Another reason to use Sort instead of a home grown program is maintainability. We have some home grown programs developed by two of us as a team. We each can support our own part, but no one else knows how to fix it. Yet we have many people who can change sort parameters.
Twice now I have a job go down because a software upgrade changed the column layout. It took a change to a column start parameter in Sort to get the data from the new column. The change to the Sort cards was much faster to push back through channels into production than a program change would have been. The sort cards were much fewer lines than a program would have been. Plus Sort is likely more efficient for our large files than I would do in my own program. We use canned programs as much as posible and write our own when it looks like it makes sense. It all depends on the situation. Thank you and have a Terrific day! Jonathan Goossen, ACG, CL Tape Specialist ACT Mainframe Storage Group Personal: 651-361-4541 Department Support Line: 651-361-5555 For help with communication and leadership skills checkout Woodwinds Toastmasters IBM Mainframe Discussion List <IBM-MAIN@bama.ua.edu> wrote on 11/21/2011 04:36:49 PM: > From: "Farley, Peter x23353" <peter.far...@broadridge.com> > To: IBM-MAIN@bama.ua.edu > Date: 11/21/2011 04:42 PM > Subject: Re: Simple record extraction from a sequential file > Sent by: IBM Mainframe Discussion List <IBM-MAIN@bama.ua.edu> > > John, > > I am not the OP, but I can imagine one very good reason -- > Production control procedures. > > If the file that the OP is trying to extract is a production file > and the resulting file also has to feed another production program, > then a new program has to pass through all of the system development > lifecycle processes, which can be quite bureaucratic in a large organization. > > However, sort control cards for a production JCL sort job *may* > (depending on the organization) more easily and quickly pass through > such procedures, sometimes with much less process and paperwork. > > Besides that, sort is EVER so much more efficient at doing I/O > (especially to or from non-VSAM files) than any user-written HLL > program. Sort is often my first choice on that basis alone > (assuming the selection and/or processing logic can be accommodated > with existing sort control verbs). > > Just a couple of thoughts for your consideration. > > Peter This e-mail message and all attachments transmitted with it may contain legally privileged and/or confidential information intended solely for the use of the addressee(s). If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any reading, dissemination, distribution, copying, forwarding or other use of this message or its attachments is strictly prohibited. If you have received this message in error, please notify the sender immediately and delete this message and all copies and backups thereof. Thank you. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to lists...@bama.ua.edu with the message: GET IBM-MAIN INFO Search the archives at http://bama.ua.edu/archives/ibm-main.html
