Sequential data set file naming

A sequential data set is a single file that can be allocated with any record length specified. The naming requirements for a sequential data set on an MVS™ host are minimal, and most of the requirements apply to any data set name under MVS.

The naming requirements for a sequential data set are:

No part of the name can start with a numeric.
No part of the name can be more than 8 characters in length.
Each part of the name is separated by a period.
A sequential data set name can have a minimum of 2 and a maximum of 44 characters.
If single quotation marks (') are not used when specifying the data set name, the MVS system appends the current working directory as the first part of the name.

The following examples show the naming conventions for sequential data sets on an MVS host.

To access the sequential data set KC00852.SEQ.NAMES, the user, with the current working directory KC00852, enters one of the following:

'KC00852.SEQ.NAMES'
SEQ.NAMES

Either of these formats is acceptable for accessing a sequential data set.