ISPF 101: Introduction to Panels,
Messages and Variables
Clive Nealon
IBM Global Services Australia
SHARE 98, Winter 2002
cliven@au1.ibm.com
SHARE 98
®
SHARE Nashville - ISPF Project Grid ®
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8:00am 9:30am 11:00am 1:30pm 3:00pm 4:30pm 6:00pm
2600 90 mins
ISPF and
Sunday SCLM Suite
March 3 Open / Reqs
Review ¤
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MVS Program ISPF and SCLM General ISPF 101: ISPF 102: ISPF 103: ISPF laboratory
Monday Opening Suite Trends Session Introduction to Introduction to Introduction to
March 4 and Directions Panels and Skeletons and ISPF Dialogs
Messages Tables
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Tuesday IBM’s SCLM Suite SCLM Suite SCLM Suite SCLM Suite Dynamic ISPF
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2639 ¤ 2640 ¤ 2644 ¤
Wednesday SCLM Suite SCLM Suite SCLM Suite
March 6 User Session and InfoMan User Group
Integration
Story
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ISPF Hidden ISPF ISPF ISPF One Hour ISPF and
Thursday Treasures Panel Behind the – Two Topics SCLM Suite
March 7 Processing Scenes Reqs & Close
¤
ISPF and SCLM Suite sessions are in Ryman Chambers A/B/C,
except labs (marked L), which are in Presidential Chamber B.
¡ Attendance counts towards ISPF certification only
¤ Attendance counts towards ISPF and SCLM Suite certification
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Agenda ®
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ISPF Overview
What ISPF Does
Where to store the parts of a 'dialog'
ISPF Variables
Pools
Services
Messages
Panels
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What ISPF Does ®
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ISPF is the interface between your program and
the user on TSO.
1. Present a screen to the user (called a Panel)
2. Get user input (into one or more variables)
3. Process the input.
4. Set messages and respond to the user.
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Parts of an ISPF Dialog ®
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Panels - Define the image on the screen. They
can also provide some basic application logic.
Messages - Provide simple feedback to the
user.
Skeletons - Provide a basic mechanism for
formatting data to an output file. Usually used to
generate JCL or listings.
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Parts of an ISPF Dialog ®
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Tables - Provide a means of storing data.
Intended for relatively small amounts of data
(Not meant to be a database)
Images (GUI only)
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Parts of an ISPF Dialog ®
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And of course...
Your program - Can be REXX, CLIST, Compiled
language (COBOL, PL/I, ASSEMBLER, etc.), or APL.
Any language which can use 'standard linkage
conventions' will work.
All ISPF services are called through ISPEXEC and
ISPLINK
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Parts of an ISPF Dialog ®
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ISPF parts live in PDSes allocated to specific DD
names. Each part is a member of a PDS.
ISPxLIB
where 'x' defines the type of the part...
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Parts of an ISPF Dialog ®
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ISPPLIB - Panels
ISPMLIB - Messages
ISPSLIB - Skeletons
ISPTLIB - Tables
ISPPROF - Tables These have special
properties
ISPTABL - Tables
ISPILIB - Images
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Parts of an ISPF Dialog ®
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REXX programs reside in SYSPROC or
SYSEXEC.
CLISTs reside in SYSPROC.
Load modules are in ISPLLIB, STEPLIB, Linklist,
LPA, or other places.
ISPF does not control these libraries.
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Parts of an ISPF Dialog ®
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There are other DD names that may be needed.
There are other ways to dynamically allocate
parts of a dialog (LIBDEF, ALTLIB, TSOLIB, and
other dynamic allocation products and service).
Tip: Use the TSO ISRDDN command to find parts (there is a help
panel - F1)
Tip: Use existing parts as examples. Especially panels.
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ISPF Variables ®
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ISPF Dialogs rely on variables
Names are 8 characters.
Many formats...
FIXED (numeric)
CHAR (character)
...
USER (you decide)
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ISPF Variables ®
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Names starting with Z are reserved by ISPF.
