MVS data set and file naming

FTP subcommands can require a data set or file name. The format used to name a data set depends on the host system. Some systems limit the length of a data set name, and some systems are case sensitive.

For information about the //DD file name syntax for FTP, see ddname support with FTP.

Data set names in MVS consist of one or more names, called qualifiers, each from one to eight characters long, that are delimited from one another by periods.

The leftmost qualifier in the data set name is the high-level qualifier. The rightmost qualifier in the data set name is the low-level qualifier. Partitioned data sets can be further qualified with a member name in the rightmost position. Qualifiers lying between them are called intermediate-level qualifiers.

For example, in the data set name dog.bulldog.winston, dog is the high-level qualifier, bulldog is the intermediate-level qualifier, and winston is the low-level qualifier.

Specify TSO sequential data sets in the following format:

Specify TSO partitioned data sets in the following format:

hlev_qual

Specifies the high-level qualifier of the data set. The default is the current working directory. If you specify this parameter, the complete data set name must be enclosed within single quotation marks (’).

llev_qual

Specifies the low-level qualifier of the data set. You must specify this qualifier for sequential data sets.

membername

Specifies the member name of a partitioned data set (PDS). You must include parentheses around membername only when you also specify llev_qual or hlev_qual.