEF statements.
Example

$CURCLASS(Z)
$CRCL(9)

Important

This is not the Job Submission class.

The use of * allows you to be independent of the specific Job Analysis class. You can alter it without having to change DAL.

For more information, see $INCLASS. 

$CURMSGCLASS

$CURMSGCLASS(class)

This DAL element has the following attributes: 

Attribute

Value

Description

This descriptor represents the current message class. This could differ from the message class at job submission, since an SOS SET MSGCLASS statement could have been executed (in JAL) during a previous analysis.

Type

Character string descriptor

Maximum length

1 character

Valid value

  • class—A hard-coded single character from A-Z or 0-9.

Usage

You can use this descriptor in EVALUATE definition statements and DAL Logic statements. This descriptor can also be used as an insert in message definition statements.

Example
$CURMSGCLASS(N)

For more information, see $INMSGCLASS. 

$CURPRIO | $CRPR

$CURPRIO(priority-value)
or
$CURPRIO(low:high)
or
$CURPRIO(low:MAX)

This DAL element has the following attributes: 

Attribute

Value

Description

This descriptor represents the execution queue priority that the job had at the time it was selected by the Job Analyzer for analysis.

Type

Character string descriptor

Maximum length

6 character

Valid value

  • priority-value—A value to be tested for equal. It must in the range of 0 to 15.
  • low—The low end of a range to be tested. It must be in the range 0 to 14.
  • high—Is the high end of a range of priorities. It must be in the range 1 to 15, and must be higher than low. The value in $CURPRIO must be greater than or equal to low but less than high in order for this descriptor function to evaluate to TRUE.
    • MAX—If you want to include jobs with priority 15 use MAX instead of high.

Usage

You can use this descriptor EVALUATE definition statements and DAL Logic statements. This descriptor can also be used as an insert in message definition statements.

Example
$CURPRIO(9)

This function returns a TRUE value only for jobs with a current priority of 9.

$CURPRIO(5:15)

This returns a TRUE value for all jobs with a priority in the range 5 to 14, because the value tested must be less than 15. Note that to specify a range that includes priority 15, you must use the MAX parameter:

$CRPR(5:MAX)


Important

This is not the Job Submission priority.

For more information, see $INPRIO. 

$CURRENT_DAY_OF_MONTH

$CURRENT_DAY_OF_MONTH   [0,]name1,start2,name2[,...,startN,nameN]

This DAL element has the following attributes: 

Attribute

Value

Description

This descriptor provides a number representing the current day of the month.

Type

Range definition descriptor

Maximum length

31

Valid value

  • start—Starting point of a segment. The first starting point (if specified) must be 0.
  • name—Unique property name assigned to a segment of the range, consisting of 1–24 alphabetic, numeric, national (#,@,$), or underscore (_) characters. The first character of each name cannot be a dollar sign ($) or underscore (_). You can code the single character dollar sign ($) in place of a property name for ranges that you want to ignore.

Usage

You can use this descriptor the Definition Section of DAL, and also as an insert in message definition statements.

Example
$CURRENT_DAY_OF_MONTH WEEK_1,8,WEEK_2,15,WEEK_3,22,WEEK_4

For more information, see $CURRENT_DAY_OF_WEEK, $CURRENT_DAY_OF_YEAR, $CURRENT_MONTH, $CURRENT_TIME_OF_DAY, and $CURRENT_YEAR. 

$CURRENT_DAY_OF_WEEK

$CURRENT_DAY_OF_WEEK   [0,]name1,start2,name2[,...,startN,nameN]

This DAL element has the following attributes: 

Attribute

Value

Description

This descriptor provides a number representing the current day of the week, with Monday returning a value of 1 and Sunday returning a value of 7.

Type

Range definition descriptor

Maximum length

7

Valid value

  • start—Starting point of a segment. The first starting point (if specified) must be 0.
  • name—Unique property name assigned to a segment of the range, consisting of 1–24 alphabetic, numeric, national (#,@,$), or underscore (_) characters. The first character of each name cannot be a dollar sign ($) or underscore (_). You can code the single character dollar sign ($) in place of a property name for ranges that you want to ignore.

Usage

You can use this descriptor the Definition Section of DAL, and also as an insert in message definition statements.

Example
$CURRENT_DAY_OF_WEEK WEEKDAY,6,WEEKEND

For more information, see $CURRENT_DAY_OF_MONTH, $CURRENT_DAY_OF_YEAR, $CURRENT_MONTH, $CURRENT_TIME_OF_DAY, and $CURRENT_YEAR. 

$CURRENT_DAY_OF_YEAR

$CURRENT_DAY_OF_YEAR   [0,]name1,start2,name2[,...,startN,nameN]

This DAL element has the following attributes: 

Attribute

Value

Description

This descriptor provides a number representing the current day of the year, counting from January 1 as day 1. This is the ddd portion of the Julian date (yyyyddd).

Type

Range definition descriptor

Maximum length

366

Valid value

  • start—Starting point of a segment. The first starting point (if specified) must be 0.
  • name—Unique property name assigned to a segment of the range, consisting of 1–24 alphabetic, numeric, national (#,@,$), or underscore (_) characters. The first character of each name cannot be a dollar sign ($) or underscore (_). You can code the single character dollar sign ($) in place of a property name for ranges that you want to ignore.

Usage

You can use this descriptor the Definition Section of DAL, and also as an insert in message definition statements.

Example
$CURRENT_DAY_OF_YEAR Q1,91,Q2,181,Q3,271,Q4

For more information, see $CURRENT_DAY_OF_MONTH, $CURRENT_DAY_OF_WEEK, $CURRENT_MONTH, $CURRENT_TIME_OF_DAY, and $CURRENT_YEAR. 

$CURRENT_MONTH

$CURRENT_MONTH   [0,]name1,start2,name2[,...,startN,nameN]

This DAL element has the following attributes: 

Attribute

Value

Description

This descriptor provides a number representing the current month, with January returning a value of 1 and December returning a value of 12.

Type

Range definition descriptor

Maximum length

12

Valid value

  • start—Starting point of a segment. The first starting point (if specified) must be 0.
  • name—Unique property name assigned to a segment of the range, consisting of 1–24 alphabetic, numeric, national (#,@,$), or underscore (_) characters. The first character of each name cannot be a dollar sign ($) or underscore (_). You can code the single character dollar sign ($) in place of a property name for ranges that you want to ignore.

Usage

You can use this descriptor the Definition Section of DAL, and also as an insert in message definition statements.

Example
$CURRENT_MONTH Q1,4,Q2,7,Q3,10,Q4

For more information, see $CURRENT_DAY_OF_MONTH, $CURRENT_DAY_OF_WEEK, $CURRENT_DAY_OF_YEAR, $CURRENT_TIME_OF_DAY, and $CURRENT_YEAR. 

$CURRENT_TIME_OF_DAY

$CURRENT_TIME_OF_DAY   [00:00,]name1,start2,name2[,...,startN,nameN]

This DAL element has the following attributes: 

Attribute

Value

Description

This descriptor provides the current time of day in the format hh:mm, using the 24-hour clock.

Type

Range definition descriptor

Maximum length

23:59

Valid value

  • start—Starting point of a segment. The first starting point (if specified) must be 0. Starting points are specified in hours and minutes on a 24-hour clock, with 00:00 representing midnight.
  • name—Unique property name assigned to a segment of the range, consisting of 1–24 alphabetic, numeric, national (#,@,$), or underscore (_) characters. The first character of each name cannot be a dollar sign ($) or underscore (_). You can code the single character dollar sign ($) in place of a property name for ranges that you want to ignore.

Usage

You can use this descriptor the Definition Section of DAL, and also as an insert in message definition statements.

