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PH31329: IDZ DEBUG CLIENT NULLPOINTEREXCEPTION CAUSED BY EXTRANEOUS CEEOPTS DDNAMES IN THE JCL

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APAR status

  • Closed as program error.

Error description

  • All users of IBM Developer for z (IDz) Debug client on Windows
    or Linux workstation.
    
    sample JCL to illustrate the problem -
    
    //CS56011T JOB
    (7949,SYS),ROGER,CLASS=A,MSGCLASS=K,NOTIFY=&SYSUID
    //STEP1  EXEC PGM=IEFBR14
    //
    //CEEOPTS  DD *
       TEST(,,,TCPIP&10.232.32.107%8001:*)
    //CEEOPTS  DD *
       TEST(,,,TCPIP&10.232.32.107%8001:*)
       ENVAR("EQA_STARTUP_KEY=CC,PLICALC")
    
    Note the multiple CEEOPTS DDs that occur after the JOB-END
    statement ("// " aka JCL null-statement). JES ignores JCL
    statements that occur after the null-stmt, but the IDz Debug
    client gets NullPointerException (NPE).
    
    In the IDz client, select the JCL member using right-click, then
    "Run As", then "Run Configurations...", then select "z/OS batch
    application with existing JCL", then click on the "Run" button.
    This causes an NPE -
    
    An internal error occurred during: "Launching xxxxxx".
    java.lang.NullPointerException
    
    If there is only one CEEOPTS after JOB-END, IDz updates it
    before submitting the JCL. Then JES ignores the CEEOPTS dd since
    it occurs after JOB-END.
    
    The NPE occurs regardless of where the multiple CEEOPTS dds are
    placed, i.e. before or after the JOB-END. When there are
    multiple occurrences of a ddname in one step, JES simply uses
    the first occurrence, ignoring any duplicates, without abending.
    

Local fix

  • delete or comment out the extra CEEOPTS dds before invoking the
    IDz "Run As" dialog
    

Problem summary

  • ****************************************************************
    * USERS AFFECTED:                                              *
    * Users of z/OS Batch Application with existing JCL launch     *
    * configurations.                                              *
    ****************************************************************
    * PROBLEM DESCRIPTION:                                         *
    * When multiple CEEOPTS DD are defined in a JCL, using the     *
    * z/OS Batch Application with existing JCL launch results      *
    * results in a NullPointerException message and the operation  *
    * aborted.                                                     *
    ****************************************************************
    * RECOMMENDATION:                                              *
    ****************************************************************
    

Problem conclusion

  • The z/OS Batch Application with existing JCL launch was updated
    to append debug info to the last CEEOPTS detected in the JCL.
    
    This problem is fixed in 14.2.5 and 15.0.1 of the following
    products:
    IBM Debug for z/OS
    IBM Developer for z/OS
    IBM Developer Enterprise Edition for z/OS
    

Temporary fix

Comments

APAR Information

  • APAR number

    PH31329

  • Reported component name

    DEV FOR Z/OS

  • Reported component ID

    5724T0700

  • Reported release

    E20

  • Status

    CLOSED PER

  • PE

    NoPE

  • HIPER

    NoHIPER

  • Special Attention

    NoSpecatt / Xsystem

  • Submitted date

    2020-11-05

  • Closed date

    2021-04-22

  • Last modified date

    2021-04-22

  • APAR is sysrouted FROM one or more of the following:

  • APAR is sysrouted TO one or more of the following:

Fix information

  • Fixed component name

    DEV FOR Z/OS

  • Fixed component ID

    5724T0700

Applicable component levels

[{"Line of Business":{"code":"LOB17","label":"Mainframe TPS"},"Business Unit":{"code":"BU054","label":"Systems w\/TPS"},"Product":{"code":"SSQ2R2","label":"Rational Developer for z Systems"},"Platform":[{"code":"PF025","label":"Platform Independent"}],"Version":"E20"}]

Document Information

Modified date:
23 April 2021