The START service loads the SCLM modules that can be processed into memory and initializes the SCLM service environment. The INIT service loads the load module of a project definition into memory. The FREE service closes all of the open project databases. Each of these functions takes time. Therefore, to optimize the SCLM services execution time, minimize the number of START, INIT, and FREE service calls.

You can reduce the number of START, INIT, and FREE service calls by using the FILE format of FLMCMD. As an SCLM service program, the FLMCMD command processor must call the START service to begin a service session. It must also call the INIT and FREE services for every unique project/prj_lib_def combination it encounters. Therefore, ten separate invocations of the FLMCMD command processor result in nine more calls to the START service and nine more calls to the INIT and FREE services than one invocation of the FLMCMD command processor that has all ten commands in a data set.

In addition, opening a command file takes time. In processing a single command, the general format of FLMCMD processes faster than the FILE format of FLMCMD.

SCLM opens the VSAM data sets for a project as they are needed; however each open takes time. Projects can reduce the number of opens required by reducing the number of data sets defined on the FLMCNTRL and FLMALTC macros in the project.