On Wed, 30 Nov 2005 10:05:54 -0800, Charles Mills wrote:
>Walt, I think the message from the customers is that they would be happy to
>accept "your gun, your bullet, your foot." Customers want these symbols
>available. If they have a Sysplex and set the dates very differently, well
>then, they may see some odd date things happening.
Anyone wishing to use system symbols in JCL can implement JES/SMF exit(s)
to process the system symbols in batch job JCL on a site-by-site basis.
Those folks willing to sacrifice their own limbs are (or ought to be)
capable of doing so today. (Why wait?)
You could, if you really want to chop off whole legs or arms, even define
user symbols for your site or go completely nuts and override the system
symbols with user symbols in the exit(s).
All of this is documented (thanks, IBM) in the MVS Assembler Services Guide
and the MVS Assembler Services Reference Volume 1 (see ASASYMBM service).
>I know also that it's easy for customers to assert the above today, but
>open a PMR tomorrow when they encounter some anomaly.
Yes, they would. PMRs are quite expensive to IBM (and its customers).
I, for example, would NOT want to see the Reader time/date used; I'd rather
see the Interpreter time/date since that is closest to the execution of the
3 choices available (without an exit). I would, if I had a wish granted,
much rather see a JOB Symbol set produced (for the life of the job) that
was PARMLIB-parameterized so that each site could decide what worked best
and possibly extend the symbol set. That has the added advantage of
providing maximum torture to ISVs who might have otherwise wanted to make
use of the symbols. ("What?! You use Reader time when our product was
setup to use Execution time??")
The ramifications are not trivial but you can build this rocket engine/bomb
in your own basement*.
--
Tom Schmidt
Madison, WI
(* Yep, friends & I did that once, many years ago; I have a slight hearing
loss as a result. It took many years to surface.)
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