Examples:
&Z = null (used for testing for empty variables)
&ZUSER = userid
&ZTIME = current time
&ZSCREEN = split screen number
&ZWIDTH = screen width
Tip: In panels, messages and skeletons, variables are
usually represented with an ampersand prefix.
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ISPF Variables ®
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In REXX or CLIST, ISPF uses the REXX/CLIST
variables (you don't need to do anything
special).
Only those with names of 8 characters or less.
Stem variables are not allowed as ISPF
variables.
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ISPF Variables ®
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Compiled programs use local storage as a
location for ISPF variables.
VDEFINE - Associate program storage with a
name.
VDELETE - Remove the association.
It is VERY IMPORTANT to have one VDELETE
for each VDEFINE.
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ISPF Variables ®
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... other services using the variable...
Creates ISPF variable MYVAR1 over program variable pgmvar.
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ISPF Variable Pools ®
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Variables pools define sharing and persistence
of variables.
Function pool - known only to your program
Shared pool - Can be shared between programs within
an application (without sharing storage)
Profile pool - Can be shared between programs and
saved across ISPF sessions. (Saved in DD name
ISPPROF).
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ISPF Variable Pools ®
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Variable Services:
VGET - copy a variable from shared or profile
pool.
VPUT - Copy a variable to shared or profile pool.
VCOPY - Copy variable contents from any pool.
VREPLACE - Create an 'implicit' variable from
data at any storage location.
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ISPF Variables ®
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VGET and VPUT assume you did a VDEFINE or
are using REXX or CLIST.
VCOPY and VREPLACE just copy data from
and to storage but do not require the actual
storage association (VDEFINE).
These two are not available in REXX or CLIST.
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ISPF Messages ®
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Messages are named:
ppppnnns
Prefix: one to five alphabetic characters
(A-Z, #, $, or @)
Number: three numeric characters (0-9)
Suffix (optional): one alphabetic character.
Examples:
ISRE016, EXIT532G, SK@949A
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ISPF Messages ®
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Message member names are determined by
truncating the message ID after the second digit
of the number.
Example:
Member GTE08 may contain messages
GTE080 through GTE089Z
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ISPF Messages ®
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Messages are used by the following services:
SETMSG - Show a message on the next display.
DISPLAY - Show a message as part of
displaying a panel.
TBDISPL - Show a message as part of
displaying a table.
LOG - Write a message to the ISPF log.
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ISPF Messages ®
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You can also read a message into a program
with the GETMSG service.
This is an easy way to get simple national
language translation capability for small amounts
of translatable data.
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ISPF Messages ®
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ISPF Messages have:
Short message:
Up to 24 characters
Long message:
Up to 512 characters
Tip: Use the long message to tell how to fix the
problem, not just to tell what went wrong.
Attributes: Alarm, associated help panel, severity of message,
etc..
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ISPF Messages ®
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Continuation
Continue long messages with a
SPACE-PLUS after the line to be continued.
'This is line one followed by ' +
'line two.'
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ISPF Messages - Example ®
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NEXT000 'No matching names'
'There were no data set names matching the specified' +
'pattern (&pattern).
NEXT001 ' '
'The name &nextname was retrieved using pattern "&PATTERN".'
NEXT002 'No more names'
'There were no additional ' +
'data set names matching the specified pattern (&pattern).'
Note that NEXT001 has no short message.
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ISPF Messages ®
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Examples:
ISPEXEC SETMSG MSG(EJG331)
ISPEXEC DISPLAY PANEL(MYPAN) MSG(EED001)
ISPEXEC LOG MSG(EJD331L)
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ISPF Panels - Overview ®
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Panels define what your users will see on the
screen.
Output fields
Input fields
Colors
Variables displayed or used for input
Panel logic provides some 'smarts'
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ISPF Panels - Four types of panels ®
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Selection panel
Can invoke programs, TSO commands, or other
selection panels. Usually used for primary panels.
Invoked via ISPEXEC SELECT service
&ZSEL))
(Always have an assignment to &ZSEL
ISPEXEC SELECT PANEL(ISR@PRIM)
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ISPF Panels - Four types of panels ®
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Display panels
Used for basic input and output operations.
An example is the Option 2 edit input panel.
