Temporary Data Sets Created When Using ISMF

Two types of temporary data sets are created when you use ISMF to generate the background jobs for DFSMSdss line operators and list commands:

Filter data sets
ISPF work data sets

These data sets are automatically deleted when they are no longer needed, but while they are still in use they can appear as entries in the data set list.

Filter Data Sets

A filter data set is a sequential data set created for DFSMSdss list commands. It is deleted when the job runs. For all the commands except RELEASE the data set consists of the INCLUDE keyword and all the data set names from the list. For RELEASE, ISMF creates a separate filter data set for each different device type.

If a filter data set appears in the data set list, it looks like this:

K665941.ISMF.COMP.D860309.T073029

The data set name identifies your TSO prefix or user ID (or both, if you use a TSO prefix different from your user ID), the name of the list command, the date, and the time. For RELEASE, you also get the last two characters of the generic device name. For a 3380, the filter data set looks like this:

K665941.ISMF.R80.D86039.T073029

ISPF Work Data Sets for Background Jobs

The other temporary data sets that can appear in a data set list are ISPF work data sets created as part of generating a background job. These data sets are deleted when you exit ISPF. However, if ISPF ends abnormally, the temporary data sets might not be deleted. If an ISPF work data set appears in the list, it looks like this:

K665941.SPFTEMP0.CNTL