STEPLIB DD Statement

Purpose

The STEPLIB DD statement defines a private library that the system will search for programs before searching the system libraries. Unlike JOBLIB, it applies only to the specific job step where it appears, providing step-level control of the program search path.

Syntax

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//STEPLIB  DD DSN=library-name,DISP=SHR
//         DD DSN=library-name,DISP=SHR
//         ...

Key Components

• STEPLIB - The fixed ddname that identifies this as a STEPLIB DD statement.
• DSN=library-name - Specifies the name of the library to be searched.
• DISP=SHR - Indicates that the library will be shared (this is required).

Examples

Basic STEPLIB Statement

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//STEP1    EXEC PGM=MYPROG
//STEPLIB  DD DSN=USER.LOADLIB,DISP=SHR

Concatenated STEPLIB Libraries

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//STEP1    EXEC PGM=MYPROG
//STEPLIB  DD DSN=USER.LOADLIB,DISP=SHR
//         DD DSN=DEPT.LOADLIB,DISP=SHR
//         DD DSN=PROJECT.LOADLIB,DISP=SHR

STEPLIB Overriding JOBLIB

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//MYJOB    JOB (ACCT123),'JOHN SMITH'
//JOBLIB   DD DSN=GLOBAL.LOADLIB,DISP=SHR
//*
//STEP1    EXEC PGM=MYPROG1          /* Uses JOBLIB */
//*
//STEP2    EXEC PGM=MYPROG2
//STEPLIB  DD DSN=SPECIAL.LOADLIB,DISP=SHR  /* Overrides JOBLIB */
//*
//STEP3    EXEC PGM=MYPROG3          /* Uses JOBLIB again */

STEPLIB in a Procedure

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//MYPROC  PROC
//STEP1   EXEC PGM=MYPROG
//STEPLIB DD DSN=PROC.LOADLIB,DISP=SHR
//PEND
 
//CALLP   EXEC MYPROC
//STEP1.STEPLIB DD DSN=USER.LOADLIB,DISP=SHR  /* Overrides the proc's STEPLIB */

Notes

• The STEPLIB DD statement applies only to the step in which it appears
• STEPLIB overrides any JOBLIB DD statement for that step
• Libraries are searched in the order they are concatenated
• If a program is found in a STEPLIB library, the system libraries are not searched
• DISP must always be SHR to allow concurrent access
• Libraries specified must be partitioned data sets (PDS or PDSE) containing load modules
• You can concatenate up to 16 libraries in a STEPLIB DD statement
• STEPLIB can be overridden in procedure calls using the step.ddname syntax

Related Concepts

• JOBLIB DD Statement - Job-level library definition that applies to all steps
• DD Statement - General data definition statement
• EXEC Statement - Identifies the step where STEPLIB applies
• PROC Statement - Can contain STEPLIB statements in procedures

Related Pages

• JOBLIB DD Statement - Job-wide library search
• DSN Parameter - Specifies dataset names
• DISP Parameter - Controls dataset disposition
• PGM Parameter - Identifies program to execute
• Cataloged Procedures - Can contain STEPLIB statements