Thread: JCL and JCL Utilities

GDG reference (+1) versus absolute generation in production JCL

Started by Jen • user4 replies250 viewsLast activity 1 month ago
Post #1
0 votes
Jen
Reputation
287
Posts: 8
Joined: Sep 3, 2024, 11:02 AM
Posted: Jun 1, 2026, 1:16 PM

Dear all,

I am reviewing overnight JCL prior to a production promotion. One job references a generation data group as follows:

jcl
//INPUT DD DSN=FIN.ACCT.DAILY(+1),
//            DISP=SHR
//OUTPUT DD DSN=FIN.ACCT.DAILY(+2),
//             DISP=(NEW,CATLG,DELETE),
//             UNIT=SYSDA,
//             SPACE=(CYL,(50,10),RLSE),
//             DCB=(RECFM=FB,LRECL=500,BLKSIZE=0)

Operations raised a concern that (+1) for input may not always resolve to the generation the upstream job just created if a prior run failed mid-stream.

Could you advise on whether your sites enforce absolute generation references (0) for dependent jobs, or is the relative reference acceptable with appropriate scheduling controls?

Best regards,
Jen

Post #2
0 votes
Bill
Reputation
221
Posts: 13
Joined: Aug 28, 2024, 7:08 AM
Posted: Jun 1, 2026, 3:16 PM

We require the creating job to pass the absolute G0000V00 member name via a symbolic from a prior IDCAMS LISTCAT step when failure recovery is a concern. Relative (+1) is only permitted for idempotent reload jobs.

Post #3
0 votes
Jen
Reputation
287
Posts: 8
Joined: Sep 3, 2024, 11:02 AM
Posted: Jun 1, 2026, 7:16 PM

Thank you. Follow-up: do you store the resolved generation name in a control data set for audit, or rely on scheduler job logs only?

Post #4
0 votes
Bill
Reputation
221
Posts: 13
Joined: Aug 28, 2024, 7:08 AM
Posted: Jun 2, 2026, 5:16 PM

Control data set. One row per job with resolved input and output generation names. Makes morning support much faster.

You must be signed in to reply to this thread