Wild Cards

A wild card is a character that can be used to represent zero or more characters or qualifiers in a data set name. DFM supports the use of wild cards with commands that rename or delete files, or that retrieve directory information. For example, you can use wild cards with the DOS commands DELETE, ERASE, or DIR.

The following wild cards are supported by DFM:

%

Represents one and only one character for which a match is not required. For example:

If the data set name is AB%.XY, then ABA.XY and ABC.XY match.
If the data set name is A.B(M%), then A.B(MR) and A.B(MS) match.

*

Represents zero or more characters for which a match is not required. For example:

If the data set name is A*.XY, then A.XY and ABC.XY match.
If the data set name is A.B(M*), then A.B(M) and A.B(MEMX) match.

*

Represents zero or more qualifiers for which a match is not required. For example:

If the data set name is ABC.*.Z, then ABC.Z and ABC.X.Y.Z match.

*

Represents a member name for which a match is not required. For example:

If the data set name is A.B(*), then A.B(MEMX) and A.B(MEMY) match.