Static system symbols

The system substitutes text for static system symbols when it processes parmlib members. For static system symbols that the system provides, you can define substitution texts in parmlib or accept the default substitution texts. You can also define at least 800 additional static system symbols. See Setting up a shared parmlib for more information about how to define static system symbols. Table 1 describes the static system symbols.

Table 1. Static system symbols
System symbol Description Text length Where defined Valid releases Default substitution text
&SYSALVL The architecture level of the system. 1 char LOADxx parmlib member OS/390® Release 10 and later The value specified for ARCHLVL in the LOADxx parmlib member
&SYSCLONE Shorthand notation for the name of the system; often used in fields that are limited to two characters. 1-2 chars IEASYMxx parmlib member MVS/ESA 5.2 and later Last two characters of substitution text defined to &SYSNAME system symbol.
&SYSNAME The name of the system. 1-8 chars IEASYMxx or IEASYSxx parmlib member MVS/ESA 5.1 and later The processor identifier. See Step 3. Determine where to specify the system name for details.
&SYSOSLVL The version, release, and modification level of the operating system software product. 8 chars Automatically set by the system from the ECVT data area z/OS® Version 2 Release 1 and later Zxvvrrmm where Zx is the operating system (for example, Z1 is z/OS), vv is the version number from ECVTPVER (for example, 02), rr is the release number from ECVTPREL (for example, 01) and mm is the modification number from ECVTPMOD (for example, 00).
Example: For z/OS 2.1, the value is Z1020100.
&SYSPLEX The name of the sysplex. 1-8 chars COUPLExx or LOADxx parmlib member MVS/ESA 5.1 and later If LOADxx does not specify the sysplex name, &SYSPLEX will default to LOCAL until the COUPLExx member is processed.
&SYSR1 The IPL Volume Serial name. 1-6 chars Set by system to IPL volume serial OS/390 Release 4 and later None
Installation defined system symbols Additional system symbols may be defined by your installation.
The maximum number of symbols you can have depends on their size. IBM® guarantees you the ability to define 800 symbols of your own, but you can probably define more. You may have as many symbols as you can fit into the symbol table. The symbol table can be up to 32512 bytes long, including a 4–byte header. Each entry in the table consists of:
  • 16–bytes, plus
  • The symbol name, including the preceding & and trailing . (for example, &MYSYM.)
  • The substitution text value (for example, "MYVALUE")
 0-8 chars IEASYMxx parmlib member MVS/ESA 5.2 and later None