Shmuel,
I honestly have no idea if you are agreeing with my position that, in the
general sense, dataset names are not allowed to contain lowercase alphabetic
characters or if you are disagreeing with my characterization of the
restriction as "arguably artificial and perhaps unfortunate". Perhaps you are
doing both or perhaps neither :-), I would welcome any clarification you care
to offer.
Either way I stand by what I said, in the general sense the z/OS Eco-system as
it exists has the restriction and the restriction (at the time of it's
inception ~50 years ago) was "artificial and perhaps unfortunate". As I said
in another append on this same subject, "we need to deal with what is and not
what we would wish it to be :-("
In regard to your statement that "Those tools that have to deal with MVS
datasets convert the names to upper case because that is what the system
requires." I have no idea what you mean by the term "the system requires". If
you are referring to either catalog processing or perhaps SMS I would agree,
for other (system) components (e.g. allocation (absent SMS), DADSM, access
methods (absent VSAM), etc.) I would say there is no such requirement.
I offer the following extract from the JCL Reference manual (taken from the
description of the DSNAME parameter on the DD statement):
-- Begin extract --
° Blanks can be included in a data set name if the name is enclosed in
apostrophes, such as DSNAME='AB CD'. However, do not code blanks in
the name for an in-stream or sysout data set; for example,
SYSOUT=P,DSNAME='&&AB CD' is not valid.
° If the data set is to be managed through SMS, you cannot enclose the
data set name in apostrophes. However, the following exception
applies: You can enclose the data set name on the DSNAME parameter
in apostrophes if the data set is to be assigned to, or already
resides on, an SMS-managed mountable tape volume.
° Any data set name enclosed in apostrophes on the DSNAME parameter
will be treated as an unqualified name. Data sets with an
unqualified name cannot be cataloged.
° The system does not check data set names enclosed in apostrophes for
valid characters or valid length. When SMS is not installed or
active incorrect characters or length result in data set allocation,
but the data set is not cataloged. When SMS is active, it will fail
the job for incorrect characters or length.
-- End extract
John McDowell
>Those tools that have to deal with MVS datasets convert the names to
>upper case because that is what the system requires. Likewise editors
>with file types for JCL. With the exception of [BQ]SAM, none of them
>gratuitously convert other data to upper case or treat lower case as
>invalid. In particular, ISPF/PDF EDIT will quite happily allow a DD
>statement with PATH='/lower/case'.
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