Coding symbols in apostrophes

You can code symbols in apostrophes on the following keywords:

• The DD statement AMP parameter
• The DD statement PATH parameter
• The DD statement SUBSYS parameter
• The EXEC statement ACCT parameter
• The EXEC statement PARM parameter.

When you specify these parameters, the system regards a string beginning with an ampersand (&) inside the apostrophes as a symbol when the following conditions are true:

• The character following the ampersand is not another ampersand.
• The characters following the ampersand are ended by a character that is not alphabetic, numeric, or national. The ending character must be not more than 9 characters after the ampersand. The symbol cannot be more than 8 characters long.
• The string of characters delimited by the & (ampersand) character and the ending character is:
  • Defined as a symbol on a PROC, EXEC, or SET statement
  • A system symbol.

In the following example, &XXX is a JCL symbol that is defined in the STEP2 EXEC statement. &INPUT is not a symbol because it is not defined.

   //TPROC PROC
   //STEP1 EXEC PGM=IEFBR14,PARM='&INPUT&XXX'
   //      PEND
   //STEP2 EXEC TPROC,XXX=VALUE

The result of the example is:

   //EXEC PGM=IEFBR14,PARM='&INPUTVALUE'

On parameters that are not in the list, the system correctly resolves a symbol that is enclosed in apostrophes when the symbol is immediately preceded by a symbol that is not enclosed in apostrophes. For example, both A and B are substituted correctly in:

   //DD1  DD  &A'&B',DISP=OLD

A symbol within apostrophes cannot be broken at column 71 and continued to the next line. For example, the following JCL statement is incorrect:

//    SET  SYMBOL=VALUE
//S1          EXEC PGM=IEFBR14,TIME=(30,0),REGION=4K,PARM='Print &SYMB
//             OL'