What is ISPF skeleton?

ISPF skeleton definitions are stored in a skeleton library and accessed through the ISPF file-tailoring services. You create or change skeletons by editing directly into the skeleton library. ISPF interprets the skeletons during execution. No compilation or preprocessing step is required.

What is skeleton mainframe?

JCL skeletons in ISPF allow building mainframe jobs based on user input without the user having to code the complete JCL. They provide templates containing variables. At ‘runtime’ these variables get substituted by the input provided by the user. This principle is mimicked here.

Where are the skeleton definitions stored in ISPF?

ISPF skeleton definitions are stored in a skeleton library and accessed through the ISPF file-tailoring services. You create or change skeletons by editing directly into the skeleton library. ISPF interprets the skeletons during execution.

What is an IF THEN END statement in ISPF?

Any statement of an ISPF skeleton is some command starting with ‘)’ character. Everything else is just a text to be included into the produced output, including those IF-THEN-END words. If this output later becomes an input to IDCAMS utility, those IF-THEN-END would become control statements for IDCAMS.

What are the features of the ISPF interface?

The ISPF User Interface. ISPF provides an action bar-driven interface that exploits many of the usability features of Common User Access (CUA) interfaces. Refer to Object-Oriented Interface Design: IBM Common User Access Guidelines for additional information.

What is the value of ISPF 5.6 for z / OS?

For example, a value of ″ISPF 5.6″ represents ISPF for z/OS Version 1 Release 6.0. The ZOS390RL variable contains the level of the z/OS release running on your system. The ZISPFOS system variable contains the level of ISPF that is running as part of the operating system release on your system.