In a recent note, Edward E. Jaffe said:
> Date: Fri, 21 Oct 2005 09:56:06 -0700
>
> Sounds like I'm in the minority here, but I like the approach of using
> EDIT for basic editing in the environment you've described. EDIT is
> simple, doesn't require a slew of pre-allocated data sets [whose names
> will vary from site to site], and is guaranteed available.
>
A few months ago, there was a thread (I think in MVS-OE, but perhaps
here) about whether software products should be installed in data
sets named according to the ISV's conventions, or according to the
customers' conventions. The majority view seemed to favor the
customers' conventions, with the rationale, "Well, each shop must
enforce its own [idiosyncratic] standards, else its users would never
be able to find any ISV products." I took the minority view, for
which you have hinted at a strong argument: portability of JCL and
programmer skills.
I also argued that if a site installs according to local naming
conventions, data set names in documentation will consequently
be wrong. The rebuttal was, "Documentation is [almost] all
electronic nowadays; it's easy enough to run a filter (which the
vendor supplies?) to modify data set names in the documentation
to match the site's conventions." This seems nonsensical to me.
What, then of supplementary documentation online, via the vendor's
web site? A CGI script to filter that on the fly, with the site's
prefixing conventions stored in the users' cookie jars? KISS?
Of course, the vendor should support installation with alternate
data set names for beta releases, PTF test platforms, etc. But
the customer is still well advised to install production versions
according to the vendor's convention.
Consider the extreme: the customer should be allowed to use a
locally chosen HLQ, if he chooses, instead of SYS1, and a JCL
INCLUDE member:
// SET IBMHLQ='SYS1' * Season to taste
...
//SYSLIB DD DISP=SHR,DSN=&IBMHLQ..MACLIB
... Again, nonsense. (Or has this already been done, for beta
testing support?)
-- gil
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