SUMMARY:   Suitable for the BCS Mainframe Technology professional Exams for level 1 Assistant (Production and Support) and Level 2 (Operations Analysis) AUDIENCE:   This course is for IT professionals requiring an understanding of basic VSAM structures and the capabilities of the Access Method Services utility IDCAMS. PREREQUISITES:   Knowledge of how to use TSO/E ISPF to edit and run work is required. Attending our TSO/ISPF course is recommended. DURATION:   3 days. Hands on. OBJECTIVES:   This is a workshop with a mix of theory and practical session. Delegates are given the opportunity to practice data set creation and perform other functions from the IDCAMS repertoire. At the completion of this course, students will know and understand the structure of VSAM data sets, how to create them, how to manage them and how to list and interpret catalogue information. All students will be able to: - Explain why VSAM is important to a number of sub-systems and products. - Explain the general syntax and structure of the statements used by the IDCAMS utility. - Explain the terms associated with VSAM data sets, including data set types. - Create data sets of each type. - List the catalogue for acquiring varying amounts of information. - Create and populate an alternate index. - Manipulate data sets in terms of archiving, changing attributes, copying, printing and renaming. - Explain the impact of different buffer assignments, and resolve conflicts between batch and online use. COURSE CONTENT:   VSAM Overview A general introduction to terms, the history of VSAM and its relationship to traditional data organisations Why use VSAM? What uses VSAM? Access Method Services Basic syntax of IDCAMS control statements The Modal commands Defining Data Sets Detailed review of the DEFINE command, followed by practical exercises involving ESDS, KSDS and RRDS data sets JCL LIKE & REFDD Using spanned records Data Set Structure Explanation of Control Areas, Control Intervals Relative Byte Addressing and the impact of Freespace on KSDS file updates Listing catalogue information Review of information available and how to access it in batch and online modes Data set management The IDCAMS PRINT, REPRO, ALTER, DELETE, EXPORT and IMPORT functions Alternate indices Creating and populating an alternate index Integrity, and Performance Share Options, BUFNI, BUFND, BLSR etc Modern disk subsystems Relationship with Programming Languages Assembler, COBOL, and REXX TS07/01