SYSPRINT
The conventional DD name a program uses for its messages and report output.
Also written SYSIN, SYSUT1
SYSPRINT is a name, not a feature. By long convention, programs write their messages, listings and diagnostics to a file they call SYSPRINT, so nearly every step in nearly every job has a DD statement with that name.
Utilities use it for their reports: what they did, how many records they handled, and any errors. Compilers use it for the source listing and error messages. Sort programs use it for their statistics.
Usually it is directed to the spool with SYSOUT, so the output is there to read when the job ends. It can equally be sent to a dataset when the output needs to be kept or processed further.
Related names follow the same convention. SYSIN commonly supplies control statements to a program, and SYSUT1 and SYSUT2 are the traditional input and output names for utilities that copy data. Recognising these names saves time when reading unfamiliar JCL, because they tell you what each file is for before you read anything else.
Related terms
- SYSOUTOutput sent to the spool rather than to a dataset, where you can read it after the job finishes.
- DD statementThe JCL statement that connects a name inside a program to a real dataset outside it.
- Utility programA supplied program that performs a standard job such as copying, sorting, comparing or managing datasets, driven by control statements.
- SpoolThe system-managed holding area where job output waits to be read, printed or purged.
- IDCAMSThe utility used to create, list, copy and delete datasets, and the standard tool for anything involving VSAM.