Verifying the stage 1 input
After stage 1 input is built, resource names are checked for validity uniqueness. You can bypass name checking to reduce overall processing.
Stage 1 input contains a structured definition of many resources to be used by the IMS online control program. It is important that you verify the content of the stage 1 input and the accuracy of the macro statement coding. The two kinds of verification are:
- Resource name checks
- Macro statement checks
Resource name checks
The names of resources are important not only from a documentation standpoint (conformance to naming conventions), but also from an operational standpoint. An LTERM name could be explicitly used by the MTO or it can be coded in an application program. As such, the resource names must be unique. Also, IMS reserves the use of certain resource names.
Stage 1 verifies that resource names are valid and appropriately unique. A benefit of this checking is to ensure that conflicts between resource definitions are detected before the control block building that takes place in stage 2. Some installations regularly execute stage 1 to perform this checking.
Macro statement checks
Because definite sequence requirements and dependencies exist between the parameter specifications, the macro statement checking performed in stage 1 is also valuable.
An option is available that reduces the processing performed by stage 1. The NAMECHK parameter on the IMSCTRL macro lets you bypass name checking—assuming you have made sure that no invalid or duplicate resource names exist. If your installation has made use of the optional preprocessor and you are checking a sizeable stage 1 input, specifying NAMECHK=NO can reduce the processing performed by stage 1. You can also specify that the sort is not performed in stage 1. (Specify S2 as the second value for the NAMECHK parameter.) When you perform the system definition and execute both stage 1 and stage 2, the default of NAMECHK=(YES,S1) is recommended so that full checking is part of the definition process.
You should track the progress of the stage 1 runs and, if necessary, investigate any detected problems.