A DELETE_NAME request allows you to delete one or more data items identified by NAME and NAMEMASK from the cache structure. For cache structures allocated in a coupling facility of CFLEVEL=4 or lower, a DELETE_NAME request frees directory and data-entry resources for reuse. All users with registered interest in the data items have their interest deregistered and the copies of the data items in their local cache buffers invalidated. The data items are also removed from storage and cast-out classes.

For cache structures allocated in a coupling facility of CFLEVEL=5 or higher, you can specify for each data entry what resources are to be deleted. The DELETETYPE keyword provides options that allow you to delete the directory entry and associated data, only the changed data but not the directory entry, only the unchanged data but not the directory data, or any data (changed or unchanged) but not the directory entry.

Optionally, with a structure allocated in a coupling facility of CFLEVEL=5 or higher, you can specify that a version comparison is to be made for each entry processed. If the comparison does not meet the condition specified for the comparison, the entry is not processed and processing continues with the next entry to be considered.

In a coupling facility of CFLEVEL=7 or higher, you can use NAMEMASK on an IXLCACHE DELETE_NAME request in conjunction with NAMECLASSMASK (specified on the IXLCONN request to connect to the cache structure) to improve the efficiency of selecting data items for processing.

If the request exceeds the model-dependent time-out criteria before it completes or a halt condition is found as a result of specifying HALTONCHANGED=YES, a restart token (RESTOKEN) or an extended restart token (EXTRESTOKEN) is returned in the answer area (mapped by IXLYCAA). The token can be specified on the next DELETE_NAME request to resume processing with the next data item (or in the case of when the request was halted because a structure entry met the HALTONCHANGED criteria, with the data item that caused the request to halt) to be deleted. Resumed requests are processed identically whether using the RESTOKEN or EXTRESTOKEN to specify the starting location.