Writing to the system log

The system log consists of one SYSOUT data set on which the communication between the operator and the system is recorded. You can send a message to the system log by coding the information that you wish to log in the "text" parameter of the WTL macro.

The WTO macro with the MCSFLAG=HRDCPY parameter also writes messages to the system log. Because WTO allows you to supply more information on the macro invocation than WTL, IBM® recommends that you use WTO instead of WTL.

The system writes the text of your WTL macro on the master console instead of on the system log if the system log is not active.

Although when using the WTL macro you code the message within apostrophes, the written message does not contain the apostrophes. The message can include any character that is valid for the WTO macro and is assembled and written the same way as the WTO macro.

Note: The exact format of the output of the WTL macro varies depending on the job entry system (JES2 or JES3) that is being used, the output class that is assigned to the log at system initialization, and whether DLOG is in effect for JES3. If JES3 DLOG is being used, system log entries are preceded by a prefix that includes a time stamp and routing information. If the combined prefix and message exceeds 126 characters, the log entry is split at the first blank or comma encountered when scanning backward from the 126th character of the combined prefix and message. See z/OS JES3 Commands for information about the DLOG format of the log entry when using JES3.