SNAP-IX RJE User's Guide - 2.3 Contents of a Job File

2.3 Contents of a Job File

The syntax of the contents of a job file is determined by the host operating system; refer to your host JES documentation for details. In general, the job file consists of the following:

Job Control Language (JCL), which provides user and password information and details of the processing required
Data to be processed by the host
JCL indicating the end of the data

2.3.1 Sample Job File

Sample Job File, shows a sample job file, which is intended for the host system JES2.

Sample Job File

//ABC01 JOB (05604Q,A,X),
// MSGCLASS=A,
// CLASS=E,
// USER=ABC01,PASSWORD=ZYXW
//SETUP EXEC PGM=IEBGENER
//SYSPRINT DD SYSOUT=*
//SYSIN DD DUMMY
//SYSUT2 DD SYSOUT=*
//SYSUT1 DD *
TEST FILE LINE 1 THIS JOB WILL CAUSE THIS DATA TO BE SENT TO A PRINTER DEVICE
TEST FILE LINE 2
TEST FILE LINE 3
TEST FILE LINE 4
TEST FILE LINE 5
TEST FILE LINE 6
TEST FILE LINE 7
TEST FILE LINE 8
TEST FILE LINE 9
TEST FILE LINE 10
TEST FILE LINE 11 THE END
/*

In this example, the first nine lines are JCL, the following eleven lines are the data to be processed by the host, and the final line /* indicates the end of the data. The JCL causes the input data to be copied to a class A device, typically configured as printer output.

2.3.2 Embedded Commands

SNAP-IX enables you to include RJE commands within a job file; these commands, known as 'embedded commands,' are interpreted by RJE and are not sent to the host. Embedded commands are indicated by the character ~ at the start of a line.

Types of Embedded Commands Available

The available commands are as follows:

Included Files

Instead of including all the data in the same file as the JCL, as shown in Sample Job File, you can use the ~include command within a job file to indicate another file from which data is to be read. An included file can also contain included files, up to a maximum of five levels of included files. The command syntax is as follows:

~include [ -i | -b ] filename

The option indicates that the included file should not be searched for further embedded commands. This option can be used, for example, to send the text of a job file to the host for storage; any embedded commands within the included file are sent to the host without processing.

The option indicates that the included file should be sent as binary data; it is not code-converted, and is not searched for further embedded commands. (Without this option, the data is assumed to be in ASCII and is converted to EBCDIC before being sent to the host.)

Comments

SNAP-IX interprets any line in a job file beginning with the characters ~/ as a comment line. SNAP-IX ignores this line when searching for embedded commands, so that the line is not sent to the host. However, if either of the options or is used (both of these options suppress the search for embedded commands), the line will be sent.

Escape Character

If you need to use '~' as the first character of a line of job data, include the character twice (~~). SNAP-IX interprets this as a single ~ character when searching for embedded commands, so that only a single character is sent to the host. However, if either of the options or is used (both of these options suppress the search for embedded commands), both characters are sent.

Note the following points about the escape character ~:

It is necessary to double this character only when it appears as the first character of a line; in any other position, it is treated as a normal character.
~ as the first character of a line must be part of a ~include, ~/, or ~~ command; it is invalid if followed by any other character.

Examples of Embedded Commands

The sample job file shown in Sample Job File, could be split into two files by using embedded commands, as shown in Sample Job File That Uses an Embedded Command, and examples data file. The job file contains comments and an include command that names a data file from which input is read. In this example, the data file is named mydata.

Sample Job File That Uses an Embedded Command

//ABC01 JOB (05604Q,A,X),
// MSGCLASS=A,
// CLASS=E,
// USER=ABC01,PASSWORD=ZYXW
//SETUP EXEC PGM=IEBGENER
//SYSPRINT DD SYSOUT=*
//SYSIN DD DUMMY
//SYSUT2 DD SYSOUT=*
//SYSUT1 DD *
~/ Replace "mydata" in the following line with the correct filename
~include mydata
/*

Sample Data File `mydata`

TEST FILE LINE 1 THIS JOB WILL CAUSE THIS DATA TO BE SENT TO A PRINTER DEVICE

~~ TEST FILE LINE 2 BEGINS WITH A ~ CHARACTER
TEST FILE LINE 3
TEST FILE LINE 4
TEST FILE LINE 5
TEST FILE LINE 6
TEST FILE LINE 7
TEST FILE LINE 8
TEST FILE LINE 9
TEST FILE LINE 10
TEST FILE LINE 11 THE END