Job Control Language
Scripting languages used on IBM mainframe / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Job Control Language (JCL) is a name for scripting languages used on IBM mainframe operating systems to instruct the system on how to run a batch job or start a subsystem.[1] The purpose of JCL is to say which programs to run, using which files or devices[2] for input or output, and at times to also indicate under what conditions to skip a step. Parameters in the JCL can also provide accounting information for tracking the resources used by a job as well as which machine the job should run on.
There are two distinct IBM Job Control languages:
- one for the operating system lineage that begins with DOS/360 and whose latest member is z/VSE; and
- the other for the lineage from OS/360 to z/OS, the latter now including JES extensions, Job Entry Control Language (JECL).
They share some basic syntax rules and a few basic concepts, but are otherwise very different.[3]
The VM operating system does not have JCL as such; the CP and CMS components each have command languages.