MVSBATCH Distribution
                                  M Stack

                               Introduction

This distribution of MVSBATCH is the one I have been using for nearly ten
years.  It differs only slightly from the one available from NIU ITS at
http://its.support.niu.edu/its/helpdesk/documentation/mvsconfig.shtml .
All the differences are contained in the "Look Here First!" sub-directory.

I like the simple job submission and output retrieval facilities of MVSBATCH
very much, and I use them all the time.  What I don't like - and don't use -
are the file editing and viewing facilities.  Instead, I use Notepad as my
editor and Wordpad as my file viewer, and I use them separately from the
MVSBATCH environment. This means YOU can use the editor and viewer programs
you like, and still use MVSBATCH for job submission and retrieval.  Even
though I don't edit or view files from within MVSBATCH, I have changed the
default editor and viewer from edit.com to notepad.exe (which opens in a
separate window) just because I'm more accustomed to Notepad.  Note, though,
that if files are edited by invoking Notepad through MVSBATCH instead of
clicking on the file in Explorer, the edit window must be closed before
MVSBATCH can again be used.  It's much simpler to edit separately.

Perhaps the best part of this distribution is the submit.cmd file which I
wrote to invoke MVSBATCH from any directory.  When MVSBATCH is started this
way, its work directory is set to the one containing submit.cmd, which 
should also be the one containing the .jcl files to be submitted and which
will contain the .x files retrieved from MVS.  Put a slightly different way,
submit.cmd allows each student assignment to have its own directory with all
associated .jcl and .x files contained in it.  The effect is a "local" copy
of MVSBATCH running for each programming assignment (multiple copies can be
running concurrently, although that may be too confusing).

This distribution assumes that the operating system is Windows XP (there are
no service pack requirements or issues, as far as I know). The configuration
file, mvsbatch.cfg, can be easily modified to select a different version of
Windows simply by editing the line
:default DOS WINXP
changing WINXP to WIN2K or WIN95.  If you DO make this change, you may also
have to change
CfgDispCmd=C:\WINDOWS\System32\notepad.exe /* name of file viewer program */
CfgEditCmd=C:\WINDOWS\System32\notepad.exe /* name of editor             */
to the correct location of notepad.exe (even if you don't intend to use it).
More information can be found on the ITS web page whose URL is listed above.

                                Installation

Installation of this distribution is very simple, with only a few steps to
be followed carefully:  

1)  UnZIP the distribution file, mvsb.zip, to c:\mvs or some other directory
    with a relatively simple name like d:\mvs or c:\cs\mvsbatch . Whatever
    you do, don't install MVSBATCH in a sub-directory of "Program Files"
    because MVSBATCH is a DOS-based program and can't refer to more modern
    file names, which are longer and can contain blanks.  In what follows,
    I will assume you're using c:\mvs; if you aren't, change any such
    reference below to the directory name you are using.

2)  Copy mvsbatch.cfg from the "Look Here First!" sub-directory to c:\mvs
    (this will replace the original version). If you are using WIN2K or
    WIN95, edit this mvsbatch.cfg accordingly (see above).

3)  Now edit submit.cmd in "Look Here First!" .  There are two lines which
    may need changing:
        set mvszid=znnnnnn
        set mvsdir=c:\mvs
    In the first one, change znnnnnn to your Z-ID.  Change the second line
    to your installation directory if you didn't use c:\mvs .

You may also wish to associate filetypes .jcl with Notepad and .x with
Wordpad (or the editor and viewer of your choice).  The steps needed to do
this in Windows XP are outlined in the Microsoft support page at
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;307859&product=winxp

This completes installation.

                      Using this distribution of MVSBATCH

First, create and open a directory for your next assignment; let's assume it
is called ASN3.  Next, copy submit.cmd from "Look Here First!" to directory
ASN3.  Then use your editor (such as Notepad) to create your program as
a .jcl file, perhaps named pgm3.jcl .  This file should have the necessary
JCL present, including a valid JOB card (as with any use of MVSBATCH).

Now double-click on submit.cmd to start an MVSBATCH session; you'll find that
the work directory is ASN3.  Select Main Menu item number 3 (to submit a JCL
file), and you should see your pgm3.jcl file.  After submitting your job and
then fetching the output (Main Menu item number 5), you should see the output
in your ASN3 directory as file name jnnnn.x (where nnnn was the job number).
Double-click that output file to view it with Wordpad (or your viewer).

                                   Disclaimer

This distribution works for me, and while I hope it will work for you, too,
I can't guarantee it. Your mileage may vary, parental guidance is advised,
call before you dig, consult your doctor, action figures sold separately,
see a qualified tax professional, mind the gap, may contain peanuts,
no user serviceable parts inside, offer void in Nebraska, contents may have
settled, use at your own risk, etc.

If you discover any problems with this distribution (but not with MVSBATCH
itself), please let me know so that I can correct them.  Send me email at
mstack@niu.edu .

------------------------------------
Initial release, M Stack, 2006 Feb 3

 Name                    Last modified      Size  Description
 Parent Directory                             -   
 mvsb.zip                28-Mar-2007 20:10  132K