On Sat, 9 Jun 2018 16:13:34 -0700, Gerhard Adam wrote:
>
>This is the JCL Reference for z/OS 2.3 (page 183)
>
>Note:
>1. In general, the system treats a single ampersand (&) followed by a
>character string of 1 to 8 characters as a symbolic parameter. (See “Using
>system symbols and JCL symbols” on page 38.) However, if you code a data set
>name as a symbolic parameter (by coding DSNAME=&xxxxxxxx), and do not assign a
>value to or nullify the symbolic parameter, the system will process it as a
>temporary data set name.
>
Yes. Thanks. And the previous page, Op. cit. 182:
Data set name for temporary data set
...
When you use DSNAME for a temporary data set, code the name as two ampersands
(&&) followed by a character string 1 to 8 characters in length:
o The first character following the ampersands must be alphabetic or national..
o The remaining characters must be alphanumeric or national.
>
The more I think about this, the less I like it. The Ref. gives a couple
examples
in lieu of a formal rule, leaving it to the clever reader to infer that rule.
There's
been much stumbling toward that ojective in this thread with statements such
as, "This seems to work, but I can't tell why."
Rather, I'd omit the "Note:" as quoted. That information appears elswhere the
Ref.
and needn't appear redundantly here. Rather, page 182 should say:
Data set name for temporary data set
...
When you use DSNAME for a temporary data set, the equivalent JCL after symbol
substitution (as described on page 45, "Determining equivalent JCL") should be
a single ampersand (&) followed by a character string 1 to 8 characters in
length:
o The first character following the ampersands must be alphabetic or national.
o The remaining characters must be alphanumeric or national.
This covers cases not currently described such as:
// SET TEMP='Who cares, anyway?'
// SET TTT='&TEMP'
//SYSUT2 DD DSN=&TTT,...
-- gil
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