Mainframe, MVS and zOS Discussion

If the input file is sequential, you cannot directly read the last record.

Your question makes as much sense as asking "how high is up?"  "Better" can be defined in different ways (such as lowest memory used, fastest execution time, easiest to modify, etc.) and hence the answer to your question will depend upon what you're wanting to optimize. In genera...

You could get 9 of these blocks onto one track (56664 divided by 6160)

This is not accurate as there is system overhead as well.  Manual GX26-4577 has the details for 3390 devices and it shows only 8 blocks of size 6160 will fit on a track.

Edit the JCL to delete the other steps and submit it.

Read the RERUN clause in the I-O-CONTROL paragraph starting on page 154 of the version 6.4 of Enterprise COBOL Language Reference manual.  You will probably also want to review the RERUN information in the Programming Guide manual.

You can only pass ONE parameter from JCL to COBOL.  You can parse that parameter any way you need, but it is only one parameter with one entry in the LINKAGE SECTION.

Why on earth would you want to do this?  IDCAMS is easy to use and efficient.  You could write a program to do the copy, but you'd have to write a program for every single copy you want to do -- use IDCAMS.

You will need to learn how to read the dump -- that will tell you the exact record with the problem and point you towards where the S0C7 occurred.

It is not clear what you are asking -- you'll need to provide an example so we can see what you want.  Parameters passed from JCL, in general, are available through the LINKAGE SECTION.

Assuming you mean in reverse order when you say "from bottom to top" -- this cannot be done in Enterprise COBOL without adding a sequence number to the data set and sorting by the sequence number (descending). Repeat after me:  "COBOL DOES NOT HAVE STRINGS!"  Look at the PICTURE ...

COBOL MOVE statement.

Not necessarily.  If the data set is sequential, and if the data set is sorted by some key, and if the key includes the HIGH-VALUES then that record will be last.  However, I've seen times when the data set wasn't sorted and the HIGH-VALUES occurred in the first record or somewhere in the middle of ...

Yes, a data set can have a record of HIGH-VALUES (which is merely X'FFFFFF...') but it can also be used as a stop value, too.

If your site uses a scheduler, investigate what an be done through the scheduler.  If your site submits through a PDS or PDSE, use ISPF option 3.14 to search the PDS / PDSE.  If neither of these is true, resign yourself to looking at each of the many thousands of job libraries that exist at your sit...

Check the JCL Reference manual -- //*NET is definitely NOT a comment.

I think SORT will do this but I'm not an expert on SORT so I cannot say for sure.

If I recall correctly, and I may not, CICS does an implicit VERIFY when opening a VSAM file that needs the VERIFY.  

SORT is, by far, the easiest way to do this.  Other than using an array, you could use a matched merge program in COBOL or other language of your choice.

I've never heard of a mainframe tool called "ventage".  There is a tool called CA-VANTAGE and you can research it on the CA web site (or do a Google search).

Probably because then there would have to be special logic for the first step as opposed to all the other steps.  It's easier to just evaluate the first step COND as false.