Writing Rules › Using Variables in Rules › Status Variables › Using Dynamic Status Variable Names

Using Dynamic Status Variable Names

In rules, you can create status variable names from other variables and from constants. Therefore, you can dynamically create a status variable name so that a single logical status variable can reference or set several related status variables.

A dynamic status variable name can have these components:

• Other status variables
• Environmental variables (in message rules only)
• Unquoted text

Note: Always enclose the components of the dynamic status variable in parentheses. At execution time, CA Automation Point resolves all variables to form the actual variable name.

Example:

Suppose that your site sometimes has problems locating output tape volumes that are not in the tape library, because they are still mounted on a drive, sitting on top of a drive, or sitting on a cart to be returned to the tape library. The tape drive where the tape volume was last mounted is a good place to begin looking for the tape. z/OS issues the following message each time you dismount a tape volume:

IEF234E D 480,TEST1,,DSIPS11H,TAPEINIT

The following message rule uses a dynamic status variable to store the device address, date, and time for each tape volume as you dismount it:

MSGID(IEF234E), WHEN(&WORD4 NE ''),
  SET(&(DVOL_&WORD4)=&WORD3.&DATE.&TIME)

Using the example message IEF234E, the dynamic status variable name &(DVOL_&WORD4) becomes &DVOL_TEST1. Assuming that the date is 03/23/00 and the time is 10:55:46, CA Automation Point sets this status variable to the value 48003/23/0010:55:46.

When you dismount the next tape volume, the message rule executes again, and saves the new device address, date, and time in a status variable containing the name of the current tape volume. In this way, the same SET clause sets values to different status variables.