PARM Command

The PARM command specifies processing options to be used during execution. These options remain in effect until changed by another PARM command. You can also use these options in the PARM field of an EXEC statement (in the job control language (JCL)). The syntax of the PARM command is:

Command	Parameters
PARM	[TEST({[TRACE]
	[AREAS(areaid[ areaid...])]
	[FULL((dumpid[ begin[ count]])
	[(dumpid...)...])]\|
	OFF})]
	[GRAPHICS(CHAIN(chain)\|TABLE(mname))]
	[MARGINS(leftmargin rightmargin)]

where:

TEST(

{[TRACE]

[AREAS(areaid[ areaid...])]

[FULL((dumpid[begin[ count]])

[(dumpid...)...])]|

OFF})

Specifies the diagnostic aids that the program should use. After the TEST option has been established, it remains in effect until another PARM command resets it. You should use the TRACE, AREAS, and FULL parameters concurrently. See z/OS DFSMSdfp Diagnosis for a description of the IDCAMS diagnostic aids and lists of the dump points and area identifiers.

TRACE

Specifies that the program should print trace tables whenever it encounters a dump point.

AREAS(areaid[ areaid...])

Lists the modules that are to have selected areas of storage that is dumped at their dump points. areaid is a 2-character area identifier defined within the implementation.

FULL((dumpid[ begin[ count]])[(dumpid...)...])

States that a full region dump, as well as the trace tables and selected areas, is to be provided at the specified dump points. dumpid specifies the 4-character identifier of the dump point.

begin: Is a decimal integer that specifies the iteration through the named dump point at which the dump is to be produced. (The default is 1.)
count: Is a decimal integer that specifies the number of times that the program should produce dumps. (The default is 1.)

If you use the FULL keyword, you must also use an AMSDUMP DD statement; for example:

//AMSDUMP DD SYSOUT=A

OFF

Stops the testing.

GRAPHICS(CHAIN(chain)|TABLE(mname))

Indicates the print chain–graphic character set or a special graphics table that the program should use to produce the output.

CHAIN(AN|HN|PN|QN|RN|SN|TN)

Is the graphic character set of the print chains you want to use. The processor usesPN unless the program explicitly directs it to use another set of graphics.

AN: Arrangement A, standard EBCDIC character set, 48 characters
HN: Arrangement H, EBCDIC character set for FORTRAN and COBOL, 48 characters
PN: PL/1 alphanumeric character set
QN: PL/1 preferred alphanumeric character set for scientific applications
RN: Preferred character set for commercial applications of FORTRAN and COBOL
SN: This character set contains lower case and is the preferred character set for text printing
TN: Character set for text printing, 120 characters

TABLE(mname)

Is the name of a table you supply. This 256-byte table defines the graphics for each of the 256 possible bit patterns. Any character sent to the printeris translated to the bit pattern found in the specified table at the position corresponding to its numeric value (0-255). If the print chain does not have a graphic for a byte's bit pattern, the table should specify a period as the output graphic. The table must be stored as a module accessible through the LOAD macro.

MARGINS(leftmargin rightmargin)

Changes the margins of input records on which command statements are written. The usual left and right margins are 2 and 72, respectively. If you code MARGINS, the program scans all subsequent input records in accordance with the new margins. You can use this function in conjunction with the comment feature: You can use respecification of margins to cause the /* and */ characters to be omitted from the scan. This causes comments to be treated as commands.

leftmargin: Locates the location of the left margin.
rightmargin: Locates the location of the right margin. The right margin must be greater than the left margin value.