Example
$CURRENT_TIME_OF_DAY MORNING,12:00,AFTERNOON,18:00,EVENING

For more information, see $CURRENT_DAY_OF_MONTH, $CURRENT_DAY_OF_WEEK, $CURRENT_DAY_OF_YEAR, $CURRENT_MONTH, and $CURRENT_YEAR. 

$CURRENT_YEAR

$CURRENT_YEAR   [0,]name1,start2,name2[,...,startN,nameN]

This DAL element has the following attributes: 

Attribute

Value

Description

This descriptor provides a number representing the current year, including the century designation. The format is ccyy, for example 2005.

Type

Range definition descriptor

Maximum length

9999

Valid value

  • start—Starting point of a segment. The first starting point (if specified) must be 0. 
  • name—Unique property name assigned to a segment of the range, consisting of 1–24 alphabetic, numeric, national (#,@,$), or underscore (_) characters. The first character of each name cannot be a dollar sign ($) or underscore (_). You can code the single character dollar sign ($) in place of a property name for ranges that you want to ignore.

Usage

You can use this descriptor the Definition Section of DAL, and also as an insert in message definition statements.

Example
$CURRENT_YEAR PRE_Y2K,2000,Y2K,2001,POST_Y2K

For more information, see $CURRENT_DAY_OF_MONTH, $CURRENT_DAY_OF_WEEK, $CURRENT_DAY_OF_YEAR, $CURRENT_TIME_OF_DAY, and $CURRENT_MONTH. 

$DAL_DESCRIPTION

$DAL_DESCRIPTION

This DAL element has the following attributes: 

Attribute

Value

Description

You can use this display variable to display in a message the DAL description from the PROCEDURE statement.

Type

Display variable

Maximum length

24 characters

Valid value

  • $DAL_DESCRIPTION—Is a valid insert in a MSGDEF statement.

Usage

Use this variable only as an insert in message definition statements.

For more information, see PROCEDURE and $DAL_TEXT_DSNAME. 

$DALNODE

Description:   Name of Node on which DAL Is Executing

Type: .

Maximum Length: 8 characters.

This descriptor allows you .

$DALNODE(pattern | %patid | table-id)

This DAL element has the following attributes: 

Attribute

Value

Description

You can use this descriptor to determine the name of the JES2 node where the DAL is executing

Type

Character string descriptor

Maximum length

8 characters

Valid value

  • pattern—Hard-coded string in 1–142 alphabetic, numeric, or national (#, @, $) characters. It can also include the hyphen (-) and the wildcard characters ? and *. 
  • %patternID—The name of a pattern created with the PATTERNDEF statement.
  • tableID—Identifies a specific table and which subtable to search

The pattern, %patternID, or, tableID entry is matched against the descriptor. If a match occurs, a TRUE value is returned.

 For more information about character string facilities, see Character string facilities tutorial. For more information about table support, see  DAL and JAL table management .

Usage

You can use this descriptor EVALUATE definition statements and DAL Logic statements and also:

  • As an insert in message definition statements.
  • In a substring function.
  • In STRINGDEF and PATTERNDEF statements.

For more information, see $DALSYS. 

$DALSYS

$DALSYS(pattern | %patid | table-id)

This DAL element has the following attributes: 

Attribute

Value

Description

This descriptor represents the JES2 system id of the system where DAL is executing.

Type

Character string descriptor

Maximum length

4 characters

Valid value

  • pattern—Hard-coded string in 1–142 alphabetic, numeric, or national (#, @, $) characters. It can also include the hyphen (-) and the wildcard characters ? and *. 
  • %patternID—The name of a pattern created with the PATTERNDEF statement.
  • tableID—Identifies a specific table and which subtable to search

The pattern,  %patternID, or,  tableID  entry is matched against the descriptor. If a match occurs, a TRUE value is returned.

Usage

You can use this descriptor EVALUATE definition statements and DAL Logic statements and also:

  • As an insert in message definition statements.
  • In a substring function.
  • In STRINGDEF and PATTERNDEF statements.

For more information, see $DALNODE and $INSYSAFF. 

$DAL_TEXT_DSNAME

$DAL_TEXT_DSNAME

This DAL element has the following attributes: 

Attribute

Value

Description

You can use this display variable to display in a message the data set name of currently running DAL

Type

Display variable

Maximum length

54 characters

Valid value

  • $DAL_TEXT_DSNAME—Is a valid insert in a MSGDEF statement.

Usage

Use this variable only as an insert in message definition statements.

For more information, see $DAL_DESCRIPTION. 

$DATASET_ALIAS

$DATASET_ALIAS(NO | YES)

This DAL element has the following attributes: 

Attribute

Value

Description

You can use this logic variable to determine if the name of the data set currently being processed is actually an alias

Type

Logic variable

Maximum length

Not applicable

Valid value

  • NO—Returns a value of TRUE when the data set name is not an alias.
  • YES—Returns a value of TRUE when the data set name is an alias.

Usage

You can use this variable in EVALUATE definition statements and DAL Logic statements, and also as an insert in message definition statements. 

$DATASET_CATALOGED

$DATASET_CATALOGED(NO | YES)

This DAL element has the following attributes: 

Attribute

Value

Description

You can use this logic variable to determine if the data set currently being processed is cataloged

Type

Logic variable

Maximum length

Not applicable

Valid value

  • NO—Returns a value of TRUE when the data set name is not cataloged..
  • YES—Returns a value of TRUE when the data set name is cataloged.

Usage

You can use this variable in EVALUATE definition statements and DAL Logic statements, and also as an insert in message definition statements.

Important

If both UNIT and VOL=SER are coded for the data set, the catalog is not checked. The value returned by this descriptor therefore assumes that the data set is not cataloged.

$DATASET_GDG

$DATASET_GDG(NO | YES)

This DAL element has the following attributes: 

Attribute

Value

Description

You can use this logic variable to determine if the data set currently being processed is part of a generation data group regardless of whether or not the data set was specified as relative or absolute

Type

Logic variable

Maximum length

Not applicable

Valid value

  • NO—Returns a value of TRUE when the data set is not part of a GDG
  • YES—Returns a value of TRUE when the data set is part of a GDG.

Usage

You can use this variable in EVALUATE definition statements and DAL Logic statements, and also as an insert in message definition statements.

For more information, see $DATASET_GDGTYPE. 

$DATASET_GDGALL

$DATASET_GDGALL(NO | YES)

This DAL element has the following attributes: 

Attribute

Value

Description

You can use this logic variable to determine if the data set currently being processed is part of a generation data group and specifies all generations (i.e. does not specify a relative generation number)

Type

Logic variable

Maximum length

Not applicable

Valid value

  • NO—Returns a value of TRUE when the data set is not part of a GDG or does not specify all generations
  • YES—Returns a value of TRUE when the data set is part of a GDG and specifies all generations (omits a relative generation number)

Usage

You can use this variable in EVALUATE definition statements and DAL Logic statements, and also as an insert in message definition statements.

Important

TM DAL is invoked for all associated data sets when $DATASET_GDGALL(YES) is TRUE.

For more information, see $DATASET_GDG and $DATASET_GDGTYPE.

$DATASET_GDGTYPE

$DATASET_GDGTYPE(ABSOLUTE | RELATIVE)

This DAL element has the following attributes: 

Attribute

Value

Description

You can use this logic variable to determine how the GDG data set was specified in JCL

Type

Logic variable

Maximum length

Not applicable

Valid value

  • ABSOLUTE—Returns a value of TRUE if the data set was specified as an absolute GDG.
  • RELATIVE—Returns a value of TRUE if the data set was specified as a relative GDG.

Usage

You can use this variable in EVALUATE definition statements and DAL Logic statements, and also as an insert in message definition statements.

For more information, s ee $DATASET_GDG and $DATASET_GDGALL. 

$DATASET_IAM

$DATASET_IAM(NO | YES)

This DAL element has the following attributes: 

Attribute

Value

Description

You can use this logic variable to determine if the name of the data set currently being processed is an IAM file

Type

Logic variable

Maximum length

Not applicable

Valid value

  • NO—Returns a value of TRUE when the data set name is not an IAM file
  • YES—Returns a value of TRUE when the data set name is an IAM file.

Usage:

You can use this variable in EVALUATE definition statements and DAL Logic statements, and also as an insert in message definition statements.

$DATASET_MIGRATED

$DATASET_MIGRATED(DISK | NO | TAPE | YES)

This DAL element has the following attributes: 

Attribute

Value

Description

You can use this logic variable to test whether a data set has been migrated, and if so, where it has been migrated

Type

Logic variable

Maximum length

Not applicable

Valid value

  • DISK—Returns a value of TRUE if the data set has been migrated to disk.
  • NO—Returns a value of TRUE if the data set has not been migrated.
  • TAPE—Returns a value of TRUE if the data set has been migrated to tape.
  • YES—Returns a value of TRUE if the data set has been migrated to disk or tape.

Usage

You can use this variable in EVALUATE definition statements and DAL Logic statements, and also as an insert in message definition statements.

Important

This descriptor is meaningless for a GDG base ($DATASET_GDGALL(YES) is TRUE) in DCS DAL.

$DATASET_ON

$DATASET_ON(CART | DISK | HFS | REEL | TAPE | VIO | VTS)

This DAL element has the following attributes: 

Attribute

Value

Description

You can use this logic variable to determine if the data set currently being processed resides on tape or disk, or uses VTS or VIO

Type

Logic variable

Maximum length

Not applicable

Valid value

  • CART—Returns TRUE if the data set resides on a cartridge, otherwise it returns FALSE.
  • DISK—Returns TRUE if the data set resides on disk, otherwise it returns FALSE.
  • HFS—Returns TRUE if the data set resides on HFS, otherwise returns FALSE.
  • REEL—Returns TRUE if the data set resides on a reel, otherwise it returns FALSE.
  • TAPE—Returns TRUE if the data set resides on tape (cartridge or reel), otherwise it returns FALSE.
  • VIO—Returns TRUE if the data set is using VIO, otherwise it returns FALSE.
  • VTS—Returns TRUE if the data set is using Virtual Tape volumes, otherwise it returns FALSE.

Usage

You can use this variable in EVALUATE definition statements and DAL Logic statements, and also as an insert in message definition statements.

Example

$DISP1     TAPE_DISP   (SHR)
EVALUATE   SHR_TAPE    ($DATASET_ON(TAPE) & TAPE_DISP))
      /* MAKE SURE WE DO NOT LOCK OUT THE ENTIRE GDG */
EVALUATE   GDG_SAFE    ($DATASET_GDG(NO) | $DATASET_GDGTYPE(ABSOLUTE))
EVALUATE   OK_TO_ALTER (SHR_TAPE & GDG_SAFE)
...
IF (OK_TO_ALTER)
  DCS ALTER DISP1(OLD)
...


Important

You should always test for the value you want to verify. That is, rather than assuming that the data set is DISK resident because a test for TAPE returned a FALSE value, you should specifically test for DISK.

$DATASET_ON(DISK) always returns TRUE for a data set that has been migrated. This is because the data set will be on DISK after a successful recall.

$DATASET_SEQ#

Description:  File Sequence Number

Type: .

Maximum Value: 

This descriptor allows you .

$DATASET_SEQ#   [0,]name1,start2,name2[,...,startN,nameN]

This DAL element has the following attributes: 

Attribute

Value

Description

You can use this logic variable to determine the file sequence number for the data set associated with the DD being processed

Type

Range definition descriptor

Maximum length

9999

Valid value

  • start—Starting point of a segment. The first starting point (if specified) must be 0. Starting points are specified as 1-4 decimal digits.
  • name—Unique property name assigned to a segment of the range, consisting of 1–24 alphabetic, numeric, national (#,@,$), or underscore (_) characters. The first character of each name cannot be a dollar sign ($) or underscore (_). You can code the single character dollar sign ($) in place of a property name for ranges that you want to ignore.

Usage

You can use this descriptor the Definition Section of DAL, and also as an insert in message definition statements. 

$DATASET_VOL#

$DATASET_VOL# [0,]name1,start2,name2[,...,startN,nameN]

This DAL element has the following attributes: 

Attribute

Value

Description

You can use this logic variable to determine, for a multi-volume data set, the sequence number of the volume on which the file associated with the DD statement begins

Type

Range definition descriptor

Maximum value

255 volumes

Valid value

  • start—Starting point of a segment. The first starting point (if specified) must be 0. Starting points are specified as 1-4 decimal digits.
  • name—Unique property name assigned to a segment of the range, consisting of 1–24 alphabetic, numeric, national (#,@,$), or underscore (_) characters. The first character of each name cannot be a dollar sign ($) or underscore (_). You can code the single character dollar sign ($) in place of a property name for ranges that you want to ignore.

Usage

You can use this descriptor the Definition Section of DAL, and also as an insert in message definition statements. 

$DATASET_VSAM

$DATASET_VSAM(NO | YES)

This DAL element has the following attributes: 

Attribute

Value

Description

You can use this logic variable to determine if the data set currently being processed is a VSAM data set

Type

Logic variable

Maximum value

Not applicable

Valid value

  • NO—Returns a value of TRUE when the data set is not a VSAM data set.
  • YES—Returns a value of TRUE when the data set is a VSAM data set.

Usage

You can use this variable in EVALUATE definition statements and DAL Logic statements, and also as an insert in message definition statements. 

DBS ASSIGN

DBS ASSIGN INSTALLATION_POOL(poolname)

This DAL element has the following attributes: 

Attribute

Value

Description

You can use this statement to assign tape devices to a DBS Installation Drive Pool

Type

Action statement

Maximum value

Not applicable

Valid value

  • INSTALLATION_POOL(poolname)—This keyword indicates that the tape devices described on the current DD statement is to be assigned to a DBS Installation Drive Pool.
    • poolname—Identifies a DBS Installation Drive Pool that is defined in the ACTIVE Configuration.

Important

The DBS ASSIGN statement is the only way you can assign tape devices to Installation Drive Pools.

Installation Drive Pools are used to define pools of tape devices that your installation has grouped at some level other than their generic device type, such as those for which your installation has created esoteric unit names.

If the specified Installation Drive Pool is not defined in the ACTIVE Configuration, an error message is issued. After Job Analysis, the job is requeued in the Job Analysis class and held in the MHS_TM category.

If the DBS ASSIGN statement is encountered more than once in the same invocation of DAL, the last one encountered takes effect.

DBS RESERVE

DBS RESERVE poolname(dynamic#)

This DAL element has the following attributes: 

Attribute

Value

Description

You can use this statement to specify the number of devices that a step requests through dynamic allocation

Type

Action statement

Maximum value

Not applicable

Valid value

  • poolname(dynamic#)—Is one of the defined Drive Pools for your installation. See the Notes below for a description o f how you can obtain a list of the defined Drive Pools.
    • dynamic#—Is a number from 1-255, representing the highwater mark for dynamically allocated devices that the step will request.

Important

To obtain a list of the Device Pools in your installation's ACTIVE Configuration, see to the DBS Monitor Services display of Defined Pools.

If DBS RESERVE is executed more than once specifying the same Device Pool for the same step, the last one encountered takes effect.

Multiple DBS RESERVE statements specifying different Device Pools are cumulative regardless of the step.

The JAL unit counts for affected devices will be updated to include reserved devices.

$DCJECL

$DCJECL name   (JECL-statement-type | ANY)

This DAL element has the following attributes:

Attribute

Value

Description

DCS only. You can use this descriptor to determine whether a particular DCS control statement is present in the job input-stream

Type

Unique descriptor

Maximum value

Not applicable

Valid value

  • name—Unique property name assigned assigned a value of TRUE or FALSE, consisting of 1–24 alphabetic, numeric, national (#,@,$), or underscore (_) characters. The first character of each name cannot be a dollar sign ($) or underscore (_). 
  • JECL–statement-type—A list of DCS JECL statements to be detected. The Property returns a value of TRUE if a match occurs for any element in the list. The possible values are:
    • ALERT
    • NAG
    • REPO
    • ANY

This subparameter is a short form for a list including all the possible values. It is mutually exclusive with the subparameters listed above.

Usage

This descriptor can be used only in the Definition Section of DAL.

Example

$DCJECL REPO_USER (REPO)
...
IF (REPO_USER)
  WTU ...

DCS ALTER

DCS ALTER DISP1(SHR | OLD)

This DAL element has the following attributes:

Attribute

Value

Description

DCS only. You can use this action statement to alter the SHR/OLD status first parameter of the DISP keyword for the DD currently being processed. If more than one DCS ALTER is encountered for an invocation of DAL, the last one takes effect.

If NEW or MOD is specified a request to ALTER the disposition is invalid. The request is ignored and a warning message is issued.

Type

Action statement

Maximum value

Not applicable

Valid value

  • SHR—Requests that the first parameter for the DISP keyword be set to SHR for the DD statement being processed.
  • OLD—Requests that the first parameter for the DISP keyword be set to OLD for the DD statement being processed.

Usage

This action statement can be used only in the Logic Section of DAL.

Example

IF ($DSNAME(SYS1.PROCLIB)) 
   DCS ALTER DISP1(SHR)
...


This action statement operates only on the DD statement being processed. If you want to change the disposition for all the occurrences of a data set in a job, you must do it for each DD statement.

The effect of altering the disposition is exactly the same as if you coded the new disposition in JCL.

Altering the disposition of a GDG data set to OLD results in serialization of all jobs requesting the GDG. For an alternate approach, you can use DCS data set Reservation. For more information, see DCS SET statement in the JAL-Reference-guide and the section "Altering-dataset-disposition.

For more information, $DISP1.  

DCS NAG

DCS NAG dcnagdef-name [USERID(pattern[,...,pattern])
                     [REPEAT([iterations][,interval])]
  or
DCS NAG $DEFAULT      USERID(pattern[,...,pattern])
                     [REPEAT([iterations][,interval])]
  or
DCS NAG $SUPPRESS     USERID(pattern[,...,pattern])

This DAL element has the following attributes:

Attribute

Value

Description

DCS only. You can use this communication statement to issue a customized nagging message to TSO users holding a data set that is causing conflicts

You can also issue different nagging messages to different holders and suppress nagging messages to particular holders. You can code multiple DCS NAG statements per data set

Type

Communication statement

Maximum value

Not applicable

Valid value

  • dcnagdef—The name of a DCS_NAGDEF statement that describes the text of the nagging message.
  • $DEFAULT—You can use this keyword if you do not want to change the default nagging text.
  • USERID—This mandatory keyword indicates that the nagging is only applicable to TSO users that match the userid pattern specified.
    • pattern—A 1–7 character matching pattern for a TSO userid. It can be either a hard-coded string or a %patid. Up to 5 patterns can be specified in one DCS NAG statement. The pattern matching rules are as follows:
      • If a list of patterns is provided the matching analysis always proceeds from left to right.
      • If more than one DCS NAG request is present for the same data set, the matching analysis handles the requests in the same order in which they were made.
      • The first specific user id match is honored. That is, if any of the specified patterns represents a complete user id (7 characters), an attempt is made to match it with the TSO user holding the data set. As soon as a specific user id match occurs the search is stopped. This process includes all the elements in a list for a DCS NAG request and all the DCS NAG requests for the same data set.
      • If there is no specific match, then a pattern match is attempted. As soon as a match occurs the search is stopped.
        If you want the customized nagging to apply to all TSO users causing contention, code USERID(*).
    • REPEAT—(Optional) Specifies the number of nagging times or the frequency of the nagging or both. If this keyword is omitted, the default values are used.
      • iterations—A numeric value from 1–99 that indicates the number of times DCS is to nag the data set holder. If this value is not specified the default value is used. You can specify an installation value in the DCS statement DCS SET. The built-in value is 3 times.
      • interval—A numeric value from 1–99, expressed in minutes, that represents the interval between nagging messages. If this value is not specified the default value is used. You can specify an installation value in the DCS statement DCS SET. The built-in value is 5 minutes.
  • $SUPPRESS—This keyword indicates that nagging is to be suppressed for TSO users that match the patterns specified. You can suppress all nagging by coding:
    DCS NAG $SUPPRESS USERID(*)

Usage

This communication statement can be used only in the Logic Section of DAL.

Important

Requests to nag from JECL take precedence over DAL.

Requests to nag from DAL take precedence over JAL.

Example
DCS NAG LIB_NAG USERID(AP*) REPEAT(10,2)

For more information, s ee $DCJECL and DCS_NAGDEF. 

DCS_NAGDEF

DCS_NAGDEF nagdef-name (‘nag-text’)

This DAL element has the following attributes:

Attribute

Value

Description

DCS only. You can use this statement to customize the second line of a message that is to be generated to a holder, or holders, of a data set in contention status

Type

Definition statement

Maximum value

Not applicable

Valid value

  • nagdef-name—(Positional and Required) Unique name identifier used in the DCS NAG action statement, consisting of 1–24 alphabetic, numeric, national (#,@,$), or underscore (_) characters. The first character must be alphabetic or national. The first character cannot be a dollar sign ($) or underscore (_). 
    • nag-text—The text to be printed as the second line of a NAG to TSO data set holders. The maximum length is 120 characters. The text can consist of a combination of:
      • Hard-coded characters enclosed in apostrophes
      • Character type descriptors to be substituted for the values when the NAG is generated
      • STRINGDEF Definition Statements

Usage

This statement can be used only in the DAL Definition Section.

Example

DCS_NAGDEF PROC_NAG ('YOU ARE HOLDING PROCLIB-JOB ',$JOBNAME,' NEEDS IT')
STRINGDEF %NAME1 ($PGMR,5)
DCS_NAGDEF NAG ('APPLICATION ID ',%NAME1)

For more information, see $DCJECL, DCS NAG and STRINGDEF. 

The following descriptors are allowed as part of the text:

•  $ACCT

•  $ACCTFLD

•  $ACFLID

•  $ACFSID

•  $ACFUID

•  $DALNODE

•  $DALSYS

•  $DISPLAY_name

•  $INDEVICE

•  $INNODE

•  $INRMT

•  $INSYSAFF

•  $INSYSID

•  $JOBNAME

•  $JOBID

•  $JOBNUMBER

•  $NJEUSER

•  $NOTIFY

•  $PGMR

•  $RACFG

•  $RACFU

•  $READER_DATE

•  $READER_TIME

•  $ROOM

•  $SUBMITTER_RACFG

•  $SUBMITTER_RACFU

•  $SUBMITTER_TSSU

•  $TSSUSER

•  $USERCnn

DCS REPO

DCS REPO USERID (pattern[,...,pattern]) [INPUT | EXCLUDE]

This DAL element has the following attributes:

Attribute

Value

Description

DCS only. You can use this action statement to request repossessing data sets from TSO users. You can specify the TSO user, or users, to repossess from. You can also request that a particular user, or users, be excluded from any repossessing. A DCS REPO statement will not take effect for GDG data sets.

Type

Action statement

Maximum value

Not applicable

Valid value

  • USERID—This is a mandatory keyword. It specifies which TSO users are to be affected by the repossessing statement.
    • pattern—A 1–7 character matching pattern for a TSO userid. It can be either a hard-coded string or a %patid. Up to 5 patterns can be specified in one DCS REPO statement. The pattern matching rules are as follows:
      • If a list of patterns is provided the matching analysis always proceeds from left to right.
      • If more than one DCS REPO request is present for the same data set, the matching analysis handles the requests in the same order as they were made.
      • The first specific user id match is honored. That is, if any of the specified patterns represents a complete user id (7 characters), an attempt is made to match it with the TSO user holding the data set. A soon as a specific user id match occurs the search is stopped. This process includes all the elements in a list for a DCS REPO request and all the DCS REPO requests for the same data set.
      • If there is no specific match, then a pattern match is attempted. As soon as a match occurs the search is stopped.
  • INPUT—Indicates that data sets opened for input are to be repossessed. If this keyword is not coded, only data sets that are not opened are repossessed. This keyword is mutually exclusive with EXCLUDE.
  • EXCLUDE—Indicates that the specified TSO user ids are to be excluded from any data set repossessing. This keyword is mutually exclusive with INPUT.

Usage

This action statement can be used only in the Logic Section of DAL.

Important

For this statement to take effect, you must have coded CLAIM(R) as the last element of the DCS SERVICE request.

Example
DCS REPO USERID(AP8*,AP9*) INPUT

In this example repossessing for data sets opened for input can take place for TSO users with ids starting with AP8 and AP9.

For more information, s ee $DCJECL and DCS SERVICE. 

DCS SERVICE

DCS SERVICE (serv-level(interval),...,serv-level(interval),serv-level)
or
DCS SERVICE serv-level

This DAL element has the following attributes:

Attribute

Value

Description

DCS only. You can use this action statement to define the data set contention service level for the data set being processed

If more than one statement is encountered for an execution of DAL, the last one determines the service level. Since service level requests can also be made with JECL statements from the job stream, precedence rules are required. They are as follows:

  • ‘/*DCS SERVICE' JECL statement for data set, if present.
  • ‘/*DCS SERVICE' JECL statement for job, if present.
  • DAL request, if made.
  • JAL request, if made.
  • Installation default, if set (DCS SET initialization statement).
  • DCS system default. It is 'STANDBY'.

Type

Action statement

Maximum value

Not applicable

Valid value

  • serv-level—The name of a data set service level. It can be one of the following:
    CLAIM, CONTEND, STANDBY, or $DEFAULT
         You can include a list of up to 7 service level terms. Each one of them, with the exception of the last one in the list, must include a time interval.
    DCS attempts to service the data sets using the first service level coded. Once the interval for that service level has expired, the service level is altered to reflect the value of the next element in the list. When the last element of the list is reached, DCS will remain at this service level until the request is honored.
    The last element of the list cannot have an interval time coded since DCS maintains that service level until the data set becomes available.
    If you want to request data set repossessing you must code CLAIM(R) as the last element in the list. This represents a request to DCS to repossess data sets from TSO users that have the data set allocated but not in use (opened).
    If you also want repossessing of data sets that are opened for input you must code a DCS REPO statement in addition to CLAIM(R) in the SERVICE statement.
    Repossession will not take effect for GDG data sets. For an explanation about data set service and repossessing see to the System Programming Guide: TM/DCS Component .
    • interval—A time interval from 1 to 999 minutes. It specifies the time that DCS is to keep a particular service level. The last element in the service list cannot have an time interval coded.

Usage

This action statement can be used only in the Logic Section of DAL.

Example
DCS SERVICE (STANDBY(35),CLAIM)

In this example the initial service requested is STANDBY. If a contention situation occurs and has not been satisfied in 35 minutes, the service is upgraded to CLAIM.

DCS SERVICE ($DEFAULT(30),CLAIM(R))

In this example, for the first 30 minutes the default service level is used. After 30 minutes the service is upgraded to CLAIM with the repossessing attribute.

Important

If several requests are made for the same data set in different invocations of DAL, DCS uses the one requesting the highest initial service level.

This is not to be confused with making several DCS SERVICE requests during the same invocation of DAL. In this case, the last one takes effect.

For more information, s ee  $DCJECL and DCS REPO. 

$DDNAME

$DDNAME(pattern | %patid | table-id)

This DAL element has the following attributes:

Attribute

Value

Description

You can use this descriptor to determine the DD name for the DD statement currently being processed by DAL.

Type

Character string descriptor

Maximum length

8 characters

Valid value

  • %patternID—Name of a pattern created with the PATTERNDEF statement
  • tableID —Identifies a specific table and which subtable to search

The pattern,  %patternID, or  tableID  entry is matched against the descriptor. If a match occurs, a TRUE value is returned.

For more information about character string facilities, see Character string facilities tutorial.For more information about table support, seeDAL and JAL table management.

Usage

You can use this descriptor EVALUATE definition statements and DAL Logic statements and also: 

  • As an insert in message definition statements.
  • In a substring function.
  • In STRINGDEF and PATTERNDEF statements.
Example
$DDNAME(SYSL*)

Important

For a concatenated DD statement, the DD name is the name of the first DD statement in the concatenation. You can determine whether or not it is the actual DD name by testing the descriptor $CONCAT#.

For more information, see $CONCAT#.  

$DDTYPE

$DDTYPE name (ddtype)

This DAL element has the following attributes:

Attribute

Value

Description

You can use this descriptor to determine the type of DD statement that DAL is examining

Type

Unique descriptor

Maximum value

Not applicable

Valid value

  • name—(Positional and Required) Unique property name assigned to a segment of the range, consisting of 1–24 alphabetic, numeric, national (#,@,$), or underscore (_) characters. The first character of each name cannot be a dollar sign ($) or underscore (_). 
  • ddtype—Represents the type of DD statement to check for, and can be one of:
    • DATASET—Checks for a data set, either permanent or temporary.
    • DUMMY—Checks for a DD DUMMY statement.
    • HFS—Checks for an HFS data set.
    • INSTREAM—Checks for a DD * instream data set.
    • PERMANENT—Checks for a permanent data set.
    • QNAME—Checks for a data set of telecommunications access method (TCAM) messages.
    • SUBSYS—Checks for a data set that requests a subsystem.
    • SYSOUT—Checks for a SYSOUT data set. This subparameter is not permitted in SOS DAL, since the only possible value it can return is TRUE.
    • TEMPORARY—Checks for a temporary data set.

Usage

You cannot use this unique descriptor with any other statement and can be used only in the Definition Section of DAL.

Example
$DDTYPE PERM (PERMANENT)
$DDTYPE DUMMY (DUMMY)


$DISPLAY_name

$DISPLAY_name

This DAL element has the following attributes:

Attribute

Value

Description

You can use this display variable to insert certain DAL and BMC ThruPut Manager related information into messages

Type

Display variable

Maximum value

Not applicable

Valid value

  • name—Varies depending on the information desired. It can be one of:
    • DAL_CREATE_DATE—Display the time the DAL was created, in the Julian format ccyy.ddd 
    • DAL_CREATE_TIME—Displays the time the DAL was created, in the format hh:mm:ss
    • DAL_VERSION—Displays the version of the Language Processor used to create the DAL, in the Vv Rr.r format. For example, V7 R1.0.
    • TM_VERSION—Displays the version of BMC ThruPut Manager , in the Vv Rr.r format. For example, V7 R1.0.

Usage

Use this variable only as an insert in message definition statements.

Example
MSGDEF DAL_INFO ('DAL created on ',$DISPLAY_DAL_CREATE_DATE) LOG

$DISP1

$DISP1 name (disp1,disp2,...)

This DAL element has the following attributes:

Attribute

Value

Description

You can use this unique descriptor to determine the status (first) parameter of the DISP keyword for the DD statement currently being processed by DAL

Type

Unique descriptor

Maximum value

Not applicable

Valid value

  • name—(Positional and Required) Unique property name assigned to a value of TRUE or FALSE, consisting of 1–24 alphabetic, numeric, national (#,@,$), or underscore (_) characters. The first character of each name cannot be a dollar sign ($) or underscore (_).
  • disp1,disp2—A list of valid first parameters for the DISP keyword for the DD being processed. It can contain any of the following:
    • MOD
    • NEW
    • OLD
    • SHR

The list is treated as an OR condition. That is, a match with any element in the list makes this function return a value of TRUE.

Usage

You cannot use this unique descriptor with any other statement and can be used only in the Definition Section of DAL.

Important

Datasets with DISP of MOD are treated as NEW if there is not a corresponding entry in the catalog.

For more information, see DCS ALTER, $DISP2, and $DISP3. 

$DISP2

$DISP2 name (disp1,disp2,...)

This DAL element has the following attributes:

Attribute

Value

Description

You can use this unique descriptor to determine the normal termination (second) parameter of the DISP keyword for the DD statement currently being processed by DAL

Type

Unique descriptor

Maximum value

Not applicable

Valid value

  • name—(Positional and Required) Unique property name assigned to a value of TRUE or FALSE, consisting of 1–24 alphabetic, numeric, national (#,@,$), or underscore (_) characters. The first character of each name cannot be a dollar sign ($) or underscore (_).
  • disp1,disp2—A list of valid first parameters for the DISP keyword for the DD being processed. It can contain any of the following:
    • DELETE
    • KEEP
    • PASS
    • CATLG
    • UNCATLG

The list is treated as an OR condition. That is, a match with any element in the list makes this function return a value of TRUE.name

Usage

This Unique descriptor cannot be used with any other statement and can be used only in the Definition Section of DAL.

For more information, see $DISP1 and $DISP3. 

$DISP3

$DISP3 name (disp1,disp2,...)

This DAL element has the following attributes:

Attribute

Value

Description

You can use this unique descriptor to determine the abnormal termination (third) parameter of the DISP keyword for the DD statement currently being processed by DAL

Type

Unique descriptor

Maximum value

Not applicable

Valid value

  • name—(Positional and Required) Unique property name assigned to a value of TRUE or FALSE, consisting of 1–24 alphabetic, numeric, national (#,@,$), or underscore (_) characters. The first character of each name cannot be a dollar sign ($) or underscore (_).
  • disp1,disp2—A list of valid first parameters for the DISP keyword for the DD being processed. It can contain any of the following:
    • DELETE
    • KEEP
    • CATLG
    • UNCATLG

The list is treated as an OR condition. That is, a match with any element in the list makes this function return a value of TRUE.

Usage

This Unique descriptor cannot be used with any other statement and can be used only in the Definition Section of DAL.

For more information, see $DISP1 and $DISP2. 

$DJC_CLOSE

$DJC_CLOSE(YES | NO)

This DAL element has the following attributes:

Attribute

Value

Description

DJC ONLY. You can use this logic variable to determine whether the DJC GROUP JECL statement included the CLOSE keyword

This function call returns a true/false value depending on whether or not there is a CLOSE keyword coded on the JECL statement DJC GROUP.

Type

Logic variable.

Maximum value

Not applicable

Valid value

  • YES—Returns a TRUE value if the CLOSE keyword was coded on the DJC GROUP JECL statement.
  • NO—Returns a TRUE value if the CLOSE keyword was not coded on the DJC GROUP JECL statement.

Usage

You can use this variable in DAL Logic statements, and also as an insert in message definition statements.

Example

IF ($DJC_CLOSE(YES))
  ...

$DJC_CLOSE_TIME

$DJC_CLOSE_TIME   [0,]name1,start2,name2[,...,startN,nameN]

This DAL element has the following attributes:

Attribute

Value

Description

DJC ONLY. You can use this descriptor to determine the maximum number of hours a DJC Group remains open if no job or operator command requests that it be closed

Type

Range definition descriptor

Maximum value

99 expressed in hours

Valid value

  • start—Starting point of a segment. The first starting point (if specified) must be 0. 
  • name—Unique property name assigned to a segment of the range, consisting of 1–24 alphabetic, numeric, national (#,@,$), or underscore (_) characters. The first character of each name cannot be a dollar sign ($) or underscore (_). You can code the single character dollar sign ($) in place of a property name for ranges that you want to ignore.

Usage

You can use this descriptor the Definition Section of DAL, and also as an insert in message definition statements.

Example
$DJC_CLOSE_TIME NO_CLOSE_TIME,1,GOOD_CLOSE_TIME,25,CLOSE_TIME_TOO_LONG

Important

If there was no CLOSE_TIME keyword coded on the DJC GROUP JECL statement, the value returned is 0. The absence of a CLOSE_TIME keyword does not indicate that the DJC Group does not have an associated CLOSE_TIME period. The CLOSE_TIME period could have been specified on another job in the DJC Group.

$DJC_GROUP

$DJC_GROUP(pattern | %patid | table-id)

This DAL element has the following attributes:

Attribute

Value

Description

DJC ONLY. You can use this descriptor to determine the name of the DJC Group for the job. If the job does not include a DJC GROUP JECL statement, the $DJC_GROUP descriptor returns blanks

Type

Character string descriptor

Maximum value

17 characters

Valid value

  • pattern—Hard-coded string in 1–8 alphabetic, numeric, or national (#, @, $) characters. It can also include the hyphen (-), the period (.), and the wildcard characters ? and *. 
  • %patternID—Name of a pattern created with the PATTERNDEF statement
  • tableID—Identifies a specific table and which subtable to search

The pattern, %patternID, or tableID entry is matched against the descriptor If a match occurs, a TRUE value is returned.

For more information about character string facilities, see Character string facilities tutorial. For more information about table support, see DAL and JAL table management.

Usage

You can use this descriptor EVALUATE definition statements and DAL Logic statements and also:

  • As an insert in message definition statements.
  • In a substring function.
  • In STRINGDEF and PATTERNDEF statements.
  • In JLS_LIMITDEF and JLS_CNTLDEF statements. 

$DJC_HISTORY_COUNT

$DJC_HISTORY_COUNT   [0,]name1,start2,name2[,...,startN,nameN]

This DAL element has the following attributes:

Attribute

Value

Description

DJC ONLY. You can use this descriptor to determine the maximum number of levels of history retained for the history of a DJC Group

Type

Range definition descriptor

Maximum value

9 expressed in levels

Valid value

  • start—Starting point of a segment. The first starting point (if specified) must be 0. 
  • name—Unique property name assigned to a segment of the range, consisting of 1–24 alphabetic, numeric, national (#,@,$), or underscore (_) characters. The first character of each name cannot be a dollar sign ($) or underscore (_). You can code the single character dollar sign ($) in place of a property name for ranges that you want to ignore.

Usage

You can use this descriptor the Definition Section of DAL, and also as an insert in message definition statements.

Example
$DJC_HISTORY_COUNT NO_HISTORY_COUNT,1,GOOD_HISTORY_COUNT,3,HISTORY_COUNT_TOO_ HIGH

Important

If there was no HISTORY_COUNT keyword coded on the DJC GROUP JECL statement, the value returned is 0. The absence of a HISTORY_COUNT keyword does not indicate that the DJC Group does not have an associated HISTORY_COUNT parameter. The HISTORY_COUNT keyword could have been specified on another job in the DJC Group, or it could be taken from the defaults specified by the DJC SET operator command.

DJC Group history is also limited by the HISTORY_DAYS keyword. A DJC Group history can therefore expire before HISTORY_COUNT is reached.

For more information, see $DJC_HISTORY_DAYS. 

$DJC_HISTORY_DAYS

$DJC_HISTORY_DAYS   [0,]name1,start2,name2[,...,startN,nameN]

This DAL element has the following attributes:

Attribute

Value

Description

DJC ONLY. You can use this job descriptor to determine the maximum number of days the history of a DJC Group is retained

Type

Range definition descriptor

Maximum value

365 expressed in days

Valid value

  • start—Starting point of a segment. The first starting point (if specified) must be 0. 
  • name—Unique property name assigned to a segment of the range, consisting of 1–24 alphabetic, numeric, national (#,@,$), or underscore (_) characters. The first character of each name cannot be a dollar sign ($) or underscore (_). You can code the single character dollar sign ($) in place of a property name for ranges that you want to ignore.

Usage

You can use this descriptor the Definition Section of DAL, and also as an insert in message definition statements.

Important

If there was no HISTORY_DAYS keyword coded on the DJC GROUP JECL statement, the value returned is 0. The absence of a HISTORY_DAYS keyword does not indicate that the DJC Group does not have an associated HISTORY_DAYS period. The HISTORY_DAYS period could have been specified on another job in the DJC Group, or it could be taken from the defaults specified by the DJC SET operator command.

DJC Group history is also limited by the HISTORY_COUNT keyword. A DJC Group history can therefore expire before HISTORY_DAYS is reached.

Example
$DJC_HISTORY_DAYS NO_HISTORY_DAYS,1,HISTORY_DAYS_OK,25,TOO_MANY_HISTORY_DAYS

For more information, see $DJC_HISTORY_COUNT. 

$DJC_HOLD

$DJC_HOLD(YES | NO)

This DAL element has the following attributes:

Attribute

Value

Description

DJC ONLY. You can use this logic variable to determine whether the DJC GROUP JECL statement included the HOLD keyword

This function call returns a true/false value depending on whether or not there is a HOLD keyword coded on the JECL statement DJC GROUP.

Type

Logic variable.

Maximum value

Not applicable

Valid value

  • YES—Returns a TRUE value if the HOLD keyword was coded on the DJC GROUP JECL statement.
  • NO—Returns a TRUE value if the HOLD keyword was not coded on the DJC GROUP JECL statement.


Usage

You can use this variable in DAL Logic statements, and also as an insert in message definition statements.

Example

IF ($DJC_HOLD(YES))
  ...

$DSNAME

$DSNAME(pattern | %patid | table-id)

This DAL element has the following attributes:

Attribute

Value

Description

You can use this descriptor to determine the data set name for the DD currently being processed by DAL

Type

Character string descriptor

Maximum length

44 characters

Valid value

  • pattern—Hard-coded valid data set name pattern to be matched against the data set name on the DD statement being processed
  • %patternID—Name of a pattern created with the PATTERNDEF statement
  • tableID—Identifies a specific table and which subtable to search

The pattern, %patternID, or tableID entry is matched against the descriptor If a match occurs, a TRUE value is returned.

For more information about character string facilities, see  Character string facilities tutorial .   For more information about table support, see  DAL and JAL table management .

Usage

You can use this descriptor EVALUATE definition statements and DAL Logic statements and also:

  • As an insert in message definition statements.
  • In a substring function.
  • In STRINGDEF and PATTERNDEF statements.
Example

EVALUATE   Z_GROUP   ($DSNAME(Z5900.**))
...
IF (Z_GROUP)
  ...

$DSNAME_OWNER

$DSNAME_OWNER(pattern | %patid | table-id)

This DAL element has the following attributes:

Attribute

Value

Description

You can use this descriptor to determine the data set owner as defined in the catalog

Type

Character string descriptor

Maximum length

8 characters

Valid value

  • pattern—Hard-coded alid data set name pattern to be matched against the data set name on the DD statement being processed
  • %patternID—Name of a pattern created with the PATTERNDEF statement
  • tableID—Identifies a specific table and which subtable to search

The pattern, %patternID, or tableID entry is matched against the descriptor If a match occurs, a TRUE value is returned.

$DSNAME_QUALIFIER

$DSNAME_QUALIFIER(nn | LAST)

This DAL element has the following attributes:

Attribute

Value

Description

You can use this descriptor to insert a specific qualifier level of the data set name into a STRINGDEF statement

Type

Unique descriptor

Maximum value

Not applicable

Valid value

  • nn—Is a number from the range 1-21, indicating the qualifier level that is to be inserted.
  • LAST—Indicates that the last qualifier level is to be inserted.

Usage

You can use this descriptor only in STRINGDEF statements.

Example

STRINGDEF %LEVEL3     ($DSNAME_QUALIFIER(3))
STRINGDEF %LEVEL_LAST ($DSNAME_QUALIFIER(LAST))

In this example, if the data set name is PR03.PAYROLL.MONTHLY.UPDATE, then %LEVEL3 evaluates to MONTHLY and %LEVEL_LAST evaluates to UPDATE.

$DSNAME_REALNAME

$DSNAME(pattern | %patid | table-id)

This DAL element has the following attributes:

Attribute

Value

Description

You can use this descriptor to determine the real data set name of an alias coded on the DD currently being processed by DAL

Type

Character string descriptor

Maximum length

44 characters

Valid value

  • pattern—Hard-coded valid data set name pattern to be matched against the data set name on the DD statement being processed
  • %patternID—Name of a pattern created with the PATTERNDEF statement
  • tableID—Identifies a specific table and which subtable to search

The pattern, %patternID, or tableID entry is matched against the descriptor If a match occurs, a TRUE value is returned.

For more information about character string facilities, see  Character string facilities tutorial .   For more information about table support, see  DAL and JAL table management .

Usage

You can use this descriptor EVALUATE definition statements and DAL Logic statements and also:

  • As an insert in message definition statements.
  • In a substring function.
  • In STRINGDEF and PATTERNDEF statements.
Example

EVALUATE   REAL_NAME   ($DSNAME_REALNAME(Z5900.**))
...
IF (REAL_NAME)
...

$DX_sos-descriptor

$DX_sos-descriptor

This DAL element has the following attributes:

Attribute

Value

Description

SOS ONLY. You can use this SOS DAL display variables to display the run time value of a character or range SOS descriptor

These display variables therefore reflect the effect of any changes to the SOS descriptor that you have made in your DAL.

Type

Display variable

Maximum length

Dependent on SOS descriptor

Valid value

  • sos-descriptor—Can be any SOS character or range descriptor, including the leading dollar sign ($). See to the tables accompanying the descriptions for $SOS Character and $SOS Range. The format and length of the Display Variable depends on the SOS descriptor chosen.

The value displayed is either:

  • The value of the SOS descriptor as set by a previously executed SOS ALTER statement.
  • If no SOS ALTER statement has been executed for the selected SOS descriptor, the value at job submission time.

Usage

SOS DAL Display Variables can be used only as inserts in message definition statements.

Example

MSGDEF DEST_ALTERED ('ORIGINAL DEST ',$SOS_DEST,' CHANGED TO ', +
                    $DX_$SOS_DEST,' BECAUSE OF CLASS=B')

For more information, see SOS ALTER, $SOS Character, and $SOS Range. 

ELSE

IF (expression)
    true-action
ELSE
    false-action
ENDIF

This DAL element has the following attributes:

Attribute

Value

Description

The ELSE statement is part of an IF logical construction. It must follow an IF statement, and specifies the alternate action(s) taken when the expression evaluated with the IF statement has a FALSE value.

Type

Logic statement

Maximum length

Dependent on SOS descriptor

Valid value

  • expression—A logical expression combining Properties and/or descriptors.
  • true-action—Any valid DAL statements which are to be performed should the IF expression evaluate to TRUE.
  • false-action—Any valid DAL statements which are to be performed should the IF expression evaluate to FALSE.
Example

IF(OKAY)
   RETURN CONTINUE 
ELSE
  RETURN FAIL
ENDIF

Important

ELSE statements are paired with and follow IF statements. For every IF, there can be only one ELSE.

Logical constructions that include ORIF statements cannot include an ELSE statement. In that type of construction use an OTHERWISE statement.

For more information, see IF, ORIF, OTHERWISE, and ENDIF. 

$ENABLED

$ENABLED name (DBS | DCS | DJC | JBS | JCS | JES3 | JLS | JSS | JTS | MELLON |
MHS | NET | SLM | PCS | UHS)

This DAL element has the following attributes:

Attribute

Value

Description

You can use this unique descriptor to determine whether any one of installed BMC ThruPut Manager options is enabled or disabled

This function call returns a TRUE or FALSE value depending on whether the specified option is enabled.

