DFSMSdfp™ provides
several access methods for formatting and accessing data. An access method
defines the organization of the data in a data set and the technique by which
the data is stored and retrieved. DFSMSdfp access methods have their own
data set structures to organize data, macro instructions to process data sets,
and utility programs to manipulate data sets.
Table 1 describes the
access methods that DFSMSdfp uses.
Table 1. DFSMSdfp access
methodsAccess method |
Description |
Data set organization |
Basic partitioned access method (BPAM) |
Use BPAM to create and retrieve program and
data libraries on DASD. BPAM arranges records as members of PDSs, PDSEs, or z/OS® UNIX® directories. |
|
Basic sequential access method (BSAM) |
Use BSAM to process data sets sequentially.
You organize the records into blocks for retrieval. |
- Sequential data sets
- Extended-format data sets
- PDS members
- PDSE members
- z/OS UNIX files
|
Object access method (OAM)—OSREQ interface |
Use OAM to store, back up, and retrieve objects
on DASD, optical, and tape storage. |
|
Queued sequential access method (QSAM) |
Use QSAM to process data sets sequentially.
QSAM collects the records into blocks. |
- Sequential data sets
- Extended-format data sets
- PDS members
- PDSE members
- z/OS UNIX files
|
Virtual storage access method (VSAM) |
Use VSAM for direct or sequential processing of
records on DASD. VSAM arranges records by an index key, by relative byte address,
or by relative record number. VSAM catalogs data sets for easy retrieval. |
- Entry-sequenced data sets
- Key-sequenced data sets
- Linear data sets
- Relative record data sets
- HFS files
|
DFSMS™ also
supports the basic direct access method (BDAM) for coexistence with previous
operating systems.
You can use assembler language macro instructions to create, maintain,
and process all the data set types supported by the access methods described
in Table 1. Macro instructions
control data set allocation, input and output, and data security.
Each compiler provides facilities to create, read, and write data sets.
Your compiler documentation describes how to use the access method facilities.
The following are a few of the functions that the macro instructions perform:
- Control block macros generate information that the access method needs
to process the data sets.
- Request macros retrieve, update, delete, or insert logical records into
data sets.
- Checkpoint/restart functions establish checkpoints during a program and
restart the job at a checkpoint or at the beginning of a job step.