How to code subparameters

You can use decimal (n), hexadecimal (X'n'), or binary (B'n') form to define parameters.

These coding conventions apply to the subparameters in this section:

When the subparameter contains a special character, enclose the subparameter in single quotation marks; for example, OWNER('*IBM*').
When the subparameter contains a special character and a single quotation mark, code the embedded quotation mark as two single quotation marks; for example, VOLUMES('one' '&').
When you code the subparameter in hexadecimal form, two hexadecimal characters represent one alphanumeric or special character. For example, FROMKEY(X'C1C2C3') is the same as FROMKEY(ABC). When you code a character string in hexadecimal, use an even number of hexadecimal characters because it will be justified to the right.
When the subparameter contains a lowercase alphabetic character, it is changed to an uppercase alphabetic character.

The subparameters in this document are:

aliasname

can contain 1 to 44 alphanumeric characters, national characters, or hyphens.

Names that have more than 8 characters must be segmented by periods; 1 to 8 characters can be specified between periods.

The first character of any name or name segment must be either an alphabetic character or a national character.

Unless the individual command indicates otherwise, aliasname(modifier) is not permitted for a data set name specification and will result in an error message. This includes a specification of relative generation numbers for the data set name (for example, "GDGname(+1)"). Generation data set names must be specified as absolute names, that is GDGname.GxxxxVyy.

code

can contain 1 to 8 alphanumeric or special characters.

entryname

can contain 1 to 44 alphanumeric characters, national characters, or hyphens.

Names that contain more than 8 characters must be segmented by periods; 1 to 8 characters can be specified between periods. A name segmented by periods is called a qualified name. Each name segment is referred to as a qualifier.

The first character of any name or qualifier must be either an alphabetic character or a national character.

Unless the individual command indicates otherwise, entryname(modifier) is not permitted for a data set name specification and will result in an error message. This includes a specification of relative generation numbers for the data set name (for example, "GDGname(+1)"). Generation data set names must be specified as absolute names, that is GDGname.GxxxxVyy.

Use an asterisk to replace a qualifier to indicate a generic command with certain commands. However, an asterisk cannot be used as the high level (leftmost) qualifier, as a partial replacement for a qualifier, or to replace more than one qualifier. The following examples show you how to use an asterisk for a generic name:

A.*
A.*.C

The following examples are not acceptable ways to use a generic name:

A.*.*
A.B*
*.B.C

Refer to the entryname subparameter of each command to determine if a generic name is allowed and for more information on using one.

For a partitioned data set, the entry name must be given in the format: pdsname(membername). Blank characters are not allowed between the left and right parentheses enclosing the member name, or between the pdsname and the left parenthesis.

If you use an entry name in the format entry name(modifier), and the entry name is not the name of a partitioned data set, only that portion of the name preceding the left parenthesis is used. The modifier enclosed in parentheses is ignored.

entrypoint

can contain 1 to 44 alphanumeric characters, national characters, or hyphens.

The first character of any name or name segment must be either an alphabetic character or a national character.

Unless the individual command indicates otherwise, entrypoint(modifier) is not permitted for a data set name specification and will result in an error message. This includes a specification of relative generation numbers for the data set name (for example, "GDGname(+1)"). Generation data set names must be specified as absolute names, that is GDGname.GxxxxVyy.

newname

can contain 1 to 44 alphanumeric characters, national characters, or hyphens.

The first character of any name or name segment must be either an alphabetic character or a national character.

Use an asterisk, to replace a qualifier to indicate a generic command with certain commands. Do not use an asterisk as the high level (leftmost) qualifier, a partial replacement for a qualifier, or to replace more than one qualifier. The following examples show how you can use an asterisk for a generic name:

A.*
A.*.C

The following examples are not acceptable ways to use a generic name:

A.*.*
A.B*
*.B.C

Refer to the newname subparameter of each command to determine if a generic name is allowed and for more information on using one.

Unless the individual command indicates otherwise, newname(modifier) is not permitted for a data set name specification and will result in an error message. This includes a specification of relative generation numbers for the data set name (for example, "GDGname(+1)"). Generation data set names must be specified as absolute names, that is GDGname.GxxxxVyy.

ownerid

can contain 1 to 8 EBCDIC characters.

pdsname(membername)

is the name of a partitioned data set (PDS) or partitioned data set extended (PDSE) and a member within that data set. The membername can contain 1 to 8 alphanumeric or national characters, or a character X'C0' The first character must be alphabetic or national. Blank characters are not allowed between the left and right parentheses enclosing the member name, or between pdsname and the left parenthesis.

string

can contain 1 to 255 EBCDIC characters.

volser

a volume serial number have 1 to 6 alphanumeric or national characters. End of change