Format of the Rules File

The rules file is a text file that can include multiple rules. You can set conditions on specific field names and define multiple conditions within a single rule.

A rule is defined using the following format:

RULE:
	- CONDITION:  condition
	  VALUE:      value
	SUBDIRECTORY: location
---

Where:

RULE: defines the start of the definition of a rule and --- indicates where it ends.
-CONDITION: indicates where a condition starts.
A rule can have multiple conditions.
A condition must be followed by a VALUE: that specifies the condition value.
SUBDIRECTORY indicates a dataset or a file location. Can be a full path or an environment variable.
A rule can have only one SUBDIRECTORY: entry.
Comment lines must be prefixed with # in column 1.

The following is example of a rule that sets a condition for the RECORDTYPE property with a value of 'S'. This indicates that any SPOOL file should be assigned to the $MFSYSCATDIR\SPOOL\ folder ($MFSYCATDIR is an environment variable that indicates the folder that stores the system catalog):

RULE:
	- CONDITION:	RECORDTYPE
	  VALUE:		S
	SUBDIRECTORY:	$MFSYSCATDIR\SPOOL\
---

Names of the catalog record fields

The following names can be used in the rules to indicate catalog record fields:

RECORDTYPE

Type of the catalog record:

S: A spool record
D: A data class record

DSNAME1 - DSNAME10

Name of the dataset name element, number one to five: DSNAME1.DSNAME2.DSNAME3.DSNAME4.DSNAME5.DSNAME6.DSNAME7.DSNAME8.DSNAME9.DSNAME10

DSORG

Dataset organisation. Can be one of the following:

PDSM
PO
PS
VSAM
GDG
IS

LRECL

The record length. Must have a numeric value.

RECFM

The record format. Can be one of the following:

F, FA, FB, FBA, FBM, FBS, FM (Fixed)
KS, ES, RR, LS (VSAM Files)
LSEQ (Line sequential)
U (Undefined)
V, VA, VB, VBA, VBM, VBS, VM, VS (Variable)

CHARSET

The character set. Takes the following values:

A: ASCII
E: EBCDIC

DATACLASS

The data class of the dataset.

MGMTCLASS

Management class value - The management class of the dataset

UNIT-DEVICE

The unit value of the dataset.

VOLUME

The volume value of the dataset.

JOB-CREATED

The name of the JCL job that created the dataset.

Defining multiple conditions with a rule

You can define multiple conditions within a single rule.

The following example shows a rule for a dataset that has a character set of ASCII; its dataset name has 'PROD' as its first element and 'I' as its fourth element (for example, PROD.BBBB.CCCC.I.EEEE); has a UNIT setting of 'SYSDA'; a RECFM setting of 'VB'; was created by the JCL job 'OVERCHK'; will be created in the '$MFSYSCATDIR\RECFM\' folder:

RULE:
	- CONDITION:	CHARSET
	  VALUE:		A
	  
	- CONDITION:    DSNAME1
	  VALUE:        PROD
	  
	- CONDITION:    DSNAME4
	  VALUE:        I
	  
	- CONDITION:    UNIT-DEVICE
	  VALUE:        SYSDA
	  
	- CONDITION:    RECFM
	  VALUE:        VB

	- CONDITION:    JOB-CREATED
	  VALUE:        OVERCHK
  	  
	SUBDIRECTORY:	$MFSYSCATDIR\RECFM\
---

Using HEX values

You can use hexadecimal values in the rules.

The following example shows a rule that is defined for the dataset LRECL field - if it has a value of H'0063' (decimal 99), it will be assigned to the LRECL99 folder:

RULE:
	- CONDITION:  LRECL
   VALUE:      HEXVALUE 0063
	SUBDIRECTORY: $MFSYSCATDIR\LRECL99\
---

Using wildcards

The rules file has a simple wildcard support. You can use a single or multiple wildcards, *, in the value field to indicate any number of characters - for example, L00*500 or *TE*.**S*.

The following example rule specifies that a dataset whose first name element is ‘PROD’ and whose management class begins with ‘L00’ and ends with ‘500’ is to be assigned to the L00D500 folder:

RULE:
	- CONDITION:	DSNAME1
	  VALUE:	PROD
	  
	- CONDITION:	MGMTCLASS
	  VALUE:	L00*500

	SUBDIRECTORY:	$MFSYSCATDIR\L00D500\
---

Automatic selection of classes

The format of the rules file enables you to assign properties to a dataset based on the same conditions. This can be likened to the Automatic Class Selection process on the mainframe.

You can assign the following attributes to a dataset:

DATACLASS

The name of the DATACLASS

MGMTCLASS

The name of the MGMTCLASS

CHARSET

The character set to use:

A: ASCII
E: EBCDIC

EXPIRE

The expiry time

SUBDIRECTORY

The directory to use for the dataset location. This is the same directory, SUBDIRECTORY, that is used in the general definition of a rule.

The following example shows a rule that specifies that any dataset that has a first name element of ‘MFI01’ and a fourth name element of ‘F2’ is to be assigned to the $MFSYSCATDIR\MFI01\ENDINF2 folder and have the MANGEMENGTCLASS property set to ‘MGMTYYYY’ and the EXPIRY date set to 4 days hence (a specific value can also be used):

RULE:
	- CONDITION:	 DSNAME1
	  VALUE:      MFI01
	  
	- CONDITION:	 DSNAME4
	  VALUE:      F2

	SUBDIRECTORY:	$MFSYSCATDIR\MFI01\ENDINF2
	
	- ATTRIBUTE:  MGMTCLASS
	  VALUE:      MGMTYYYY

	- ATTRIBUTE:  EXPIRE
	  VALUE:      +4

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