If you delete a catalog using the IDCAMS DELETE UCAT FORCE command in an SMS environment, all data sets in the catalog are deleted. If you issue DELETE VVDS RECOVERY, all NVRS and VVRS from the VVDS are deleted. To prevent inadvertent deletion of data sets or VVR entries, IDCAMS issues a WTOR to the master console before proceeding with a delete command. Use MODIFY CATALOG,ENABLE(DELFORCEWNG) to enable prompting; it is the default. If you want to suppress the prompts, use MODIFY CATALOG,DISABLE(DELFORCEWNG).

If the catalog address space is restarted by a MODIFY CATALOG,RESTART and the installation has suppressed prompting, it will attempt to preserve that setting after the restart. Restarting the catalog address space might reset the option to prompt. This occurs when certain catalog control blocks have been damaged and must be rebuilt as part of the restart.

The current setting of the option is displayed in response to MODIFY CATALOG,REPORT.

The installation may choose to force compliance with the documented syntax rules for data set names that are to be cataloged, or they may allow names that violate the rules to be created. The default is that checking will be enabled; data set names that violate the syntax rules will result in a failed catalog request. If you have programs that must create names that do not meet the syntax rules you can disable this checking; however IBM® utilities may not be able to remove these entries from the catalog.