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Introduction​

This exercise set helps you practice the basics of the JOB and EXEC statements in JCL, focusing on building simple JCLs, understanding the TIME parameter behavior, and applying the correct rules for naming JOBs and EXEC steps. The goal is to build comfort with common mistakes and tricky spots in real-world usage.

For reference, see:

Refer to IBM Docs - Reusable JCL to get JCLs for common usages.

Exercise: Create JCL as per requirement​

  • Create a JCL with a JOB having accounting info (ACCT1), description 'DAILY REPORT', CLASS=B, NOTIFY=&SYSUID, and an EXEC running IEFBR14.
  • Create a JCL where the JOB uses MSGLEVEL=(2,0), MSGCLASS=A, and the EXEC step is named STEP001 running program SORT.
  • Create a JOB statement for programmer JDOE with no accounting info but specify CLASS=A and MSGCLASS=X.
  • Create a JCL with a JOB using TYPRUN=SCAN and an EXEC step named RUNIT calling IEFBR14. Will this job execute?
  • Create an EXEC statement that runs program MYAPP and passes a parameter INIT.
  • Create a JCL to notify Another User.

Write your own simple JCL snippet for each case:

  • A JOB statement using at least one positional and two keyword parameters.
  • An EXEC statement combining a positional and a keyword parameter.

Exercise: Fix and execute the JCL​

Below are 2 samples of some invalid/incomplete JCL. Execute them and make sure both the dataset are create and Job completes with Return code 2.

//<YOUR ID>D  JOB ,TYPRUN=SCAN,NOTIFY=&SYSUID                             
//COMBINE   EXEC PGM=IRXJCL,PARM='RETRC 2'             
//SYSEXEC   DD DSN=<YOUR REXX EXEC>,DISP=SHR   
//SYSTSIN   DD DUMMY                                        
//SYSTSPRT  DD DSN=&SYSUID..EXERCISE.OUTPUT4,
//     DISP=(MOD,CATLG),SPACE=(CYL,(2,2)),              
//     DCB=(RECFM=FB,LRECL=80,BLKSIZE=800)
//<YOUR ID>E  JOB ,TYPRUN=HOLD,NOTIFY=&SYSUID                             
//COMBINE   EXEC PGM=IRXJCL,PARM='RETRC 2'             
//SYSEXEC   DD DSN=<YOUR REXX EXEC>,DISP=SHR    
//SYSTSIN   DD DUMMY                                        
//SYSTSPRT  DD DSN=&SYSUID..EXERCISE.OUTPUT5,
//     DISP=(MOD,CATLG),SPACE=(CYL,(2,2)),              
//     DCB=(RECFM=FB,LRECL=80,BLKSIZE=800)

Exercise: Get me the Answer​

  • You have a JOB with 1 minute time limit and two steps: STEP1 with 45 seconds, STEP2 with 40 seconds. Both step takes around 35 mins each to complete. Will both steps complete successfully? Why or why not?
  • Given a JOB with TIME=(0,10), STEP1 with TIME=(0,5) takes 4 second to complete, and STEP2 with TIME=(0,8) takes 8 seconds to complete, explain which limit will cause an abend and why.
  • Create a JCL where the JOB does not code TIME, STEP1 has TIME=(0,20) and STEP2 has TIME=(0,30). Explain which TIME limit applies where and what happens if STEP2 takes 40 seconds.
  • For the following JOB names, identify which are valid and which are invalid according to JCL rules: @BACKUP, 123RUN, MYSYSTEM, #SORT01, $DATA99, BIG-JOB.
  • Look at this JCL and identify the invalid step name and explain why: //RUN01 EXEC PGM=IEFBR14 and //01STEP EXEC PGM=IEFBR14.
  • Fix this JOB statement to make it valid: //9DAILY JOB (123),'DAILY',CLASS=A,MSGCLASS=X,NOTIFY=&SYSUID.
  • State True or False:
    • Step names can start with a number.
    • Step names must be unique within a job
    • JOB names can include special characters other than $, #, or @. Explain if False.

Fix Invalid Job and EXEC Statement​

Fix the following Invalid Job Statements

//MYJOB    JOB ,'TEST JOB',MSGCLASS=A,MSGLEVEL=(1,1),TIME
//MY JOB   JOB (ACCT),'SAMPLE'
//*MYJOB   JOB (ACCT),'COMMENTED JOB'
//MYJOB    JOB (ACCT),'TEST',NOTIFY=
//1234JOB  JOB (ACCT),'TEST'
//MYJOB    JOB (ACCT),'TEST',REGION=MB

Fix the following Invalid EXEC Statements

//STEP01   EXEC
//STEP02   EXEC PGM=
//STEP03   EXEC PROC=MYPROC,PGM=IEFBR14
//STEP04   EXEC PGM=MYPROG,CLASS=A
// STEP10  EXEC PGM=MYPGM,TYME=(0,5)