OPTIONS

Purpose

Use the OPTIONS control statement to define execution options for the batch loader. None of the keywords are required. It is no longer true that there can be only one options statement in the input data set and that it must be the first not commented card. It is now allowed to have more options statements in the sysin file, with the rule that the subsequent not commented card must be another options card or an ADSTART or an OISTART. Note that this does not mean that you can have different values of the options operands based on the position of the different options statements. If an operand of the options statement is present more than once in the sysin file, the entire processing will take place with the last value specified, not just from the point where the operand has been changed.

Parameters

ACTION (SCAN| REPLACE| ADD)

If you specify ACTION(SCAN), only basic syntax validity checking is performed on the remaining control statements in the input data set. The batch loader does not produce any output other than error messages.

ACTION(ADD) specifies that you are adding new ADs and OIs. If you attempt to add an AD or OI that already exists in the database, an error message is produced, and the AD or OI is not added.

ACTION(REPLACE) specifies that ADs and OIs defined in the input data set can replace existing ones in the database if they have the same name.

ADID (DBCS | EBCDIC)

Specifies the format of the application ID data that you will use in ADID and PREADID keywords in your control statements. You specify whether you will use EBCDIC or DBCS characters. DBCS means that the application ID should consist of double-byte character set characters only. If you have specified the SUBSYS keyword, you must use the format specified for that subsystem. If you have not specified the SUBSYS keyword, EBCDIC will be the default.

ADVALFROMCHG (N | Y)

The ADVALFROMCHG keyword instructs the batch loader about whether to replace the existing version of an application description whose validity interval is defined by the ADVALFROM of the application being added through the ADSTART statement.

Specify ADVALFROMCHG(Y) if the existing version of the AD is to be replaced by the version created by the batch loader and ADVALFROM is to be changed accordingly. You cannot specify ADVALFROMCHG(Y) if ACTION(ADD) or STATUSCHANGE(Y).

The default is ADVALFROMCHG(N). The existing version of the application description is replaced only if the application ID, type, valid from date, and status are consistent. Otherwise, a new version is added.

CHECK (Y | N)

The CHECK keyword instructs the batch loader to perform validity checking for the application descriptions, for example by checking whether a workstation exists in the workstation database. If CHECK(Y) is specified and an error is found, the application description record is not updated. When CHECK(N) is specified, the application is updated regardless of errors.

CHECK(N) should be used with care, because it can result in storing invalid applications. This can cause problems in the long-term and current plans. If CHECK(N) is unavoidable, the application descriptions should be given a future valid-from date, using the ADVALFROM keyword of the ADSTART statement, that makes the applications unavailable to the long-term or current plans until the applications can be verified.

Validity checking (other than basic syntax checking) is not done when OPTIONS ACTION(SCAN) is specified, because no output data set is produced, so do not specify the CHECK keyword.

DURUNIT (MINUTES | SECONDS)

Sets the unit in which duration is entered. You specify whether you use MINUTES or SECONDS. DURUNIT(SECONDS) causes the value entered by means of the DURATION keyword of the ADOP statement to be treated as a number of seconds. If DURUNIT(MINUTES) is specified or DURUNIT is left out of the DURATION value of the ADOP statement, it is treated as a number of minutes.

MSGLEVEL (1 | 3 | 2)

Controls the messages generated by the batch loader:

Level 1

This is the lowest level. Error messages and exceptional information messages are written.

Level 2

Includes level 1. A message is also written each time the statement making up one record is received and the syntax has been checked and passed.

Level 3

Includes level 2. In addition, each statement is written to the message log when the statement is processed.

By setting MSGLEVEL to 3, the input SYSIN for the batch loader JCL is scanned twice; in this way, some inconsistencies found during the first scan might be removed. For example, if during the first scan the system finds a successor operation defined before its predecessor, the successor is not inserted into the AD and message EQQY221E is displayed. Continuing the first scan, the system finds the predecessor and adds it to the AD. By specifying MSGLEVEL(3), this inconsistency is resolved during the second scan of the input SYSIN, because when the system scans the successor operation, the predecessor is already in the AD.

OWNER (DBCS | EBCDIC)

Specifies the format of the owner data that you will use in the OWNER keyword of ADSTART control statements. You specify whether you will use EBCDIC or DBCS characters. DBCS means that the owner ID should consist of double-byte character set characters only. If you have specified the SUBSYS keyword, you must use the format specified for that subsystem. If you have not specified the SUBSYS keyword, EBCDIC will be the default.

STATUSCHANGE (N | Y)

Determines whether the application description record is modified according to a new version, or a new record is created. Generally, when the batch loader creates a new version of an application description whose ID, type, valid-to date, and status are already recorded, the application description record is updated. If you specify STATUSCHANGE(Y), the application description record is updated even if the application status is different, and the status itself is modified to the new value. This is true, only if another application with the same credentials and status does not already exist.

If you specify STATUSCHANGE(N), the application description already recorded is updated if all the credentials of the new application match, otherwise a new record is created. This is the default.

SUBSYS (subsystem name)

The SUBSYS keyword indicates which HCL Workload Automation for Z subsystem the output will be directed to. If this keyword is not specified, output will be directed to the VSAM data sets defined by the EQQADDS and EQQOIDS DD statements. If the JCL includes either or both of these DD statements when output is directed to an HCL Workload Automation for Z subsystem, they are ignored.

Note: Do not use the data sets defined by EQQADDS and EQQOIDS if they are allocated to an active subsystem, otherwise the files might become corrupted.