JCL, the Job Control Language of IBM, is mainly used in a mainframe environment or on a MicroFocus Enterprise Server. JCL instructions allow us to launch applications in a non-interactive (i.e., "batch") way.

During this course you learn

• to write JCL statements to obtain a correct execution of programs and to pass them the correct (input and output) data sets;
• to interpret the returned (error) messages via SDSF (Spool Display and Search Facility);
• to write, use and test JCL procedures.

• The Job Entry Subsystem (JES) and batch processing
• The different statements and their function:
  • JOB statement: accounting information, job scheduling parameters, execution parameters, job output specification
  • EXEC statement: PGM, PROC, PARM, COND, TIME, etc.
  • DD statement: data set description, resource specification, output description, in-stream data sets, etc.
  • IF-THEN-ELSE construction
  • OUTPUT statement
• Job log and job output • SDSF manipulation
• Special datasets and associated parameters:
  concatenation • partitioned and sequential data sets • temporary data sets • backward references • GDG • SMS parameters • JOBLIB • STEPLIB • ...

• INCLUDE and JCLLIB
• Use of procedures:
  definition • parameters • changing and adding • symbolic parameters

• Debugging of JCL, frequent abends, ...
• JES2 control statements

About half of the time is spent on practical exercises.

Delivered as a live, interactive training – available in-person or online, or in a hybrid format. Training can be implemented in English, Dutch, or French.

Basic knowledge of ISPF is necessary (see course ISPF/PDF basics).

Programmers, operators, system programmers, schedulers.