Dynamic FORMS for printing AFP

Question

I am trying to print AFP to sysout but the FORMS parameter is not known (and cannot be known) by the JCL. My current solution is to create dynamic JCL and spin it to INTRDR, but this is a weak solution because the job will not be under the control of our scheduler... and thus, an abend or other issue will go unnoticed by night-time operators.

I started concocting a way to print the AFP via a COBOL program. I use BPXWDYN to create the SYSOUT DD dynamically, which allows me to set the FORMS parameter however I want. But the next step is dumping the AFP to that DD.

I thought I could call IEBGENER dynamically from my COBOL program, but that pulls a S0C4.

I can move the AFP records from one DD to the other in the COBOL program, but that limits me to one LRECL... and I have many different LRECL definitions for AFP throughout my system, and COBOL MUST know the LRECL at compile time.

Any thoughts? Is it possible to call IEBGENER dynamically and not get the S0C4? Any other ideas I haven't thought of?

Thanks in advance...

Answer 1

Have you thought of writing a small assembler program? You can specify the LRECL in your BPXWDYN call, and the DCB does not need to specify an LRECL; it will get it from the DCB parameters at OPEN time. A program to simulate IEBGENER is quite trivial.

Alternatively, look at calling SORT with a FIELDS=COPY parameter. SORT doesn't need the LRECL either. Or write a REXX script.

There are many ways of doing this; you just need to look outside the COBOL box.

Answer 2

Your question is not extremely clear but I'm wondering if you should consider using the ACIF utility program called APKACIF instead of IEBGENR. The utility will merge your data and resolve the AFP FORMDEF, PAGEDEF objects to a dataset or print stream.