Ibm - Vsam Placement Papers - Ibm - Vsam Interview Questions and Answers updated on 19.Mar.2024

No. Because you cannot insert records in an ESDS, also when you rewrite a record, it must be of the same length. Thus putting any value for freespace does not make any sense.

Note: these can be used only under IDCAMS and not from the TSO prompt.

  IF LASTCC(or MAXCC) >(or <,= etc..) value -  THEN -  DO -

command set (such as DELETE, DEFINE etc..)

  ELSE -  DO -

command set

LASTCC - Condition code from the last function(such as delete) executed

MAXCC - Max condition code that was returned by any of the prev functions

SET is also a valid AMS command. SET LASTCC (or MAXCC) = value

The maximum condition code is @A cond code of 4 indicates a warning. A cond code of 8 is usually encountered on a DELETE of a dataset that is not present.

Can write a dummy program that just opens the file for output & then closes it.

No, the DCB of the model dataset can be overridden when you allocate new versions.

  1. Issue the command DEFINE ALTERNATEINDEX. Important parameters are RELATE where the database cluster name is specified. KEYS, RECORDSIZE,SHAREOPTIONS,UNIQUEKEY(or NONUNIQUEKEY) DATA(data source name for the data component), INDEX(data source name for the index component).
  2. Then issue the command DEFINE PATH. Important parameters are NAME (data source name for the path), PATHENTRY (data source name of the alternate index name), UPDATE or NOUPDATE, that specifies the determination of alt index is updated when an update to the database cluster occurs
  3. Then issue the command BLDINDEX. Important parameters are INDATASET (data source name of base cluster), OUTDATASET(data source name of AIX).

Using alternate indexes in batch programs:

JCL, has DD statements for cluster and for paths.

For the COBOL program :

The command SELECT ASSIGN TO ddname For the base cluster RECORD KEY IS...... ALTERNATE RECORD KEY IS… used

Using alternate indexes in CICS programs:

The creation of FCT entries are mandatory for both cluster and the path

Utilize the dd name of the path in CICS file control commands, by using the alternate index

The File STATUS clause of the FILE-CONTROL paragraph allows for each file to be associated with a file status key (i.e., the 2-character data item specified in the FILE STATUS clause). If the FILE STATUS clause is specified for a given file, a value indicating the status of each I/O operation against that file is placed in the associated file status key. This value is stored in the file status key as soon as the I/O operation is completed (and before execution of any EXCEPTION/ERROR declarative or INVALID KEY/AT END phrase associated with the I/O request).

Note: This element may behave differently when the CMPR2 compiler option is used. The file status key is divided into two status keys: the first character is known as file status key1; the second character is file status key 2.

DEFINE CLUSTER(cluster name) with the INDEXED parameter. Also specify the ds name for the DATA component & the ds INDEX component. Other important parms are RECORDSIZE, KEYS, SHARE OPTIONS.

Can write a dummy program that just opens the file for output & then closes it.

Use the DEFINE GENERATIONDATAGROUP command. In the same IDCAMS step, another dataset must be defined whose DCB parameters are used when new generations of the GDG are created. This dataset is known as the model dataset. The ds name of this model dataset must be the same as that of the GDG, so use a disp of keep rather than catlg and also specify space=(trk,0)

base-file-name.GnnnnnV00 where nnnn= generation number (upto 255).

nnnn will be 0000 for the 1st generation.

A VSAM file that has never contained a record is treated as unavailable. Attempting to open for input will fail. An empty file can be opened for output only. When you open for output, COBOL will write a dummy record to the file & then delete it out.

When large blocks of data are used, more main storage is required than when smaller blocks are used, but large blocks save CPU time and disk space. Additionally, extra buffers may save elapsed time since the program does not have to wait for an I/O to complete for it to continue processing.

In the JCL, you specify BUFNI (number of index buffers) and BUFND (number of data buffers) as sub parameters of the AMP parameter.

For random access, the BUFNI is one more than the number of index levels and a BUFND of 2 is fine.

For sequential access, a BUFNI of 1 and a minimum of 5 for BUFND is fine.

For dynamic access, the values of each is the higher of the numbers for either random or sequential.

IDCAMS is the Access Method Services program. You run the IDCAMS program and supply AMS commands thru SYSIN. (examples of AMS commands are DELETE, DEFINE, REPRO etc..).

DEFINE CLUSTER(cluster name) with the INDEXED parameter. Also specify the ds name for the DATA component & the ds INDEX component. Other important parms are RECORD SIZE, KEYS, SHARE OPTIONS.

Value of 2 for cross region me that the file can be processed simultaneously by multiple users provided only one of them is an updater. Value of 3 for cross system me that any number of jobs can process the file for input or output (VSAM does nothing to ensure integrity).