Displayed via the DISPLAY service
ISPEXEC DISPLAY PANEL(EDITINP)
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ISPF Panels - Four types of panels ®
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Table Display Panels
Used to display formatted ISPF Tables.
An example is the Option 3.9 display (Command
tables).
Displayed via the TBDISPL service
ISPEXEC TBDISPL TABLE(MYTABLE) PANEL(MYTBPANL)
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ISPF Panels - Four types of panels ®
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Tutorial Panels
Used to display Help panels.
Displayed when the HELP key is pressed. Specified in
Panels or on Messages.
Basically the same as Display panels with a few extra
keywords.
Tip: You can view a specific help panel by typing TUTOR panel
on any ISPF command line.
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ISPF Panels ®
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Panels reside in DD name ISPPLIB
Each panel is a member.
Services use the member name to refer to the
panel.
Input on panels ends up in ISPF Variables.
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ISPF Panels - The basic sections ®
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Panels have several sections:
)ATTR
Defines attribute bytes, e.g. input, output,
colors
)BODY
Defines what the panel will look like
)INIT, )REINIT
)INIT )REINIT, )PROC
Panel Logic (simple setup, verifications, etc.)
)END
Defines the end of the panel definition (required)
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ISPF Panels - )ATTR ®
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The )ATTR section defines Attribute bytes
Attribute bytes, used in the )BODY section,
indicate what follows:
# TYPE(TEXT) COLOR(RED)
means text following this byte is red.
@ TYPE(INPUT) CAPS(ON)
means an input field is beginning and the
field will translate input to upper case.
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ISPF Panels - )ATTR ®
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Many different TYPEs:
TYPE(TEXT) - Text follows - may include
variables, e.g.: Hello &ZUSER
TYPE(INPUT) - Input field
TYPE(OUTPUT) - Output field (variable name)
CUA Types define colors based on the field type,
such as panel title or normal entry field.
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ISPF Panels - )BODY ®
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The )BODY section is the 'WYSIWYG' section.
(what you see is what you get)
Use attribute bytes, plain text and variables.
)ATTR
% type(text) intens(high)
%, + and _ are preset by ISPF.
+ type(text) intens(low) They are shown here as an
_ type(input) example only.
)BODY
%------- Panel Title -----
%Command ===>_MYVAR %
)END This indicates the beginning of
an input field. What the user
types will be stored in variable
MYVAR.
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ISPF Panels - Panel Logic ®
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Use Panel Logic in the )INIT, )REINIT and )PROC
sections:
)INIT section - Run before panel display
)REINIT section - run before redisplay (usually
before an error message set in the )PROC section is
shown).
)PROC section - Run after the panel is displayed.
Usually contains field verifications.
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ISPF Panels - Panel Logic ®
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Assignment statement
&MYVAR = &ZUSER
&MYVAR = 'Johnny is a &NICEGUY'
&CURSLOC = .CURSOR
(Control variables are special panel variables)
&ZSEL = TRANS(&COM 1,'CMD(A)' 2,&MYVAR)
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ISPF Panels ®
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Some control variables
.CURSOR - Field name where cursor is.
.CSRPOS - Cursor offset into field.
.HELP - Help panel associated with this panel
.MSG - Next message to display
.RESP - User or simulated response - END or ENTER.
.TRAIL - What remained after a TRUNC() operation
(TRUNC is a common function to pull options of the command
line).
