General Information

This parameter issues operator commands, and VM/CP commands if z/OS is operating under VM.

Control-O AutoEdit variables embedded in the DO COMMAND parameter are automatically resolved (replaced) at time of rule activation. For more information about the AutoEdit facility, see AutoEdit Facility.

Issuing a Command

The manner in which a command is issued depends on the values of the RUNTSEC runtime scheduling parameter or the WAIT DO COMMAND subparameter.

If runtime security is active for a rule (the RUNTSEC subparameter set to OWNER or TRIGGER), the operator commands issued by a DO COMMAND will always be issued by the Control-O monitor and not under the same address space of the command that triggered the rule.

If a WAIT value is not specified, the command is issued immediately under the same address space of the message or command that triggered the rule. If a WAIT value is specified, even a value of 0, the command is issued by the Control-O monitor after the specified interval. However, the WAIT subparameter applies only to its DO COMMAND parameter, and any subsequent DO statements are performed immediately without regard to the WAIT value.

Command-Response Mode

A rule containing a DO COMMAND statement can be executed in command-response mode. In this mode, messages issued in response to an operator command can be intercepted by Control-O in the same rule that issued the command, and additional actions can be taken depending on these messages.

Control-O can intercept these messages by one or more of the following methods:

• using the z/OS subsystem console mechanism
• using the extended MCS console mechanism
• looking for specific message IDs

When the rule resumes execution after DO COMMAND, the %%$WAITRC system variable indicates the type of event that caused the end of the wait. Valid values for %%$WAITRC are shown in Table 125.

Table 125 Values passed to %%$WAITRC by DO COMMAND Parameter

Specifying Command-Response Mode

A rule is placed in command-response mode by typing Y (Yes) in the WAITMODE field. The following subparameters determine the methods used by Control-O to intercept messages:

• WAITRESP
  When Y (Yes) is specified, this parameter instructs Control-O to utilize the z/OS subsystem console mechanism. Control-O issues the command on a subsystem console and retrieves all messages issued to the same console in response. Since some products issue response messages without regard to the originating console, this parameter should be used only when the response messages are sent to the originating console. This parameter should not be used if there are no subsystem consoles defined to Control-O.

  The CONSOLEID parameter of the DO COMMAND is ignored when using this method because Control-O selects the console internally.

• RESPMSG msgid1 msgid2...msgid5
  This parameter instructs Control-O to intercept only messages having the specified message IDs. Up to five message IDs can be specified.

  This parameter should be used without setting WAITRESP to Y if the response messages could be issued to a console other than the originating console, or if no subsystem consoles have been defined to Control-O.

  This parameter should be specified together with WAITRESP set to Y when all response messages are issued to the originating console and it is desirable to limit message interception to a few (up to five) specified message IDs.

The WAITRESP and RESPMSG parameters can also be specified for VM/CP commands, if z/OS is operating under VM.

The TIMEOUT parameter indicates how long to wait for responses before continuing to the next DO statements. TIMEOUT values are optional.

Processing the Command Response

When a rule is executing in command-response mode, that is, when WAITMODE is set to Y in a DO COMMAND statement, Control-O suspends rule execution until either the specified time-out is reached, or a last line (the last line of a multi-line message) is detected.

A command response can consist of several different combinations of messages:

• multiple regular, that is, not multi-line, messages
  No last line is supplied, and command-response mode will remain in effect until the specified time-out is reached.

  When Wish O10261 is enabled, a regular message is treated as a last line. Command-response mode is terminated when the first regular message is detected.

• a single multi-line message
  The last line supplied in the command response is the actual last line of the response. Command-response mode is terminated when this last line is detected.
• multiple multi-line messages
  The command response will contain more than one last line. Command-response mode is terminated when the first last line is detected. To avoid termination of command-response mode, use a %%$MLLEND control statement to disable the search for the last line. For more information on the %%$MLLEND control statement, see AutoEdit Facility.

Performing DO Statements in Command-Response Mode

It may be desirable to perform a set of DO statements each time an individual response message is intercepted. It may be desirable to accumulate all intercepted response messages and then perform a set of DO statements once. The exact way DO statements are performed is determined by their position relative to the DO ENDMSG statement:

• All DO statements preceding the ENDMSG statement are performed each time an individual message is intercepted. It should also be noted that within these DO statements, the current message can be referenced using the %%M* System variable.
• All DO statements following the ENDMSG statement are performed only once – after accumulation of all intercepted messages. It should also be noted that within these DO statements, individual messages within the accumulation can be referenced using the %%Mn System variable.
• To avoid recursion, Control-O does not intercept commands issued by a DO COMMAND statement unless the WAIT DO COMMAND subparameter is specified (that is, as long as it is not blank), or OWNER or TRIGGER has been specified for the RUNTSEC subparameter.
• When a command issued by Control-O should trigger another ON COMMAND rule, a WAIT value should be specified for the DO COMMAND so that Control-O can intercept the command. Even a value of 0 enables interception of the DO COMMAND by Control-O.