Descriptor Codes

Code

Meaning

1

SYSTEM FAILURE

The message indicates an error. To continue, the operator must re-IPL the system or restart a major subsystem.

2

IMMEDIATE ACTION REQUIRED

The message requires immediate action by the operator for one of the following reasons:

The message issuer will be in a wait state until the action is performed.
The system needs the action as soon as possible to improve performance.

The task waits for the operator to complete the action.

Note: Any message with a descriptor code of 2 must be deleted by the responsible program when the action is accomplished.

3

EVENTUAL ACTION REQUIRED

The message requires eventual action by the operator. The task does not wait for the operator to complete the action.

Note: It is recommended that any message with descriptor code of 3 be deleted by the responsible program after the requested action has been accomplished.

4

SYSTEM STATUS

The message indicates the status of a system task or of a hardware unit.

5

IMMEDIATE COMMAND RESPONSE

The message is issued as an immediate response to a system command. The response does not depend on another system action or task.

6

JOB STATUS

The message indicates the status of a job or job step.

7

APPLICATION PROGRAM/PROCESSOR

The message is issued by a program in problem program mode. When a job step terminates, all messages issued by the job with a descriptor code of 7 are deleted.

These messages appear on the system hard-copy log only if they appear on at least one console before the job step terminates.

8

OUT-OF-LINE MESSAGE

The message, which is one of a group of one or more lines, is to be displayed out-of-line. If a message cannot be printed out-of-line because of the device being used, descriptor code of 8 is ignored, and the message is printed in-line with the other messages.

9

OPERATOR’S REQUEST

The message is written in response to an operator’s request for information by a DISPLAY, TRACK, or MONITOR command.

10

TRACK COMMAND RESPONSE

The message is issued in response to a TRACK command.

11

CRITICAL EVENTUAL ACTION REQUIRED

The message indicates that the operator must perform an action eventually and that the action is important enough for the message to remain on the display screen until the action is completed. The task does not wait for the operator to complete the action.

12-16

Reserved for future use