SDSF
Customizing viewable columns in SDSF panels
Did you know you can edit which fields are displayed in SDSF, their width, and the order they're displayed in by default? A guide to ISFPRMxx customization.
Mainframe
IBM Z · z/OS · RACF · ISPF · JCL · SDSF · SMP/E · Systems Programming
Breaking Things
I Cooked a SYSRES!
It turns out SYS1.NUCLEUS can't have extents. A cautionary tale about SMP/E maintenance, linklist manipulation, and what wait state 081 really means.
RACF
Adding Users to RACF
A complete guide to creating RACF user IDs — ADDUSER, TSO segments, OMVS segments, catalog aliases, dataset protection, and ZFS creation.
ISPF
Jobcard Template Insert Macro
A REXX ISPF edit macro that inserts a formatted job card template at your cursor position in an open member.
JCL · JES2
What's in a Job Card?
The job card is the most important part of any JCL. A guide to all the positional and keyword parameters — CLASS, MSGCLASS, MSGLEVEL, NOTIFY, REGION, and TIME.
ISPF
IBM Sample Edit Macros
IBM ships useful ISPF edit macros in SYS1.SISPSAMP. Learn about ISRONLY, ISRBOX, and why the difference between SYSPROC and SYSEXEC matters.
RACF · TSO
TSO Logon Procedures and RACF
How to write a TSO logon procedure, define it to RACF, and control which users can use which login procs via the TSOPROC resource class.
JES2 · SDSF
Purging the JES Spool in SDSF
Beyond placing a P against individual jobs — how to purge ranges of job outputs and use JES2 $PO commands to bulk-clear the spool with precision.