SYSTEM FEATURES
The system features that contribute to increased program productivity, enhanced data center operations, and efficient machine usage are outlined below.
INCREASED PRODUCTIVITY
Programmer time spent on maintenance and development is a necessary cost in running an OS data center. However, a significant portion of this time is spent on performing non programming related functions, thereby increasing costs. Jol provides the following features which substantially reduce the time and training required to carry out these functions.
Ease of Use: Jol's English-like free form and procedural format makes it easy for programmers and non-DP personnel to use.
Scheduling and Networking Capability: Jol automatically submits jobs on particular days. Networks can easily be created allowing jobs to run in parallel, or concurrently. Jol's Scheduling and Networking Facility works equally well with Jol and JCL.
Dependent Jobs Facility: Jol enables Users to submit subsequent jobs at any point within the job currently executing. This process provides a facility to effectively schedule dependent jobstreams. The dependent job is not submitted or placed on the system job queue until the current job has reached a point where it is desirable or safe to run the dependent job. By using this technique, a linkage can be created which controls the sequence of running a number of jobs.
Allocation, Reading and Writing Data Sets: Jol has ALLOCATE, READ, WRITE and CALL instructions similar to TSO. A job can read a data set, examine it, and create Jol code based on the information in the data set. The CALL instruction also allows any program to be executed, and the return code tested during the Jol Compile. Thus, job streams can be created based on a program return code.
Relational Capability: Jol's powerful macro facility is a set of instructions stored in a macro library that creates Jol instructions tailored to the Users specifications. This facility provides a transparent error free interface, for the programmer and User, to existing software products. Additionally, Jol macro instructions, such as, SORT, COPY, PRINT, COMPILE and COMPRESS are available to reduce the redundant labor efforts normally associated with these common routines.
Change Facilities: Jol's comprehensive command structures reduce the labor intensive practices associated with OS jobstreams. With Jol, all program and data set definitions are defined once. This feature dramatically reduces the time required to implement changes.
Registration Capability: Jol enables Users to record all attributes of a program once (i.e. name, language type, source location, function, load library name, file names, compiler options, link options, autocall libraries, and copy libraries). This facility provides standard enforcement and swift accessibility to the attributes of the program.
Library Facility: Jol provides an include capability similar to the COBOL copy verb which allows common or static code to be stored in the INCLUDE library. This library can contain program, data set, and data card definitions which can optionally be defined in a single member or as individual members. The current values of these definitions can be defined with symbolic variables, thus, allowing temporary changes to the procedures and enabling multiple Users to share the member containing these definitions.
Logic Capability: Jol contains IF, THEN, ELSE, AND/OR and DO logic which provides the programmer with a powerful tool to manipulate programs in jobstreams based on variable conditions, calendar information or ABEND situations.