Overview of the Conversational Monitor System (CMS)

Just as you can interact with Linux® or UNIX through a bash or Korn shell, you can interact with z/VM through CMS. Like a shell, you can use CMS to edit files, run EXECs (script-like executable files) or programs, modify the virtual machine environment, or modify z/VM itself. CMS is to z/VM as a shell is to Linux or UNIX.

Minidisks and the CMS access mode

CMS, like other operating systems running in a virtual machine, can access minidisks to store and retrieve files. For CMS, each minidisk has an access mode represented by an alphabetic letter that determines how CMS searches for files. In Linux, path variables defining directories determine the search order for files. CMS searches for files among minidisks based on the alphabetical order of the access mode. First, CMS looks on the A minidisk, then the B minidisk, and so forth.

The 191 minidisk holds a special place in CMS. A 191 minidisk to a CMS user is like the home file directory for a Linux user. CMS always tries to access a user's 191 minidisk as access mode A. The CMS 191 minidisk is often called the A-disk.

To see your CMS minidisks and their access modes, use the QUERY ACCESSED command. QUERY ACCESSED is similar to the df command in Linux. To access minidisks that are not already in the CMS access order, use the ACCESS command.

Example of viewing and accessing CMS minidisks

To view your accessed CMS minidisks, type the QUERY ACCESSED command and press the Enter key:
```
Ready;
query accessed
Mode  Stat     Files  Vdev  Label/Directory
A      R/W       595  191   CHA191
E      R/O      1776  201   IDTOOL
S      R/O       690  190   CMS21
Ready;
```
The column under Mode shows the access mode for each minidisk. In the example, there are three minidisks accessed as A, E, and S.
Notice that while in CMS all commands end with a Ready; prompt, indicating that CMS is ready to do more work.
To assign an access mode, use the ACCESS command. For example, to access the minidisk at virtual address 491 as B, type this command and press the Enter key:
```
Ready;
access 491 b
DMSACP723I B (491) R/O
Ready;
```
The response tells you minidisk 491 is accessed read only (R/O) as B.

If you assign a mode currently assigned to another minidisk, the new minidisk replaces the current minidisk:

Ready;                         
access 19d d 
DMSACC724I 19D replaces D (200)
DMSACP723I D (19D) R/O         
Ready;

To remove a minidisk from an access mode, use the RELEASE command:
```
Ready;
release b 
Ready;
```

CMS files

CMS files have a file name, file type, and file mode. File names and file types can be up to 8 characters long. The file mode corresponds to the access mode of the minidisk.

Examples:

MYDOC LISTING A1
DNFPFS LISTPS B1

By convention, some file types have special meanings. For example, EXEC is the file type for a file that contains executable statements, LISTING is the file type for text files, and LISTPS is the file type for PostScript files.

To view and manipulate files, use the FILELIST command. FILELIST is similar to the dir command in Linux.

Examples of using FILELIST

To view all the files on your A-disk, type this command and press the Enter key:

filelist

Result: You see something like this:

 CHASTING FILELIST A0  V 169  Trunc=169 Size=253 Line=1 Col=1 Alt=0             
Cmd   Filename Filetype Fm Format Lrecl    Records     Blocks   Date     Time   
      CHASTING NETLOG   A0 V        108       2132         53 10/15/03 16:02:30 
      KIJL0CMD HGENRPT  A1 V        119         13          1 10/13/03 12:00:40 
      KIJL0CMD LOG      A1 V        122        131          2 10/13/03 12:00:37 
      KIJL0CMD SCRIPT   A1 V         81        454          4 10/13/03 12:00:37 
      REXEC    HELPTCPI A1 V         79        133          2 10/13/03 10:26:11 
      NETSTAT  HELPTCPI A1 V         79        749          9 10/13/03 10:25:31

In the Cmd column, you can type commands that are issued against the file on that line.

Example: To edit a file in the filelist, type the XEDIT command in the Cmd column:

 CHASTING FILELIST A0  V 169  Trunc=169 Size=253 Line=1 Col=1 Alt=0             
Cmd   Filename Filetype Fm Format Lrecl    Records     Blocks   Date     Time   
xedit CHASTING NETLOG   A0 V        108       2132         53 10/15/03 16:02:30 
      KIJL0CMD HGENRPT  A1 V        119         13          1 10/13/03 12:00:40 
      KIJL0CMD LOG      A1 V        122        131          2 10/13/03 12:00:37 
      KIJL0CMD SCRIPT   A1 V         81        454          4 10/13/03 12:00:37 
      REXEC    HELPTCPI A1 V         79        133          2 10/13/03 10:26:11 
      NETSTAT  HELPTCPI A1 V         79        749          9 10/13/03 10:25:31

Use / and = to avoid extra typing when you enter a command in FILELIST. The / means this file and = can be used to repeat a file name, file type, or file mode.

