PROFILE
Shows and changes your session settings, like the dataset prefix.
Also written PROF
Why it matters. The prefix decides what unquoted dataset names mean. Know yours before you type a name.
Syntax
{PROFILE | PROF} [PREFIX(dsname-prefix) | NOPREFIX] [PROMPT | NOPROMPT] [MSGID | NOMSGID] [INTERCOM | NOINTERCOM] [WTPMSG | NOWTPMSG] [LIST]- PREFIX(name)
- The name TSO adds to the front of dataset names typed without quotes.
- NOPREFIX
- Add nothing to the front. Names are used as typed.
- MSGID | NOMSGID
- Show or hide message IDs on diagnostic messages.
- PROMPT | NOPROMPT
- Whether TSO asks you for a missing operand.
- INTERCOM | NOINTERCOM
- Whether you accept messages from other users.
- LIST
- Show your profile without changing it. This is also what a bare PROFILE does.
Try it PROFILE
- 1
Show the settings your session has now.
PROFILE - 2
Change your prefix to ZBANK.
PROFILE PREFIX(ZBANK) - 3
Ask about DATA.CUSTOMER, with no quotes.
LISTDS DATA.CUSTOMER
Remember
- PROFILE shows your settings.
- PREFIX goes on the front of names without quotes.
- A name in quotes ignores the prefix.
The usual mistake
PROFILE PREFIX ZBANK
PREFIX needs brackets around its value. Without them, PROFILE answers with its usage line.
PROFILE PREFIX(ZBANK)
On real z/OS
MF/OS models PREFIX, NOPREFIX and a note for MSGID. The other operands are not modelled. A change lasts only until you leave the page, while on a real system the profile is saved between sessions.
Where can I practise PROFILE?
Right here, at ZedBank. You take a junior job at a simulated bank and use PROFILE in real work, with Zed beside you. There's nothing to install.
Start at ZedBankRelated
- High-level qualifierThe first part of a dataset name, which usually identifies the owner and drives how security and storage rules apply.
- DatasetWhat a mainframe calls a file: a named collection of records with a defined structure, rather than a loose stream of bytes.
- TSOTime Sharing Option: the interactive login environment on z/OS, where you get a command prompt and a session of your own.
- RACF user IDA person or program's identity on the system. Short, unique, and the basis of every access decision.