On 18 December 2014 at 09:19, Jon Butler <[email protected]> wrote: > I'd like to state that even after 30 years of MVS, I still use the term > "file" when referring to mainframe datasets. In fact, if you look at the > IBM COBOL manual, you will see "File Organization", not "Dataset > Organization"; PL/I refers to "FILE Attributes", etc.
Sure. But in both cases the books are talking about the (loosely) File Objects that each language has. These are constructs in the languages, and they are mapped to some sort of implementation done by the operating system. In the MVS case the things mapped to are usually, but not always, datasets. This is a Good Thing; it makes the languages more easily portable if the language constructs are not tied tightly to the OS. > And I think I can safely say I have never seen a DD NULLDATASET command ;-)) I'm sure you haven't. Neither have I ever seen a DD NULLFILE command. ;-)) > Don't be too hard on people just trying to learn. Certainly. But explaining the difference, and pointing out that it is -- at least in some important contexts -- significant, is not being hard on them. Endless carping about innocent misuse of terms may be. Tony H. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to [email protected] with the message: INFO IBM-MAIN