Example: To copy a file called REXEC HELPTCPI from minidisk A to minidisk D, type this command and press the Enter key (typing over the other columns is OK):

 CHASTING FILELIST A0  V 169  Trunc=169 Size=253 Line=1 Col=1 Alt=0             
Cmd   Filename Filetype Fm Format Lrecl    Records     Blocks   Date     Time   
      CHASTING NETLOG   A0 V        108       2132         53 10/15/03 16:02:30 
      KIJL0CMD HGENRPT  A1 V        119         13          1 10/13/03 12:00:40 
      KIJL0CMD LOG      A1 V        122        131          2 10/13/03 12:00:37 
      KIJL0CMD SCRIPT   A1 V         81        454          4 10/13/03 12:00:37 
copy / = = d   HELPTCPI A1 V         79        133          2 10/13/03 10:26:11 
      NETSTAT  HELPTCPI A1 V         79        749          9 10/13/03 10:25:31

To see only certain files, use * as a wildcard character.

Example: To find any file on any accessed disk with a file type SCRIPT, type this command and press the Enter key:

filelist * script *

Result: You see something like this:

 CHASTING FILELIST A0  V 169  Trunc=169 Size=555 Line=32 Col=1 Alt=0           
Cmd   Filename Filetype Fm Format Lrecl    Records     Blocks   Date     Time  
      APLANBD  SCRIPT   A1 V         65         20          1  7/16/02 12:31:01
      APROGBD  SCRIPT   A1 V         80        213          3  7/16/02 12:30:05
      B2HSYS   SCRIPT   Q1 V        113       4910         45  6/17/02 10:42:25
      B2HMSG   SCRIPT   Q1 V         76        670          7  6/17/02 10:42:04
      B2H      SCRIPT   Q1 V         72        107          1  5/20/02  0:47:02
      B2HAPP   SCRIPT   Q1 V         86       3129         25  5/20/02  0:47:02
      B2HEXA   SCRIPT   Q1 V         93       1390         10  5/20/02  0:47:02
      B2HINF   SCRIPT   Q1 V         81       1389         14  5/20/02  0:47:02
      B2HSETUP SCRIPT   Q1 V         70        175          2  5/20/02  0:47:02
      B2HUSE   SCRIPT   Q1 V         89       2622         25  5/20/02  0:47:02
      ACRONYMS SCRIPT   V1 V        962      62886        769  4/05/01 16:27:39
      VMSERVE  SCRIPT   V1 V        103       3180         31  1/24/01  8:48:49

The PROFILE EXEC

The PROFILE EXEC is a special executable file analogous to the .profile (or .bash_profile) in Linux and UNIX. Every time a CMS user logs on, CMS runs the PROFILE EXEC residing on the 191 minidisk, file mode A. You can use the PROFILE EXEC to set up your virtual machine environment; for instance, access disks, set up special PF keys, or even load another operating system in your virtual machine.

There can be times when you do not want the PROFILE EXEC to execute when you log on. You can prevent CMS from executing the PROFILE EXEC by issuing access (noprof. When you IPL (load) CMS, you see an identifier line displayed and CMS pauses with VM READ in the lower right corner of the display. At that point you can issue access (noprof:

IPL CMS                         
z/VM 7.2.0    2004-09-30 16:24 










access (noprof                                                               
                                                            VM READ   GDLVME

The Help system

z/VM provides online help through the CMS Help system. The HELP command is like the man command in Linux. You can find full descriptions of z/VM commands by using the HELP command. By issuing help, you can access the main help menu for z/VM:

 HELP TASKS                 Task Help Information                  line 1 of 37
 (c) Copyright IBM Corporation 1990, 2018                                      
                                                                               
 z/VM HELP, main panel                                                         
                                                                               
 The help panels listed below provide information about various                
 z/VM functions, topics, and tasks.                                            
 To view a help panel, move the cursor to any character of the name            
 or description and press the ENTER key or the PF1 key.                        
                                                                               
                                                                               
 HELP     - z/VM HELP Facility topics                                          
 MENUS    - z/VM help menus                                                    
 TASKS    - Basic z/VM tasks                                                   
 AVS      - AVS commands                                                       
 CMS      - CMS commands                                                       
 CP       - CP commands                                                        
 DIRMAINT - DirMaint commands                                                  
 DIRMAINT - DirMaint topics                                                    
 DUMPS    - Dump commands, subcommands, and utilities   
 DYNIO    - Dynamic I/O tasks                           
 LE       - Language Environment commands               
 MACROS   - CMS assembler macros (menu)                 
 MACROS   - Assembler macros and functions (types)      
 MESSAGES - Messages and codes                          
 OPEN     - OpenExtensions services and APIs            
 PERFKIT  - Performance Toolkit topics                  
 PIPE     - CMS Pipelines built-in programs and commands
 QUERYSET - QUERY and SET commands and subcommands      
 ROUTINES - CMS callable services (menu)                
 ROUTINES - CMS routines (types)                        
 RSCS     - RSCS Networking commands and link parameters
 STATEMTS - REXX, EXEC 2, and EXEC statements           
 SUBCMDS  - Subcommand groups, such as XEDIT            
 TCPIP    - TCP/IP commands                             
 TCPIP    - TCP/IP tasks                                
 TSAF     - TSAF commands                                                     
 VMSES    - VMSES/E commands                                                  
* * * End of File * * *                                                       
 PF1= Help     2= Top      3= Quit     4= Return     5= Clocate   6= ?        
 PF7= Backward 8= Forward  9= PFkeys  10=           11=          12= Cursor   
                                                                              
====>                                                                         
                                                            Macro-read 1 File

To get quicker access to command information, you can issue the HELP command with one of the keywords you see in the main menu.

