One quality of OS/400 that makes it nicer than other operating systems is that the commands are logically named. You can often guess the name of a command. The drawback, however, is that command names are often long.

You can save yourself hundreds of keystrokes a day by creating abbreviated versions of OS/400 commands you use often. I'm going to show you two of my favorites: SJ and WJ4.

The SJ command is an abbreviated form of the Work with Submitted Jobs (WRKSBMJOB) command using the SBMFROM(*JOB) parameter. I like SJ because it lets me see only the jobs that are submitted from the current job, and it's at least twelve keystrokes shorter than its native counterpart. You can find the SJ command source in 7.

The SJ command is an abbreviated form of the Work with Submitted Jobs (WRKSBMJOB) command using the SBMFROM(*JOB) parameter. I like SJ because it lets me see only the jobs that are submitted from the current job, and it's at least twelve keystrokes shorter than its native counterpart. You can find the SJ command source in Figure 7.

The WJ4 command lets me see only the spool files created by the current job. WJ4 is similar to keying the Work with Job (WRKJOB) command and taking option 4. I don't have to wade through page after page of spool files that belong to me, as I would have to do with WRKOUTQ or WRKSPLF. The WJ4 command source is shown in 8.

The WJ4 command lets me see only the spool files created by the current job. WJ4 is similar to keying the Work with Job (WRKJOB) command and taking option 4. I don't have to wade through page after page of spool files that belong to me, as I would have to do with WRKOUTQ or WRKSPLF. The WJ4 command source is shown in Figure 8.

In both of these examples, I've used the technique described in "Shortcut Commands" (found elsewhere in this edition of TechTalk) to eliminate the need to write a command processing program. I'll bet there are many other OS/400 commands you use often that could be condensed, thereby saving you significant key strokes throughout your day.

? Ted Holt

TechTalk: Abbreviated OS/400 Commands

Figure 7: The Abbreviated WRKSBMJOB Command SJ

 /*===============================================================*/ /* To compile: */ /* */ /* CRTCMD CMD(XXX/SJ) PGM(XXX/QCMDEXC) + */ /* SRCFILE(XXX/QCMDSRC) */ /* */ /*===============================================================*/ CMD PROMPT('WRKSBMJOB *JOB') PARM KWD(CMD) TYPE(*CHAR) LEN(23) + CONSTANT('WRKSBMJOB SBMFROM(*JOB)') PARM KWD(LEN) TYPE(*DEC) LEN(15 5) CONSTANT(23) 
 
TechTalk: Abbreviated OS/400 Commands
 
Figure 8: The Abbreviated WRKJOB Command WJ4
 
 /*===============================================================*/ /* To compile: */ /* */ /* CRTCMD CMD(XXX/WJ4) PGM(XXX/QCMDEXC) + */ /* SRCFILE(XXX/QCMDSRC) */ /* */ /*===============================================================*/ CMD PROMPT('WRKJOB Option 4') PARM KWD(CMD) TYPE(*CHAR) LEN(20) + CONSTANT('WRKJOB OPTION(*SPLF)') PARM KWD(LEN) TYPE(*DEC) LEN(15 5) CONSTANT(20) 

Ted Holt is IT manager of Manufacturing Systems Development for Day-Brite Capri Omega, a manufacturer of lighting fixtures in Tupelo, Mississippi. He has worked in the information processing industry since 1981 and is the author or co-author of seven books. 

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