Intro to zOS Job Control Language (JCL) from a UNIX/Windows Perspective

Project and Program: MVS, MVS Core Technologies

Tags: Proceedings, 2011, SHARE in Orlando 2011

Are you a developer on Windows or UNIX/Linux who has an occasional need to interface with the mainframe (z/OS)?   

If you are a Windows and/or Unix developer, this is the session is a basic primer that will show you how to put together JCL for a batch job to interface with UNIX and/or Windows.   This session will provide anyone with enough information to learn how to build a batch interface from z/OS to either Windows and UNIX/Linux.   Learn the basics of the following:

• Different types of mainframe file systems and how they relate to a distributed file system
• What about those character set differences
• The End of Line (EOL) and Control-Break gottas
• What do I need to logon to the mainframe
• Security considerations in a mixed mainframe / distributed world
• Creating your JCL
• The JOBCARD statement
• Lines that follow the JOBCARD (varies by system)
• The program step and steplib  
• The DD statements
• Instream vs. dataset parameters
• Using Condition Codes to control your batch job stream
• Output listings (what are they and options)

Even those with no exposure to the mainframe should be able to code a basic job using JCL based on the information from this session.

This session will include a live session on the mainframe to build a basic set of JCL statements for an interface to Windows. 

Joe Elliott is a subject matter expert at Nationwide Insurance for integration of multiple platforms and has experience as both an application developer and a systems architect.   He accepted the 2004 Share Award for Excellence on behalf of Nationwide Insurance for efforts on a DB2 project.

Presenter(s): Joseph E. Elliott, Nationwide Mutual Insurance

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