Many of the SAS^® configuration files that are stored in the SASHOME directory on z/OS are in ASCII. It can be cumbersome to switch from ISPF option 3.17 to BA (Browse ASCII) or EA (Edit ASCII) on these files and then switch back to the OMVS shell to launch commands. This SAS Note offers an alternative to enable BA and EA functionality within the native OMVS shell.

Note: Ensure that your presentation space area is sufficient to fit all of the text when you paste as instructed below. In particular, if you use an emulator module with an 80-character width, the characters "$HOME/temp.conv" on the second iconv command are truncated. You can use the right command or the PF11 key to shift the screen right a few columns and enter the remainder of the line.

From the native OMVS shell (note that you must have started OMVS from the ISHELL, not from option 6, to use the oedit command):

1. Change to your $HOME path: cd $HOME
2. If you do not already have a $HOME/bin directory, create it with this command: mkdir bin
3. Change to the bin directory: cd bin or cd $HOME/bin
4. Create the BA shell script (note that you can use any name that you like in place of "ba"):
1. oedit ba
2. Within the Edit window, copy and paste the following and end:

   #!/bin/sh
   cnvto="$(locale codeset)"
   # export cnvto
   echo Session running with codeset $cnvto
   echo This will be used to view the ASCII file $1
   iconv -f ISO8859-1 -t $cnvto $1 > $HOME/temp.conv | obrowse $HOME/temp.conv
   rm $HOME/temp.conv
   

5. Create the EA shell script (again, you can use a different name if you prefer):

   Note: Do not change the obrowse command to oedit to create the EA shell script. This would cause the file permissions to be changed when saved. The following script lets you edit without changing the file permissions.

1. oedit ea
2. Within the Edit window, copy and paste the following and end:

   #!/bin/sh
   cnvto="$(locale codeset)"
   # Copy to temp.conv to maintain permissions
   #cp $1 $HOME/temp.conv
   # Make backup of original ASCII file which needs editing
   cp $1 $1.prev
   echo Session running with codeset $cnvto
   echo This will be used to EDIT the ASCII file $1
   # Convert from ASCII to session codeset then edit the file
   iconv -f ISO8859-1 -t $cnvto $1 > $HOME/temp.conv | oedit $HOME/temp.conv
   iconv -f $cnvto -t ISO8859-1 $HOME/temp.conv > $1
   rm $HOME/temp.conv
   

6. Use this command to verify that the permissions for the files are appropriate. ls -l
   The output looks something like this:

   $ ls -l
   total 32
   -rwxr-xr-x   1 userid   TSD          236 Jun  8  2012 ba
   -rwxr-xr-x   1 userid   TSD          466 Jun  8  2012 ea
   $
   

   This example shows that the owner (user ID) can read, write, and execute these files, and anyone else can read and execute them. You need permissions of rwx for Owner (you) and (optional) r-x for Group and Other. To set permissions so that anyone can execute these scripts, use the following commands:

   chmod 755 ea
   chmod 755 ba
   

At this point, you now have BA and EA shell scripts set up with appropriate permissions. If you would like to be able to use these scripts without specifying the entire path to the script, you can add the bin directory to the PATH environment variable for your OMVS session profile.

To add the bin directory to your OMVS session profile, do the following:

1. Change to your $HOME path: cd $HOME
2. Edit your .profile: oedit .profile
3. Add the following line so that your $HOME/bin is appended to the existing PATH environment variable:
export PATH=$PATH:$HOME/bin
4. Verify that permissions are RWX for Owner (you) and (optional) R-X for Group and Other. To set permissions as noted, execute the following:
   chmod 755 .profile

The path is not yet defined under this current OMVS shell session because .profile is invoked only when you first open the OMVS shell. To instantiate without exiting and re-entering the shell, execute the .profile file.

You now have the ability to BA (Browse ASCII) and EA (Edit ASCII) any ASCII file stored under your OMVS environment.

Operating System and Release Information

Product Family	Product	System	SAS Release
			Reported	Fixed*
SAS System	Base SAS	z/OS

* For software releases that are not yet generally available, the Fixed Release is the software release in which the problem is planned to be fixed.

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This note explains how to write a shell script to enable browsing and editing of ASCII files within the OMVS shell.

Type:	Usage Note
Priority:

Date Modified:	2013-01-02 13:46:29
Date Created:	2012-05-09 12:18:12