Category:Commands

Commands available in OS/400 both come with the 400 and can be added by programmers.

Command Structure

IBM supplies over 1,500 commands native to OS/400 that are composed of 3 letter abbreviations (usually 3 letters) of a compound combination of Verb-Object-Modifier as shown by examples below.

• DSPSFWRSC for example
  • DSP Display (verb)
  • SFW Software (object)
  • RSC Resources (modifier)
  • This refers to software from IBM that comes with OS/400

If you know part of the name of some command, you can use GO CMDxxx to get a menu of all commands which include xxx as part of the name.

• GO CMDSCDE for Scheduler

Verb

This is not a complete list.

If you know part of a command name, but forget the whole thing, key first few letters then * asterisk wild card to get list of all commands with that prefix.

• ADD to an object's contents
• CHG Change
• CLR Clear the contents of an object
• CRT Create an object
• DLT Delete an object
• DSP Display
• END
• HLD Hold
• RLS Release from Hold
• STR Start
• WRK Work with
  • Most WRK includes access to many other commands vs. same kind of objecrt, such as ADD CHG DEL

Object

After the verb comes what object type we going to do that verb to.

This is not a complete list.

• DTAARA Data Area
• F Files (see DB2 for structure info
  • PF Physical Files
  • LF Logical Files
  • DSPF Physical Files
• JOBQ
• LIB Library
• OUTQ
• PGM Programs
  • CLPGM for CLP
  • RPGPGM for RPG
  • CBLPGM for COBOL
• SPLF Spooled File
• STS Status
• SYSVAL System Value
• USRPRF User Profile

Modifier

Some of the Object examples above are actually two parts

• DSPMSG* shows that we have many commands with that prefix
  • DSPMSGF vs. Message Files (error messages and informational messages
  • DSPMSGQ vs. Message Queus
• DSPSYSSTS is an extreme summary of WRKSYSSTS data,
  • where SYS (System) is the object and STS (Status)is the modifier
  • we also find STS in DSKSTS (Disk Status) and CFGSTS (Configuration Status)

Command Syntax

File Commands

Useful commands for navigating the layout of files, and the contents of files.

• RUNQRY *N File-Name
• DSPLIB
• DSPFD
• DSPFFD
• DSPPFM
• DSPDBR
• GO CMDF