Type

Unique descriptor

Maximum value

Not applicable

Valid value

  • name—Unique property name assigned to value of TRUE or FALSE, consisting of 1–24 alphabetic, numeric, national (#,@,$), or underscore (_) characters. The first character of each name cannot be a dollar sign ($) or underscore (_).
  • DBS, DCS ,DJC, JBS, JCS, JES3, JLS, JSS, JTS, MELLON, MHS, NET, SLM, PCS, UHS—Indicate existing BMC ThruPut Manager  options.


Example

EVALUATE JBS_DISABLED ($ENABLED(JBS))
...
IF (JBS_DISABLED)
  WTO ERROR_MSG 
ELSE
 JBS ADD BIND
 ...
ENDIF

END

END

This DAL element has the following attributes:

Attribute

Value

Description

You can use this statement to specify the end of DAL input. Its purpose is to guard against accidentally truncated DAL input.

Type

Language directive

Important

Your DAL input must terminate with an END statement. If it does not, a warning message is generated.

Only one END statement is permitted.

ENDIF

IF(expression)
 ... dal
ENDIF

This DAL element has the following attributes:

Attribute

Value

Description

The ENDIF statement signals the end of an IF, an IF-ELSE, or an IF-ORIF-OTHERWISE construction. ENDIF serves to delimit a block of DAL that is associated with a previous IF statement. It also indicates where execution should resume after executing DAL as a result of a TRUE IF or ORIF expression.

Type

Logic statement

Valid value

  • expression—A logical expression combining Properties and/or descriptors.
  • dal—DAL statements that are part of the IF construct. These can include other logical statements, action statements and communication statements.
Example

IF (NEW_DASD_DS)
 SET $USERL1_TM(TRUE)
ELSE
 SET $USERL1_TM(FALSE)
ENDIF

Important

Each IF must have an ENDIF statement paired with it.

ENDIF statements are associated with IF statements only. In the case of ORIF statements, they are part of the IF logical construction and they do not require an ENDIF statement.

For more information, see IF, ELSE, ORIF, and OTHERWISE. 

$ESTTIME

$ESTTIME   [0,]name1,start2,name2[,...,startN,nameN]

This DAL element has the following attributes:

Attribute

Value

Description

This descriptor represents the estimated amount of job execution time in real time (the value coded for the TIME= parameter on the /*JOBPARM JECL statement).

Type

Range definition descriptor

Maximum value

9999 in minutes of real time

Valid value

  • start—Starting point of a segment. The first starting point (if specified) must be 0. Starting points are specified as minutes of real time in 1–4 decimal digits..
  • name—Unique property name assigned to a segment of the range, consisting of 1–24 alphabetic, numeric, national (#,@,$), or underscore (_) characters. The first character of each name cannot be a dollar sign ($) or underscore (_). You can code the single character dollar sign ($) in place of a property name for ranges that you want to ignore.

Usage

You can use this descriptor the Definition Section of DAL, and also as an insert in message definition statements.

Example
$ESTTIME TIME_OK,1000,TOO_MUCH_TIME

Important

This descriptor is not related to CPU time, it represents an estimate of job elapsed time.

EVALUATE | EVAL

EVALUATE name (expression)

This DAL element has the following attributes:

Attribute

Value

Description

You can use the EVALUATE statements to define and initialize a property that is the result of an expression

This expression can have one or more descriptors of the character string type and can also have previously defined properties of any type. The defined property can then be used in an expression on another EVALUATE statement or in an IF statement or both (also an ORIF statement).

Type

Definition statement

Maximum value

9999 in minutes of real time

Valid value

  • name—Unique property name assigned to a segment of the range, consisting of 1–24 alphabetic, numeric, national (#,@,$), or underscore (_) characters. The first character of each name cannot be a dollar sign ($).
  • expression—An expression, consisting of descriptors or Properties or both combined through the use of logical operators. For more information on expressions, see Elements-of-action-languages .


Example
EVALUATE NEW_DASD_DS (DISP_NEW & $DATASET_ON(DISK))

This statement defines the Property Name NEW_DASD, which is TRUE for statements that allocate new data sets on DASD. DISP_NEW is a Property previously defined using the $DISP1 Unique descriptor.

EVALUATE PRODUCTION_DS ($ACCTFLD(3,PROD??) | $ROOM(PROD))

This statement defines the Property Name PRODUCTION_DS, which is TRUE for jobs with the characters PROD as the first four characters of 6, in the third field of the account field on the JOB statement, or those which have a room number of PROD.

EVALUATE PAYROLL_DS (PRODUCTION_DS & $PGMR(ACCOUNTING))

This statement uses the previously defined Property Name PRODUCTION_DS. The Property PAYROLL_DS is TRUE for production data sets (i.e. those for which the PRODUCTION_DS Property is TRUE) which have a programmer name of ACCOUNTING. This example shows how it can be useful to combine previously evaluated Property Names with additional Properties to help isolate or identify a subset of a large group of data sets that fall into the same category.

Important

We recommend you to set up Properties with EVALUATE statements, as opposed to testing character descriptors in your logic section.

$EXEMPT

$EXEMPT(NO | YES)

This DAL element has the following attributes:

Attribute

Value

Description

You can use this descriptor to determine if the job belongs to a class that is exempted from BMC ThruPut Manager processing unless certain types of JECL statements are present.

Type

Logic variable

Maximum value

Not applicable

Valid value

  • NO—This job is not exempted.
  • YES—Indicates this job has been submitted in one of the exempted classes. It is being processed by BMC ThruPut Manager because of JECL statements.

Usage

You can use this variable in EVALUATE definition statements and DAL Logic statements, and also as an insert in message definition statements.

Example

IF ($EXEMPT(YES))
WTU...
ENDIF

Important

If any BMC ThruPut Manager JECL statements are encountered when processing the job, it is then selected for Job Analysis, even if it belongs to an exempt class. This Descriptor gives you the ability to decide whether to allow BMC ThruPut Manager processing or fail the job.

$FIRST_VOLUME

$FIRST_VOLUME($BLANK | pattern | %patid | table-id)

This DAL element has the following attributes:

Attribute

Value

Description

You can use this descriptor to determine the volume serial number of the first volume for a data set

Type

Character string descriptor

Maximum length

6 characters

Valid value

  • $BLANK—Allows you to test for an "all blanks" condition. For more information, see Notes.
  • pattern—Hard-coded string in 1–4 alphabetic, numeric, or national (#, @, $) characters. It can also include the hyphen (-) and the wildcard characters ? and *. If pattern contains a blank, or any characters other than those previously listed, it must be enclosed in apostrophes.
  • %patternID—Name of a pattern created with the PATTERNDEF statement
  • tableID—Identifies a specific table and which subtable to search

The pattern, %patternID, or tableID entry is matched against the descriptor. If a match occurs, a TRUE value is returned.

For more information about character string facilities, see  Character string facilities tutorial . For more information about table support, see  DAL and JAL table management .

Usage

You can use this descriptor EVALUATE definition statements and DAL Logic statements and also:

  • As an insert in message definition statements.
  • In a substring function.
  • In STRINGDEF and PATTERNDEF statements.
Example

$FIRST_VOLUME(SYS001)
$FIRST_VOLUME(ZZ*)

In this second example, the Descriptor returns a TRUE value if the first volume serial number begins with ZZ.

For more information, see $BLANK. 

Important

If the data set has not yet been created, this Descriptor returns blanks. You can test for this condition by using the reserved word $BLANK. Note that the absence of a volume serial number is not a reliable means of determining that the data set is NEW, since the seeence could be to a data set that will be created before this job runs.

 

Tip: For faster searching, add an asterisk to the end of your partial query. Example: cert*