Passing parameter data to BPXBATCH

Normally, you pass parameters to BPXBATCH using the parameter string—either in a batch job by using the PARM= parameter on the JCL EXEC statement (see Invoking BPXBATCH in a batch job) or in TSO by typing them on the command line (see Invoking BPXBATCH from the TSO/E environment). The format of the BPXBATCH parameter string is:

SH|PGM shell_command|shell_script|program_name [arg1...argN]

In a batch job, BPXBATCH only allows up to 100 bytes for the parameter string due to JCL limitations. In a TSO command environment, the maximum length of a parameter string is 32,754 bytes. However, BPXBATCH supports the use of a parameter file to pass much longer parameter data—up to 65,536 (64K) bytes.

To pass parameters to BPXBATCH using a parameter file, you define a file containing the parameter data and allocate it to the ddname STDPARM. The parameter file can be one of the following:

A z/OS UNIX text file
An MVS™ data set

The default is to use the parameter string specified on the TSO command line or in the PARM= parameter of the JCL EXEC statement. If the STDPARM ddname is defined, BPXBATCH uses the data found in the specified file rather than what is found in the parameter string or in the STDIN ddname.