Example: For quick access to the information about the CP IPL command, issue:

help cp ipl

Examples of using the HELP command

To get help for all the CP commands, type this command and press the Enter key:

help cp menu

Result: You see a screen like this:

 CP MENU                  Menu Help Information                    line 1 of 34 
 (c) Copyright IBM Corporation 1990, 2018                                       
                                                                                
 Help for CP commands                                                           
                                                                                
 To display a help panel, move the cursor to any character                      
 of the name and press the ENTER key or the PF1 key.                            
 An asterisk (*) preceding the name indicates a menu panel.                     
 A colon (:) preceding the name indicates a task panel.                         
                                                                                
                                                                                
 *ASSOCIAT *SPXTAPE  Close     DETach    INDicate  REDEFine  STOP               
 *CPQUERY  *START    COMMands  Dial      Ipl       REFRESH   STore              
 *CPSET    *STORE    COMMIT    DISAble   LINK      RELSPACE  SYNCmdrs           
 *CPUTIL   *TERMINAL CONCOPY   DISASSOCi LOADBUF   REPeat    SYStem             
 *DEACTIVE *TRACE    COUPLE    DISCARD   LOADVFCB  REQuest   TAg                
 *DEFINE   *TRSOURCE CP        DISConn   LOCate    RESET     TERMinal           
 *DELETE   *VARY     CPACcess  DISPlay   LOCATEVM  RESTART   TRace              
 *DETACH   *VMDUMPTL CPCAche   DRain     LOCK      REWind    TRANsfer           
 *DISABLE  *XLINK    CPHX      DUmp      LOGoff    SAVESEG   TRSAVE             
 *DISPLAY  :DUMPS    CPLISTfil DUPlex    Logon     SAVESYS   TRSOurce           
 *DRAIN    :DYNIO    CPRELease ECho      Message   SCHedule  UNCOUPLE           
 *DUMP     :HELP     CPTRAP    ENable    MESSAGEA  SCREen    UNDEDicat          
 *ENABLE   #CP       CPTYPE    EXPlore   MESSAGEU  SEND      UNDIAL             
 *FLASHCOP ACNT      CPU       EXTernal  MODify    SET       UNLOCK             
 *FREE     ACTivate  CPVLoad   FLASHCopy MONitor   SHUTDOWN  UTILITY            
 *GIVE     ASSOCiate CPXLoad   Flush     MSGNOH    SIGnal    VARY               
 *HOLD     ASTERISK  CPXUnload FOR       NOTReady  SILENTly  VDelete            
 *INDICATE AT        DEActive  FORCE     ORDer     SLeep     VInput             
 *LOCATE   ATTach    DEDicate  FORWard   PER       SMsg      VMDump             
 *MESSAGE  ATTN      DEFine    FRee      POUNDCP   SNAPDUMP  VMDUMPTL           
 *MODIFY   AUTOLOg   DEFSEG    GIVE      PURge     SPAce     VMRELOcat          
 *MONITOR  BAckspace DEFSYS    HALT      Query     SPool     Warning            
 *PURGE    Begin     DELete    HOld      READY     SPXtape   XAUTOLOg           
 *RDEVICE  CHange    DESTAGE   HYPerswap RECordin  STArt     XLINK              
* * * End of File * * *                                                         
 PF1= Help     2= Top      3= Quit     4= Return     5= Clocate   6= ?          
 PF7= Backward 8= Forward  9= PFkeys  10=           11=          12= Cursor     
                                                                                
====>                                                                           
                                                            Macro-read 1 File

To get help for a specific command (for example, CP QUERY), type this command and press the Enter key:

help cp query

Result: You see a screen like this:

 CP QUERY                  All Help Information                    line 1 of 11 
(c) Copyright IBM Corporation 1990, 2011                                        
                                                                                
 QUERY                                                                          
                                                                                
 Purpose                                                                        
                                                                                
 You can display various information about your virtual machine by using the    
 QUERY command operands.                                                        
                                                                                
 For information on the individual QUERY command operands, press PF11.          
                                                                                
* * * End of File * * *                                                         
                                                                                
                                                                                
                                                                                
                                                                                
 PF1=          2= Top      3= Quit     4= Return     5= Clocate   6= ?          
 PF7= Backward 8= Forward  9= PFkeys  10=           11= Related  12= Cursor     
                                                                                
====>                                                                           
                                                            Macro-read 1 File

Related information: For more information about Help, see:

z/VM: CMS Primer
For more advanced information, see z/VM: CMS User's Guide.
For online help, type help on the CMS command line, then press the Enter key.