Parsing %%variables from a member

Xavier Miret · New User Joined: 17 Mar 2010 Posts: 2 Location: Barcelona

Hi,

I have some problems when trying to retrieve data from a member within a JCL. Brief:

We have both a member with variables names, and a JCL "template".

The member looks like this:

%%name=Xavi
%%surname=Miret
%%occupation=Programmer
%%hobbies=IT programming
...

And the JCL template includes the member as A LIBRARY as follows, and is planified by CTRL-M.

%%LIBSYM memberPDS %%MEMSYM member

Once I submit the job I don't have any problems working with the first three variables, but the fourth one (hobbies) never takes IT programming, but only "IT". It reads only until first found white space (so "programming" is never printed).

I am quite unexperienced in JCL specs. ¿ Is it possible to get the whole sentence "IT programming" from the member's variable ? I can't modify the member, I have only access to the way I retrieve the variables.

This might be a very silly question, but I have already checked for a while and haven't found anything about it, my colleagues keep telling me it is possible using some kind of weird quotes combination, but I am not able to find it - and they, of course, aren't able to remember it... -

Thanks,

Xavi

gcicchet · Posted: Thu Mar 18, 2010 4:21 pm

Hi,

why can't you modify the member ?

or modify the JCL and where %%HOBBIES is used just follow it with programming

ie %%HOBBIES programming

Gerry

Xavier Miret · New User Joined: 17 Mar 2010 Posts: 2 Location: Barcelona

Hi,

Mmm... now that you mention it... I could modify the member within the JCL once it has been submitted, but I can't modify it by hand.

That is because the member with the variables is generated dinamically. We know which variables will it contain, but we don't know which values are assigned to them until we are executing the JCL.

The whole process:

1. Application takes parameters from a web page introduced by a user (variable=value)
2. Application makes a member with those parameters.
%%variable1=value1
%%variable2=value2
...
3. Application decides which JCL template needs and generates a JOB to planify.
4. Application planifies the JOB.

I don't have access to most of the application code. I can only modify the JCL template. In which I decide which steps to execute, and where to place the variables.

But when I reference any variable with a value with white spaces, for example a description, it truncs its value to the first white space, so the JCL works with a truncated value.

Thx,

Xavi

gcicchet · Posted: Thu Mar 18, 2010 6:03 pm

Hi,

ensure the member with the variables is generated correctly.

Gerry

gcicchet · Posted: Fri Mar 19, 2010 8:06 am

Hi,

the member should be set up in this manner