JCL Doubt- PARM Parameter

venkateshbagayat · New User Joined: 04 Mar 2005 Posts: 10

Hi Everybody..,
This is Venkat a Novice in Mainframe Technology. Can anybody help me out in understanding the PARM Parameter thoroughly please?
regards...,
Venkat

ovreddy · Posted: Fri Mar 04, 2005 5:19 pm Post subject:

Hi Venkat,

This is Reddy. PARM parameter is used to pass data from JCL to COBOL. we can pass maximum of 100 CHARS using PARM parameter. If it exceeds 100 chars we need to use Instream data ( //SYSIN DD *).

This data we can receive in to COBOL by using a variable declared in LINKAGE SECTION. this can be done as follows

PROCEDURE DIVISION USING VARX.

VARX - is a linkage section variable which receives the data from PARM

PASS data in JCL as follows...

//STEP01 EXEC PGM=DEMO,PARM="DATATOPASS"

Bye,
Reddy.

mmwife · Super Moderator Joined: 30 May 2003 Posts: 1526

Hi Venkat,

To followup what Reddy has already said, the parm data passed to the pgm from the JCL should be defined in the pgm as such:

LINKAGE SECTION.

01 PARM-DATA.
05 PARM-LEN PIC S9(004) COMP.
05 PARM-STRING PIC X(010).

The length of the data passed is contained in PARM-LEN, the data itself is contained in PARM-STRING.

You can test the length as part of the verification process.