Job Control Language (JCL) Interview Questions And Answers

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Elevate your JCL interview readiness with our detailed compilation of 47 questions. Each question is designed to test and expand your JCL expertise. Suitable for all experience levels, these questions will help you prepare thoroughly. Don't miss out on our free PDF download, containing all 47 questions to help you succeed in your JCL interview. It's an invaluable tool for reinforcing your knowledge and building confidence.

47 JCL Questions and Answers:

JCL Job Interview Questions Table of Contents:

1 :: What is the function of DD DISP parameter?

(1) Tells the system what to do with the dataset following normal termination of the step

(2) Describes the status of the dataset

(3) Tells the system what to do with the dataset following abnormal termination of the step

(4) All of the above

Answer is 4

2 :: How is the record format of an output dataset specified?

(1) RECORG parameter

(2) STORCLAS parameter

(3) RECFM parameter

(4) None of the above

Answer is 3

3 :: What is the purpose of DD * statement in JCL?

(1) Begins an input data prompt at the system console

(2) Begins an in-stream dataset

(3) Marks the end of a command stream

(4) Includes all datasets within a naming pattern

Answer is 2

4 :: A DD statement has 2 types of parameters. Name them?

(1) Positional, Keyword

(2) Keyword, Control

(3) Dynamic, Static

(4) Named, Dynamic

Answer is 1

5 :: What is the function of JOB statement in JCL?

(1) Marks the end of a job

(2) Marks the beginning of an instream procedure

(3) Marks the beginning of a job & assigns a name to the job

(4) Assigns an execution priority to a job

Answer is 3

6 :: How can a job send a status message to a TSO user at the completion of a job?

(1) STATUS

(2) NOTIFY

(3) ENDMSG

(4) USER

Answer is 2

7 :: What is the function of a DD statement?

(1) Identifies & describes a dataset

(2) Delimits a DO loop

(3) Marks the start of a declarative section

(4) Delimits the start of an inline include section

Answer is 1

8 :: When output dataset space is required, what quantity categories are used?

(1) Primary, Secondary, Directory

(2) Address, Units, CONTIG or ALS

(3) Displacement and length

(4) Megabytes, Kilobytes and Bytes

Answer is 1

9 :: What statement marks the beginning of a job step; assigns a name to the step; identifies the program or catalogued or in-stream procedure to be executed in the step?

(1) START

(2) RUN

(3) EXEC

(4) GO

Answer is 3

10 :: How can unused space allocation be returned to the system when a dataset is closed?

(1) RETURN

(2) RLSE

(3) CONTIG

(4) CLOSE

Answer is 2

11 :: Can an individual step be restricted from using all the jobs allowed CPU time?

(1) Yes

(2) No

(3) Only in Catalogued Procedure

(4) Through the STEPTIME parameter

Answer is 1

12 :: Where can program checkpoints be stored for use in a restart?

(1) CHCKPOINT DD statement

(2) SYSCHK DD statement

(3) CHKOUT DD statement

(4) CHECK or DD statement

Answer is 2

13 :: How can the disposition of sysout datasets be set for an entire jobstream?

(1) SYSOUT parameter

(2) OUTPUT parameter

(3) DEFAULT parameter

(4) DEST keyword

Answer is 1

14 :: What statement marks the end of an in-stream or Catalogued procedure?

(1) STREAM

(2) SET

(3) PROC

(4) PEND

Answer is 4

15 :: What is the function of DD name parameter with a 2 part structure; Audit.Report?

(1) Override the Audit DD statement in the report

(2) Override the Report DD statement in the Audit procedure

(3) Concatenate a dataset onto a DD statement in a called module

(4) Delete the Audit DD statement in the Report

Answer is 2

16 :: Which DD parameters are required?

(1) All parameters & Keywords are optional

(2) Dsname, SPACE, RECFM

(3) Dsname, SPACE, UNIT

(4) Dsname, DISP, SPACE

Answer is 1

17 :: How can an in-stream dataset be terminated?

(1) //

(2) //*

(3) /*

(4) None of the above

Answer is 3

18 :: What is the function of the DD DCB keyword?

(1) Begins the subparameters of the DCB

(2) Begins the DASD control block

(3) Marks the close of the DCB

(4) Modifies the record type parameters

Answer is 1

19 :: What is the maximum length of a single line of JCL?

(1) 71 bytes

(2) 60 bytes

(3) 55 bytes

(4 ) 80 bytes

Answer is 1

20 :: What is the purpose of DD DUMMY statement?

(1) Marks a deleted DD statement

(2) Begins an interpreted command stream

(3) Specifies no space allocation & no disposition processing

(4) Suppress command processing

Answer is 3

21 :: Many JCL statements contain specific values designed to direct and control the execution of the statement. What are these fields called?

(1) Linkage Variables

(2) Parameters

(3) Control Libraries

(4) Includes

Answer is 2

22 :: When space is allocated for an output dataset, what units can be used?

(1) Disks

(2) Megabytes

(3) Cylinders, Tracks, Blocks

(4) Bytes

Answer is 3

23 :: What is the format of comment statement?

(1) //

(2) //*

(3) /*

(4 ) None of the above

Answer is 2

24 :: A DD statement consists of 4 fields. Name them?

(1) Name, DD, Space, Device

(2) Format, Name, DD, Space

(3) DD, parameter, device, format

(4) Name, DD, parameter, comments

Answer is 4

25 :: What DD statement is used to supply the name of a dataset?

(1) Name

(2) Dsname

(3) Label

(4) File

Answer is 2