General Information

To take full advantage of this parameter, a familiarity with Control-O AutoEdit variables is essential. A complete description of the AutoEdit facility is contained in AutoEdit Facility, especially in the Using the DO SET Statement section.

The DO SET parameter permits setting of values to variables (or symbols). These variables can then be referenced in other DO statements in the rule definition during rule activation.

Setting GLOBAL to N, the default, indicates that the DO SET variable assignment is applicable for local purposes only – that is, for the current activation of the rule.

Setting GLOBAL to Y saves the value for global use by other Control-O rules, by subsequent activations of the same rule, and optionally for use by the Control-M AutoEdit facility. Setting GLOBAL to Y is also used in an XAE database, which is discussed in the following topic.

Using XAE AutoEdit Variable Databases

XAE variable databases are Sysplex-wide AutoEdit variable databases). Like other AutoEdit variable databases, these are defined using the Variable Database Definition facility. The variables are resolved by AutoEdit expressions. Once variables are loaded by Control-O into memory, the variables can be changed using DO SET, in exactly the same way as for standard databases. Global AutoEdit variables in an XAE database can be accessed by other rules across a Sysplex. For more information about the XAE variables, see Using an XAE AutoEdit Variable Database.

Using Global Variable Members

A primary usage of the Global variables is to set globally accessed flags, or counters, for example, the current IMS reply number.

When Control-O is started, members of the Global AutoEdit library and AutoEdit variable databases where Global variables reside are loaded into memory. Any updates or additions to Global variables (by rules or KOA scripts) are kept in memory by Control-O and are available to all other rules. For more information, see the Control-O chapter in the INCONTROL for z/OS Administrator Guide.

By default, a Global AutoEdit variable is assigned to the $GLOBAL member. However, a Global AutoEdit variable can be assigned to a specific member by one of the methods described in the following paragraphs.

A Global AutoEdit variable can be assigned to a specific member by the statement

DO SET=%%member\variable GLOBAL = Y

A Global AutoEdit variable, or a set of Global AutoEdit variables, can be assigned to a specific member or variable database by first specifying the member or database by the statement

DO SET=%%$GLOBAL = member

followed by specification of a statement for each variable, in the format

DO SET=%%variable = value GLOBAL=Y

Each set variable with GLOBAL set to Y is assigned to the specified Global member.

When referencing a variable in the default Global member (usually $GLOBAL, if not specified otherwise), the member specification can be omitted and the variable is referenced as

%%variable

Using AutoEdit Variable Databases

Databases of Global variables can be defined using the Online Variable Database Definition facility. These databases are loaded together with the conventional Global variable members during startup of Control-O.

To change the value of a variable in a variable database:

1. Specify the database as the current Global variable pool. For example

   DO SET=%%$GLOBAL = DBNAME GLOBAL  N

2. Specify the row in the database where the variable is located. For example

   DO SET=%%$DBROW = 3 GLOBAL  N

3. Specify the column in the specified row and the value for the variable in that column. For example

   DO SET=%%COLNAME = 57 GLOBAL  Y

The %%$DBCOUNT AutoEdit System variable, which indicates the number of rows in the current variable database, can be used to loop through the variables in a given column.

Note: AutoEdit Variable databases are not stored in partitioned data sets (PDS members), and therefore cannot be accessed by Control-M (through the use of %%LIBSYM and %%MEMSYM control statements).

For complete rules on using AutoEdit variable databases, see Examples 4 and 5.

For more information on the Variable Database Definition facility, see IOA Variables Database Facility.

Control-O Variable databases can be checkpointed using the WRITEGLOBAL operator command. For more information on this command, see the Control-O chapter of the INCONTROL for z/OS Administrator Guide.

Note:

Global variables become available to Control-M only when a specific request is made to Control-O using the operator command

F CONTROLO,WRITEGLOBAL{=membername}

This member can be accessed by Control-M AutoEdit control statements such as %%LIBSYM and %%MEMSYM.

Control-O AutoEdit variables assigned or embedded in a DO SET statement expression are resolved (replaced) during rule activation. The DO SET statement can also contain AutoEdit control statements such as %%$RESOLVE. Control-O interprets all the AutoEdit statements sequentially.

Note: Control-O ignores leading blanks when resolving or setting an AutoEdit variable. To force leading blanks, use the %%$BLANKn System variable.