The COMMAND option (TSO)

To pass a parameter string as a standard TSO Command Processor Parameter List (CPPL), use the COMMAND option. The first token after the slash must be the command name, which is then followed by its parameter string.

Figure 1. Using the COMMAND option (TSO)

  * TSO COMMAND Parameter List --------------------------------
  CPPL   DC    A(command buffer)
         DC    A(UPT)      │    copied from IDF invocation
         DC    A(PSCB)     │
         DC    A(ECT)      │
                           │
  ┌────────────────────────┘
  │
  ↓
  CMDBUF DC    AL2(length of command buffer)
         DC    AL2(offset to first non-blank byte after verb)
  CMDSTR DC    C'original command string'

The COMMAND option does not work exactly like the CP option of the TSO/E TEST command. The examples in Migrating from TSO/E TEST to IDF compare the use of these two options.

You can use the COMMAND option for other special environmental setups. For more details, see Programs requiring environmental setup (TSO).

A warning about leading blanks

All blanks between the slash (⁄) and the parameters to your program are included in the information passed to your program. If you do not want initial blanks passed to your program, you must place the parameters immediately after the slash, without intervening blanks.

Programs that use IKJSCAN

When invoking IDF from another TSO program that calls the TSO service IKJSCAN, such as ISPF, an extra right parenthesis is added to the end of the command used to invoke IDF.

To prevent this extra parenthesis from becoming part of the parameter passed to your program, add a close parenthesis before the slash or the command option. This extra parenthesis is ignored by IDF and prevents IKJSCAN from adding one at the end of the IDF invocation command.