Note: these can be used only under IDCAMS and not from the TSO prompt.

  IF LASTCC(or MAXCC) >(or <,= etc..) value -  THEN -  DO -

command set (such as DELETE, DEFINE etc..)

  ELSE -  DO -

command set

LASTCC - Condition code from the last function(such as delete) executed

MAXCC - Max condition code that was returned by any of the prev functions

SET is also a valid AMS command. SET LASTCC (or MAXCC) = value

The maximum condition code is @A cond code of 4 indicates a warning. A cond code of 8 is usually encountered on a DELETE of a dataset that is not present.

CI size should be based on record length, type of processing. Usually CI is 4K. If record length is larger(>1K), choose 6K or 8K.

FREE SPACE should be large if more number of insertions are envisaged. Usual values are (20 20) when heavy updates are expected. CI size can be calculated.

  • Refresh can be done on daily or weekly or monthly basis
  • Refreshing refers to DELETE / DEFINE the VSAM file

Step 1: Deleting the existing VSAM file:

IF LASTCC =8 ; SET MAXCC=0

Step 2: DEFINE VSAM-FILE(COND=(0,LT,STEP1)

Return-code = 8 when the file that is trying to delete does not exist.

Utilize the command VERIFY in TSO

To re-sync the end of the file information with the catalog information, the VERIFY function is used.

00-OK
02-READ a duplicate alternate key
10-end of file reached while doing a READ
22-trying to WRITE a duplicate primary key
23-record not found while doing a READ
97-file integrity verified, do an IDCAMS VERIFY

KSDS cluster can be defined by

-Using the file-aid
-or by using IDCAMS utility:

The record can be defined with average length of 100 and maximum length of 150, in IDCAMS, with key length 10 starting at 0.

The following example illustrates :

  //step01 EXEC pgm=IDCAMS
//SYSIN DD *
DEFINE CLUSTER(NAME(userid.name.sample) -
VOLUMES(MVS801) -
RECORDSIZE(100 150) -
TRACKS(10 20)
KEYS(10 0) -
INDEXED ) -
DATA ( NAME(userid.name.sample.data)) -
INDEX( NAME(userid.name.sample.index)) -
/*
//

Coded in the DEFINE as FREESPACE(ci ca) where ci is the percentage of each control interval to be left free for insertions, ca is the percentage of control intervals in each control area to be left empty.

The following is the syntax of AMS modal commands:

  IF LASTCC(or MAXCC) >(or <,= etc..) value -  THEN -  DO -

command set (like DELETE, DEFINE etc..)

  ELSE -  DO -

command set

where

LASTCC - Condition code from the last function(such as delete) executed

MAXCC - Max condition code that was returned by any of the prev functions

SET is also a valid AMS command. SET LASTCC (or MAXCC) = value

PS: These can be used only under IDCAMS and not from the TSO prompt.

Control Interval is analogous to a physical block for QSAM files. It is the unit of i/o. Must be between 512 bytes to 32 k. Usually either 2K or 4K. A larger control interval increases performance for sequential processing while the reverse is true for random access. Under CICS when a record is locked, the entire CI gets locked.

Control area is a group of control intervals. CA is used during allocation. CA size is calculated based on the allocation type (cyl, tracks or records) and can be max of 1 cylinder

Unique Case: 5 + ( alt-key-length + primary-key )
Nonunique Case: 5 + ( alt-key-length + n * primary-key )
where n = # of duplicate records for the alternate key
????Any one who knows - can you explain ?

  1. The AMS program is used for creation of VSAM files - ISPF panel or a standard JCL is used for creation of a NON-VSAM dataset.
  2. The VSAM information is stored in catalogs - The NON-VSAM information is stored in VTOC as dataset labels
  3. The data set organization in VSAM files are Key sequenced, Entry sequenced and Relative record data sets

A data set is a physical records that are stored on a disk or tape , is a collection with a unique name

The data set is normally identified by the MVS with labels

The label information need to be supplied in JCL

The data set organization in NON-VSAM files are sequenced, Indexed Sequential, Direct and partitioned

SHAREOPTS is a parameter in the DEFINE and specifies how an object can be shared among users. It is coded as SHAREOPTS(a b), where a is the cross region share option ie how two or more jobs on a single system can share the file, while b is the cross system share option ie how two or more jobs on different MVSes can share the file. Usual value is (2 3).

Duplicate alternate key . Happens on both input and output operation

IDCAMS is the Access Method Services program. You run the IDCAMS program and supply AMS commands thru SYSIN. (examples of AMS commands are DELETE, DEFINE, REPRO etc..).

