JCL-2

Q)              Max. No of DD statements in a job ?

A)             3273

Q)              How much space OS allocates when you create a PS or PDS?

A)             56 KB

Q)              Min no of member’s (PDS) in one directory block?

A)           SIX(6)

Q)              The maximum number of steps in a job?

A)           255

Q)              How much is memory space involved, when we code BLOCKSIZE,TRK & CYL ?

A)           One block constitutes 32KB of formatted memory/ 42KB of Unformatted memory,6 blocks makes one Track & 15 Tracks makes one cylinder.

Q)              What is DSNDB06 ?

A)           This is the Place where DB2 Catalog resides

Q)              What is the use of DSNDB07 ?

A)           This is the area where sorting takes place in DB2

Q)              What is DATACOM db?

A)           It is a database used with VSE.

Q)              What is a Dummy Utility and what it does ?

A)           IEFBR14 is a Dummy utility and it is used for the sake of EXEC PGM= .... statement in JCL[when used it wouldn't perform any task]. e.g. While Allocating a dataset you don't have to run any utility [this could be done by giving disp=new inDD statement]. But for a PGM name must be given in EXEC statement, it is used.

Q)          What 3 guidelines do we have to follow when concatenating DD statements?

A)           Datasets must be of the same type (disk or tape), All datasets must have the same logical record length, The dataset with the largest blocksize must be listed first.

Q)          On the DD statement, what is the main difference between creating a new sequential flat file and a partitioned dataset?

A)           SPACE=(n,m) for a sequential file, SPACE=(n,m,p) for a PDS where n, m, and p are numbers. The p designates how many directory blocks to allocate.

Q)          What is the difference between IEBGENER, IEBCOPY and REPRO in IDCAMS utility?

A)           IEBGENER -- This is a dataset utility for copying sequential datasets which produces a PDS or a member from a

sequential dataset.

IEBCOPY -- This is a dataset utility for copying one PDS to another or to merge PDSs.

REPRO -- This is for copying sequential datasets. More or less same as the IEBGENER.

Q)          How do you submit JCL via a Cobol program?

A)           Use a file //dd1 DD sysout=(*,intrdr)write your JCL to this file. Pl some one try this out.

Q)          How to execute a set of JCL statements from a COBOL program ?

A)           Using EXEC CICS SPOOL WRITE(var-name) END-EXEC command. var-name is a COBOL host structure containing JCL statements.

Q)          What is the difference between static call & Dynamic call ?

A)           In the case of Static call, the called program is a stand along program, it is an executable program . During run time we can call it in our called program. As about Dynamic call, the called program is not an executable program it can executed thru the called program

Q)          What is the difference between catalogue procedure and In-Stream procedure?

A)           In Stream procedures are set of JCL statements written between JOB and EXEC statements, start with PROC and end with PEND statement. Mainly used to test cataloged procedures. Cataloged procedure is cataloged on the procedure library and is called by specifying the procedure name on the EXEC statement.

Q)          What do you feel makes a good program?

A)           A program that follows a top down approach. It is also one that other programmers or users can follow logically and is easy to read and understand.

Q)          Can we browse or edit the GDG dataset if it is a tape entry?

A)           No, You can’t edit or browse the GDG if it resides on tape.

Q)          What are the maximum and minimum sizes of any CONTROL AREA (VSAM datasets) ?

A)           Minimum Size : 1 track Maximum size : 1 cylinder

Q)          How to get cursor position from system in CICS environment ?

A)           Get it from EIBCURPOS !

Q)          How many parameters are there to a DISP statement and what are their uses ?

A)           There are three(3) parameters. Parameter 1: current data set disposition(new, shr, old, mod) Parameter 2: normal close action for data set (catlg, keep, delete) Parameter 3:abend action for data set  (catlg, keep, delete).

Q)          What is the error code SOC01 indicate ?

A)           Operation exception error For e.g. a dataset open error

Q)          What is a procedure?

A)           A set of precoded JCL that can be modified through the use of parameters or override cards. Note: Procedures can be catalogued or instream.

Q)          What is the difference between specifying DISP=OLD and DISP=SHR for a dataset?

A)           OLD specifies exclusive use of a dataset, SHR allows multiple jobs to concurrently access the dataset Note: When updating a dataset, you would normally use OLD.

Q)          What are the three basic types of statements in a jobstream?

A)           JOB(one per jobstream)EXEC(one or more per job)DD(one or more per jobstep)

Q)          What does SYSIN * indicate?

A)           Instream data follows this card and is terminated when followed by a card containing // or /* in columns 1 and 2.

Q)          What are three major types of JCL statements? What are their functions?

A)           JOB -      indicates start of jobstream to the operating system and through parms coded on it, certain details about the

job (time, region, message level, job accounting data).

EXEC – indicates the start of execution of a particular job step, be that step a program or a proc.

DD -        is a data definition, which is used to describe the attributes of a data set (name, unit, type, space, disposition).