On Fri, Jan 06, 2006 at 12:13:52PM -0800, Mark Thomen ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) wrote:
[snip]
> > Will it continue to allow invalid data set names to be
> > deleted/uncatalogued even when syntax checking is enabled?
> 
> No - if an invalid data set name is in a catalog, you'll have to use other
> methods to remove it, such as VVDSFIX.

Well that stirs up some really bad memories.  Please explain the logic
of not allowing invalid names to be removed via normal functionality.
It defies comprehension.  To be more blunt about it, it's just really
stupid and grossly obnoxious and proves that the people making the
decisions and/or writing the code are completely clueless about what
goes on in customer shops.  And I'm being polite.

Nearly 20 years ago I submitted a REQ or whatever it was called to
allow *at installation option* the anacronistic arcane dsname
restrictions to be relaxed for dsnames in ICF catalogs.  After a 2
hour conference call with the DFP product owner, his boss, his boss,
and probably some product developers, my boss, his boss, IBM's
official response was "we're not going to do it because it's too
hard."  I wanted a single installation exit which would make *all*
decisions as to whether a dsname was valid.  IBM rejected the request,
not because it was unreasonable, but because there were estimated to
be 100 different pieces of code which would have to be modified to
call the proposed new exit instead of doing the validity checking
itself.  What's wrong with this picture?  CATALOG is the ***wrong***
place to be enforcing dsname syntax restrictions.  It should all be
done *only* in DADSM, not in 100 other routines.  Not JCL, not IDCAMS,
not IEHPROGM, not TSO ALLOCATE, not ISPF, not TSO Parse, not SVC 26,
not dynamic allocation, not the other 90 places that I can't think of
right now.

MVS would be half or a quarter the size if the developers understood
the concept of common subroutines.  (Before the flames start... I'm 
being somewhat sarcastic.  Before hitting SEND with a flame, try to
figure out where the line is between the sarcasm there and the truth.)


/Leonard

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