Talk:Job Control Language
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I have my doubts about the leading "//" on JCL commands being a safeguard against loading the cards backwards in the card reader. If the cards were backwards, nothing would make sense, whether it started with a "//" or not.
- Also if you've seen an 80-col card you'll have noticed that the top right corner is cut off diagonally. Most punches and readers physically could not accept cards in a wrong orientation. This features pre-dates IBM System/360 JCL and probably goes back to Hollerith, who in 1888 founded the company that became the main core of IBM.Philcha 16:30, 21 October 2007 (UTC)
I think it's more likely that the double slashes were simply the best available special character available for use in JCL. In normal English, the slash is not used very often, and almost never at the start of a sentence. So the double slash becomes a convenient, short, and unique identifer to the operating system that the card contains a JCL command.
Its fair to ask why JCL needs a special identifier in the first place. After all, since the cards are being read from the card reader, can't it be assumed that the cards contain JCL commands? Yes and no. A deck of cards read by a card reader will normally contain a mixture of JCL commands and data. by simply looking for the double slashes, it becomes easier to distinguish between the two.
When data is embedded in the job itself, it is referred to as instream data. The JCL command which marks the end of instream data is "/*".
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[edit] one doubt..
What is the difference between Condition code COND and IF ELSE?
Answer: COND is simply the older version to formulate conditions. I have to admit: I never grasped the wretched logic of how to write this parameter, I always had to look into the manuals. IF/THEN/ELSE is an adapted form of COND and better readable.
COND always seemed backwards to me. Martin Packer 06:52, 5 October 2007 (UTC)
[edit] jcl
can we submit more than one job in a JCL if yes how?
Ans) Yes . It is possible to submit more than one jobs in a JCL. And, it's not too difficult either.....
For ex:- //MYJOB1 JOB ,'ABC',CLASS='H',MSGCLASS='X',NOTIFY=&SYSUID
//***************************************************** //* JOB1 * //*****************************************************
//STEP1 EXEC PGM=IEFBR14
//SYSOUT DD SYSOUT=*
//DD1 DD DSN=X1.Y1.Z1,DISP=(NEW,CATLG,DELETE),
SPACE=(TRK,(1,1,0),RLSE)
//SYSIN DD DUMMY
//***************************************************** //* JOB2 * //*****************************************************
//STEP2 EXEC PGM=IEFBR14
//SYSOUT DD SYSOUT=*
//DD2 DD DSN=X2.Y2.Z2,DISP=(NEW,CATLG,DELETE),
SPACE=(TRK,(1,1,0),RLSE)
//SYSIN DD DUMMY
//
That's it !!!
I'm going to give that answer a grade of "D-", because it's one job, not two. The answer is Yes, but it depends on what you are seeking to accomplish. Do you want two jobstreams submitted from one pds? or do you want a job to submit a second jobstream? do you want a job to submit/transmit a job to another JES2/JES3 node? are you running an STC, or submitting through CICS?
"/*" is not a requirement to end in-stream data. In fact, I might be using "/EOD" to end my in-stream data, especially if I'm transmitting a job with in-stream data delimited by "/*" to another node--it happens.
Amateurs.. z/OS JCL, to paraphrase an instructor, is like the controls of a 747--many options and settings, and best handled by a TRAINED professional.
[edit] one question
What's with the "THIS IS CORRECT" right there in the middle of the article? I was going to remove it but I thought I'd better check it wasn't there for some strange reason....?
[edit] Not just IBM
I know this comment borders on original research ... From my 30 years of experience in the computer industry, Job Control Language (JCL) applies to more than just IBM. It was used (and possibly still is) in a wide variety of computer systems that do batch (i.e.-offline) processing. The concepts are generally the same, with minor variations. For example, when Xerox was making their Sigma series of computers in the 1970s, their JCL started with a "$" in contrast to IBM's "//" and included commands like: $JOB (start of job), $ASSIGN (assign I/O devices), $DATA (start of data), $EOD (end of data), $EOJ (end of job). In the 1970s and 1980s, Gould/Systems Engineering Laboratories (SEL) produced several minicomputers whose JCL was almost the same as Xerox except that they started with an exclamation point "!", commonly referred to as a "bang" character. I think this article deserves at least a brief mention of these other JCL systems. I propose to wait one month (until August 8, 2007) and see what comments the Wikipedia community might have, and then add a short "Other systems" section to the end of the article; I'll try to find some verifiable sources if/when I do that. Truthanado 19:34, 8 July 2007 (UTC)
- If you get some refs, we need to:
- copy most of Job Control Language to another article "IBM Job Control Language" with a redirect from "IBM JCL".
- re-write Job Control Language to be more general and list all the names by which job control language was known, e.g. OCL (ICL 2900), WFL (Burroughs, now part of Unisys). Philcha 23:32, 20 October 2007 (UTC)
Ahh yes, JCL. The worst thing to ever happen to computing. --64.238.49.65 21:36, 17 October 2007 (UTC)
- You're a fool!
JCL has been working quite successfully for nearly 50 years now, and controlled the majority of computer jobs all that time. And it is a definite improvement over the previous methods. What have you produced that is still running successfully after 50 years?
- If you had some actual, specific complaints to give, we could discuss them here. But you appear to be just a troll, jumping in with pointless criticism. T-bonham (talk) 09:01, 26 February 2008 (UTC)
[edit] Rewrite in progress
I've rewritten Job Control Language to: cover IBM's DOS/360 and its descendants as well as OS/360 and its descendants; focus more on the facilities and flavour of the 2 JCLs rather than on details of some statement types and some of their options. Please comment. I'd be particulary grateful for more info on DOS/360 and its descendants, especially after 1980 - I only used DOS JCL a handful of times, and only in the late 1970s.
The rewrite does not currently take account of Truthanado's point about use of "JCL" by computer supliers other than IBM.Philcha 23:37, 20 October 2007 (UTC)
[edit] IBM PC nitpick
I don't know the correct number or I would have just corrected it, but in the section comparing the IBM PC with 360 (whose points are valid) it claims the original PC could do almost 5 MIPS. Not by a million miles! Sure the CPU clock was 4.77 MHz but the minimum instruction took two clocks to execute, most were more like 5-10, some took dozens of clocks. My recollection from the time was that the numbers being thrown around were well under 1 MIPS. Also, the 5150 came out in 1981 not 1982. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.62.205.183 (talk) 00:04, 26 October 2007 (UTC)
- Agreed - I found a ref that quotes .33MIPS, and have changed the article.Philcha 15:18, 16 November 2007 (UTC)
