SDSF PREFIX and OWNER
Two SDSF commands that filter the job lists: PREFIX by job name, OWNER by the user who submitted the job.
Also written PREFIX, OWNER, SDSF filter, SET DISPLAY, PRE
SDSF lists can hold thousands of jobs, so it filters them. The two main filters are PREFIX and OWNER.
PREFIX limits the list to job names that match a pattern. PREFIX ZBANK* shows only jobs whose names start ZBANK. PREFIX * shows every job name. OWNER limits the list to jobs submitted by a given user. OWNER ZB12345 shows that user's jobs, and OWNER * shows everyone's, as far as security allows.
Both stay set until you change them, even across logons. That causes a classic puzzle: you submit a job, open SDSF, and it is not there, because PREFIX is still set to a pattern from last week. SET DISPLAY ON shows the current filters at the top of the list, which makes this easy to spot.
The FILTER command adds more precise filtering on any column. What you can see in SDSF is also limited by security, so if a job is missing even with PREFIX * and OWNER *, you may not be allowed to view it.
Where can I learn this hands-on?
Right here, at ZedBank. You take a junior job at a simulated bank and learn each part of the work by doing it, with Zed beside you. There's nothing to install.
Start at ZedBankRelated
- SDSFThe tool for looking at what jobs are running, what has finished, and what output they produced.
- JobA unit of batch work submitted to the system, made up of one or more steps that run in order.
- SpoolThe system-managed holding area where job output waits to be read, printed or purged.
- RACF user IDA person or program's identity on the system. Short, unique, and the basis of every access decision.
- Job logThe part of a job's output written by the system rather than the program: what happened to the job, step by step.