What to do when a Builder step completes with a Return Code = 8 with no messages indicating the reason.

Products

• Vision:Builder

Issue/Introduction

Vision Builder jobs sometimes fail with RC4 or a RC8: The return codes are not fully documented in the manual as complete as they could be.

Environment

Vision Builder r15

Resolution

As you may know, Vision Builder uses Return Codes in some non-standard ways.  The Vision Messages Guide explains some of it but this document will provide additional detail to assist in diagnostics.

 

Return code = 4 indicates an error.  

Return code = 8 indicates a sort was requested but not performed.

 

 

What to do when a Builder step completes with a Return Code = 8 with no messages indicating the reason.

 

Advantage™ VISION:Builder®

Advantage ™ VISION:Two™ for z/OS Messages Guide

Appendix A->Problem Resolution->VISION:Builder Termination Messages and Codes contains the explanation of condition code 8.  

 

This description has a bit more detail than the manual.

 

Condition         Processing Explanation
Code
8                      No sorting is required because the user either:
■ Specified X in position 28 (Sort Control) of the RC statement.
■ Specified Y in position 28 (Sort Control) of the RC statement.
■ Did not request a report file to be generated (RC statement
position 25 = blank).
■ Specified R or N in Scan/Terminate Control (RC statement
position 30) for sample reports.

 

Indications in the output a sort was requested and not performed.

CONTROL  SYSDATE 061402   LISTGEN SAMPLE

ORDER BY 

or

GROUP BY

 

The combination of the SAMPLE CONTROL statement with ORDER BY or GROUP BY will cause Condition Code 8 indicating a sort was requested but not performed.

 

Verification can be found in the generated ASLRC output

   RUN     STMT    FILE    O N S D U T R A B S D S L  RB  R S M R S
   NAME    TYPE    NAME    L E E I P R E U U R L C S  PL  J O O F S
                           D W Q R D N P D F T M N T  TK  T P P O R
-------------------------------------------------------------------
(ASLRC   ) (RC) (CUSTOMER)(S)         (S)       (R,G)          (R)

                                                 * 

The SAMPLE control card causes the R in the SCN column.  This is one of the conditions listed in the manual that causes the Condition Code 8.