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ISPF Panels ®
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IF - ELSE
Indentation sensitive
Comments use /* */
IF (&A = 1,2,3) /* if a is 1, 2 or 3 */
&B = 2
.MSG = XGG001 Clause on same or next line(s)
ELSE &B = 4 /* can be on same line as else */
&C= 'This is outside of the IF/ELSE logic */
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ISPF Panels ®
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IF - ELSE
The expression can include
Simple comparison : IF (&A = 3)
List if comparisons : IF (&A NE 4,5,6)
Use of control variables: IF (.MSG = &Z)
Imbedded verify: IF (VER (&DSN,NB))
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ISPF Panels ®
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IF - ELSE
= or EQ Equal
¬= or NE Not equal
> or GT Greater than
< or LT Less than
>= or GE Greater than or equal
<= or LE Less than or equal
¬> or NG Not greater than
¬< or NL Not less than
Tip: Panel language does not do math
eg : IF (&A=&C+1)
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ISPF Panels ®
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VER - The VERIFY statement
Used to Verify input fields:
VER (&A, NB,RANGE,6,19)
VER (&A,NB)
VER (&A,LIST,4,7,JOE,MARY, MSG=XYZ001)
VER (&PROJECT,DSNAME)
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ISPF Panels ®
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VER (variable [NONBL] keyword [,MSG=value])
Keywords:
ALPHA LEN,relational-operator,expected-length
ALPHAB LIST,value1[value2...]
BIT LISTV,varlist
DBCS LISTVX,varlist
DSNAME LISTX,value1,value2,...
EBCDIC MIX
ENUM NAME
FILEID NUM
HEX PICT,string
INCLUDE[IMBLK] value1[,value2] RANGE,lower,upper
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ISPF Panels ®
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)BODY
% Sample panel
%Command ===>_ZCMD +
+
+ Project%===>_PRJXXX + _Z%Show Dates
+ Group %===>_G1 +
+ Type %===>_TYPENAME+
+ Member %===>_MEMNAME +
)INIT
&ZCMD = &Z /* blank out command line */
.ZVARS ='(SHOWDATE)' /* Z used for long names */
VGET (PRJXXX G1 TYPENAME MEMNAME showdate) SHARED
IF (&SHOWDATE NE &Z) &SHOWDATE = '/'
IF (.MSG EQ &Z) .CURSOR = MEMNAME /*set cursor */
)REINIT
REFRESH (*)
)PROC
IF (&SHOWDATE NE &Z) &SHOWDATE = '/'
VER (&PRJXXX ,NB,NAME)
VER (&G1 ,NB,NAME)
VER (&TYPENAME,NB,NAME)
VER (&MEMNAME ,NB,NAME)
VPUT (PRJXXX G1 TYPENAME MEMNAME SHOWDATE) SHARED
)END
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ISPF Panels ®
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© COPYRIGHT IBM CORPORATION 2002 IBM SOFTWARE SHARE 98, Winter 2002
ISPF Panels - Testing ®
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Use Dialog Test
Option 7.2 - displays panels and messages
Start ISPF in TEST mode from the TSO READY prompt
to insure that you get the latest copy of each panel.
ISPF TEST
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More information ®
IBM Software Solutions
ISPF Dialog Developers Guide and Reference
Use ISRDDN to find existing panels
Use the ISRDTLCV edit macro to make DTL
generated panels more readable.
Copy, Steal, Modify, Change, Pillage, ...
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Internet Resources... ®
IBM Software Solutions
List Servers:
ISPF-L list server
send note to listserv@listserv.nd.edu with
SUBSCRIBE ISPF-L yourname
in the body of the note
ISPF-L is shadowed as newsgroup bit.listserv.ispf-l but you must be subscribed to post
to the newsgroup.
IBM-MAIN list server
send note to listserv@bama.ua.edu with
SUBSCRIBE IBM-MAIN yourname
in the body of the note.
Search for listserver information at http://www.lsoft.com
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Internet Resources... ®
IBM Software Solutions
Newsgroups:
On news.software.ibm.com
ISPF newsgroup
ibm.software.ispf
SCLM newsgroup
ibm.software.sclm
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Internet Resources... ®
IBM Software Solutions
Useful Web Sites:
http://www.software.ibm.com/ad/ispf
ISPF home page (not very active)
http://www.redbooks.ibm.com
Redbooks produced for ISPF and SCLM
http://somebody.home.mindspring.com
OS/390 and ISPF Tools and toys (lots of ISPF extensions, some samples)
maintained by Doug Nadel
http://www.cbttape.org
The CBT tape, maintained by Sam Golob
http://planetmvs.com
A good starting point for everything OS/390...
maintained by Dave Alcock
© COPYRIGHT IBM CORPORATION 2002 IBM SOFTWARE SHARE 98, Winter 2002
