Naming and suffixing the tables

You can have more than one version of a table by using a suffix in the table name. Each table has a name consisting of six fixed characters followed by a two character suffix.

The tables are named as follows:

Table 1. Names of the control tables
Table Name
Command list table DFHCLTxx
File control table DFHFCTxx
Monitoring control table DFHMCTxx
Program list table  Note  DFHPLTxx
Recoverable service table DFHRSTxx
System recovery table DFHSRTxx
Terminal control table DFHTCTxx
Terminal list table DFHTLTxx
Temporary storage table DFHTSTxx
Transaction list table DFHXLTxx

How do you specify a suffix for a table

The first six characters of the name of each table are fixed. Except for program list tables, DFHPLT, you can specify the last two characters of the table name, using the SUFFIX operand. The SUFFIX operand is specified on the TYPE=INITIAL macro for each table.

Note: The TYPE=INITIAL section is not relevant to program list tables, DFHPLT. The DFHPLT can contain a TYPE=INITIAL statement, but the statement has no effect. For the DFHPLT, CICS determines the suffix of the table from the characters following DFHPLT in the name of the PARMLIB or DFHTABLE member. For more information, see Program list table (PLT).

A suffix consists of one or two characters. The acceptable characters are: A-Z 0-9 @. (Do not use NO or DY.) Select the version of the table to be loaded into the system during system initialization, by specifying the suffix in the appropriate system initialization parameter operand.

For example: 
DFHSIT...,FCT=MY,...
Note: The TYPE=INITIAL macros have a STARTER operand that is not listed in the descriptions of the individual macros. Coding STARTER=YES enables you to use the $ and # characters in your table suffixes. The default is STARTER=NO. This operand should be used only with starter system modules.