  1. VSAM file can not run SQL queries. -VSAM lacks any kind of relation -VIEWS and SYNONYMS can not be defined on VSAM files -RDBMS concepts can not be applied in VSAM files.
  2. SQL queries can be run in database table - Data fetching is more efficient than VSAM files - RDBMS concepts are applicable in DB2 database - ALIAS VIEWS can be defined on tables for sharing customized data.

SHAREOPTS is a parameter in the DEFINE and specifies how an object can be shared among users. It is coded as SHAREOPTS(a b), where a is the cross region share option ie how two or more jobs on a single system can share the file, while b is the cross system share option ie how two or more jobs on different MVSes can share the file. Usual value is (2 3).

Coded in the DEFINE as FREESPACE(ci ca) where ci is the percentage of each control interval to be left free for insertions, ca is the percentage of control intervals in each control area to be left empty.

  • Control information consists of Record Descriptor Field and Control Interval Descriptor Field.
  • Each CI contains one CIDF that consists of the last 4 bytes
  • CIDF consists of information about the offset and length of free space in the CI
  • In case of fixed size records, each CI contains 2 RDFs each RDF is of 3 bytes length
  • In case of variable length size records, there will be a separate RDF for each record in the CI.
  • The data portion of the CI should be in the multiples of 512 bytes / 2048 bytes.
  • The maximum size of the CI is 32 KB. - The size of index portion of CI could be any of these
  • 512, 1024,2048,4096

ESDS: Entry Sequence Data Set
KSDS: Key Sequence Data Set
RRDS: Relative Data Set

Virtual Storage Access Method(VSAM) is a disk storage system.

It was implemented in OS/VS2 operating system.

Subsequently, it was used through out the MVS architecture.

VSAM comprises of the following access methods:

ESDS: Entry Sequence Data Set

KSDS: Key Sequence Data Set

RRDS: Relative Data Set

VSAM records can be of fixed or variable length.

These are organized in fixed size blocks, known as Control Intervals, and later into larger divisions known as Control Areas.

CI sizes are measured in terms of bytes, while CA sizes are measured in terms of disk tracks or cylinders.

ESDS : It contains the files which are interface specific and

accessed through Relative Byte Address

KSDS : It contains the files which are interface specific and accessed through a secondary index

RRDS : It contains the files which are interface specific and accessed through Relative Record Number

Each file has two objects.

  1. File object - represents the file itself. The methods of the file are used to perform
      DELETE,READ,REWRITE,UNLOCK,WRITE,STARTBR operations.
  2. FileBrowse object - represents a browse operations on the file and the methods are used to perform
      ENDBR,READNEXT,READPREV,RESETBR

  • High degree of concurrent access to VSAM files is achieved by dirty read - It is done by avoiding the complications associated with CI and CA splits - The dirty read protocol is summarized as:
  • The VSAM file mandatorily be defined with cross-region SHARE POINTS @- The file allocation must be with DISP=SHR - ENQ must be followed for all operations of the files, for data set - Data set name is specified for ENQ name - Any string can be used for the ENQ gname - The user’s buffer must be refreshed with GET request, after obtaining a lock - No lock is held during a wait - DEQ function should be called at the end of all the file operations of enqueue.

Give (+1) as the generation number, give (new,catlg) for disp, give space parameter, can give the dcb parameter if you want to override the dcb of the model dataset.

Control Interval is analogous to a physical block for QSAM files. It is the unit of i/o. Must be between 512 bytes to 32 k. Usually either 2K or 4K. A larger control interval increases performance for sequential processing while the reverse is true for random access. Under CICS when a record is locked, the entire CI gets locked.

Control area is a group of control intervals. CA is used during allocation. CA size is calculated based on the allocation type (cyl, tracks or records) and can be max of 1 cylinder

  • To modify the information for a catalog, alternate index, cluster or a path, ALTER command is used
  • DEFINE command is used for ALTERNATE INDEX, CLUSTER or PATH
  • DELETE command is used for removing the catalog for a catalog, cluster, alternate index or path
  • LISTCAT command lists the information about the dataset.
  • PRINT command prints the contents of dataset - REPRO command is used to copy the records from one file to another.

Sequential(QSAM) files can be created on tape while ESDS files cannot.

Also, you can have ALTINDEX for an ESDS while no such facility exists for QSAM files.

CI size should be based on record length, type of processing. Usually CI is 4K. If record length is larger(>1K), choose 6K or 8K.

FREESPACE should be large if more number of insertions are envisaged. Usual values are (20 20) when heavy updates are expected. CI size can be calculated.

Relative generation numbers are updated only at the end of the job, not at the end of a step. To allocate a new generation, we would be using (+1) with a DISP of (NEW,CATLG,DELETE). To refer to this in a subsequent step in the same job, we would again use (+1) but with a DISP of SHR or OLD.