What are some commonly used JCL statements and their purpose in mainframe computing?

Commonly Used JCL Statements in Mainframe Computing

Job Control Language (JCL) is a scripting language used on IBM mainframe operating systems to instruct the system on how to run batch jobs. Here are some commonly used JCL statements and their purposes:

1. JOB Statement

The JOB statement is used to identify the start of a job and specify job parameters such as job name, accounting information, and job class.

2. EXEC Statement

The EXEC statement is used to define the execution of a specific program or utility within a job step.

3. DD Statement

The DD statement is used to define the data sets that are input to or output from a program during a job step.

4. //SYSOUT DD Statement

The //SYSOUT DD statement is used to redirect program output to a specific dataset or printer.

5. //* Comment Statement

The //* comment statement is used to add comments or documentation to the JCL code for better readability and understanding.

Understanding these commonly used JCL statements and their purposes is essential for efficiently managing and executing batch jobs on a mainframe system.