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jim haire · Beginner Joined: 30 Dec 2002 Posts: 140 Topics: 40

I did a search on DFSORT AND REXX together trying to find a hit. Most of the things I read were using one of these tools as an alternate to the other.

My question is if I can call DFSORT from a REXX program. My REXX routine currently is doing some sorting via REXX, but it is extremely slow when you get even a moderate number of records.

I could submit a job containing DFSORT, but I don't want to have to waiit for an initiator and monitor the job for a finish before the REXX routine gets control back.

Are there any DDNAMEs which DFSORT understands to be designated as INPUT and OUTPUT where I could read the records into a file and get the sorted results back in another file by executing DFSORT within the REXX program itself?

Frank Yaeger · Posted: Wed Nov 19, 2008 1:54 pm Post subject:

Yes. See this example in "z/OS DFSORT Application Programming Guide":

http://publibz.boulder.ibm.com/cgi-bin/bookmgr_OS390/BOOKS/ICE1CA20/10.3?DT=20060615185603

and the "REXX calls to DFSORT and ICETOOL" Smart DFSORT Trick at:

www.ibm.com/systems/support/storage/software/sort/mvs/tricks/
_________________
Frank Yaeger - DFSORT Development Team (IBM)
Specialties: JOINKEYS, FINDREP, WHEN=GROUP, ICETOOL, Symbols, Migration
DFSORT is on the Web at:
www.ibm.com/storage/dfsort

jim haire · Beginner Joined: 30 Dec 2002 Posts: 140 Topics: 40

Thanks, Frank. I'll look at these links.

warp5 · Posted: Fri Nov 21, 2008 1:42 am Post subject:

I looked at those links and put them in my favorites.

jim haire · Beginner Joined: 30 Dec 2002 Posts: 140 Topics: 40

Frank, worked like a charm!

If anyone wants to sort a file in their REXX routine and has access to DFSORT this is the way to go.

A couple of additional hints:
1. I added a SORT FIELDS=(1,3,CH,A) as sort parameters. ICEMAN could not determine it and flagged it as an error. I remembered from past experiences that the SYSIN cannot start in position 1, so I put a space before the SORT statement and it worked.

2. Whoever is using your command may not be interested in all the SYSOUT from the SORT. If you direct your SYSOUT to a dataset instead of coding DA(*), you won't see it at execution time.

I don't know if there is a way DFSORT allows you to suppress all that output if you don't want it?

Thanks again, Frank!

Frank Yaeger · Posted: Fri Nov 21, 2008 12:33 pm Post subject:

If you don't want DFSORT to print the messages and control statements, you can use these control statements in DFSPARM: