Setting up your MVS Build Environment

Setting up builds on z/OS mainframes can be a complicated and lengthy process. It is recommended that you follow the steps below to set up your z/OS build environment:

1. Check that the following software is installed and configured:

- A Dimensions server on any supported platform. For details see the Installation Guide for Windows or the Installation Guide for UNIX.

- Dimensions for z/OS: check that you can run the Dimensions for z/OS ISPF client, or perform a remote checkout from the desktop client to the Dimensions node. For details see the Dimensions for z/OS Guide.

2. On your z/OS mainframe do the following:

- Pre-allocate the build areas that Dimensions uses to ensure that data sets are allocated properly (DCB, sizes, etc.) for your application and project. As a general rule, the last qualifier in the data set name indicates its type, for example, COBOL, COPY, H, and C. Build areas are typically allocated for each stage. Optionally, you can allocate a managed Development build area.

NOTE Any managed build areas that you set up should be allocated under a security protected ID that the average Dimensions user does not have write access to. This precaution is necessary to protect the integrity of the data contained in the build areas.

- Create data sets for targets and intermediate targets, for example, .LOAD and .OBJ respectively.

- (Optional) Set up a user build area for your development work. Allocate a collection of data sets with a common HLQ (’directory’), as required for your build.

3. (Optional) If you are adding items from a PC to a z/OS mainframe and want automatic allocation of data sets, check that the Dimensions configuration file on the z/OS mainframe, MDH.V1010.MDHPARM(MDHTDCFG), has the correct defaults to create data sets by LLQ (low level qualifier). For details see the Dimensions for z/OS Guide. It is recommended that you perform step 2 above to ensure proper data set sizing for each item type.