Course Description

Advanced Topics in z/OS JCL

This course: course objectives; course outline;
Related curriculum; Topic list; Course list; Home page

Benefits

Students who complete this course will be able to code JCL to run test and production batch jobs, use some common batch utility programs, and use a Sort / Merge program product, including using symbolic names; debug many JCL errors; set up JCL for restart; use some JES2 or JES3 control statements.

Audience

Experienced programmers, operators, analysts, support staff and users who need to know how to code JCL to run jobs in a z/OS environment. Anyone who needs to work with procedures, handle JCL errors, and design / code JCL to deal with multi-volume data sets, restart, SMS data sets, or HFS files.

Prerequisites

A working understanding of JCL.

Related IBM Materials

This course is drawn from these IBM manuals; access to them in the classroom is desirable but not required (note: the form numbers here are for the latest release of z/OS; you may use the equivalent manuals for the release you are running):

SC26-7523 - DFSORT (may substitute if not
                using the IBM Sort/Merge product)
SA22-7597 - JCL Reference
SC26-7414 - Utilities
SC26-7394 - Access Method Services
SA22-7637 - Messages, Volume 7
SC26-7401 - Checkpoint / Restart

• Data sets and libraries; DASD organization, VTOCs and catalogs
• z/OS organization and workflow
• Introduction to Work Load Manager (WLM)
• JCL: rules of syntax
• JOB, EXEC, DD, OUTPUT statements
• OPEN processing
• Sources of Information
• Debugging JCL
• Multi-volume data sets
• Extended Format data sets
• Striped data sets
• HFS files
• Utilities: IEFBR14, IEBGENER, IEBCOPY
• Introduction to IDCAMS
• Conditional JCL: IF/THEN, ELSE, ENDIF
• Cataloged procedures
• Symbolic parameters in procedures and in open JCL
• JES internal readers
• Step restart, checkpoint restart
• JES control statements
• SMS - Storage Management Subsystem and PDSEs
• INCLUDE, SET, JCLLIB
• Sort / Merge, including multiple output files and symbolic name capabilities

Exercises

There are five standard exercises and two optional exercises, all hands-on.

Special Note

This course includes large portions of course B-610 (z/OS JCL and Utilities).