Using TSO/E Commands

A TSO/E command consists of a command name that is generally followed by one or more operands. A command name is typically a familiar English word that describes the function of the command; for instance, the RENAME command changes the name of a data set.

Operands provide the command with specific information. For example, the RENAME command has two operands; one that identifies the data set to be renamed and one that specifies the new name.

 RENAME     old.data       new.data
/      \   /        \     /        \
command    operand  1     operand  2

Two ways to enter commands are:

Enter the command name and let the system prompt you for required information, or
Enter the command name and the operands at the same time

Examples of commands in this topic, show in uppercase letters the invariable parts of the command such as the command name and operands, and show in lowercase letters the variable parts of the command. When you enter a command, however, you can type the letters as uppercase or lowercase.

Example

To let the system prompt you for required information, enter at the READY mode message:

RENAME

You then see the message:

ENTER OLD DATA SET NAME -

After you enter the old data set name, you see another message:

ENTER NEW DATA SET NAME -

If after you enter the new data set name, the renaming process is successful, you see another READY mode message. If the renaming process is not successful, you see an error message.

For information about prompting, see Prompting Messages.