IBM Z® JCL Expert is a JCL checker tool for validating the syntax of JCL statements, procedures and jobs in the development environment already in use.

The IBM Z JCL Expert tool provides advanced JCL checking, including site standard conformance verification, by checking the JCL and utility parameter syntax online. Unlike other offerings, IBM Z JCL Expert performs JCL checking in the existing development environment. 

It provides a batch interface to check multiple JCLs simultaneously without impacting service-level commitments. Unlike other offerings, IBM Z JCL Expert provides a REST interface to automate the JCL checking and integrates it into IT automated processes. 

Features

• **Syntax checking control statements: **Validate the syntax of JCL and utility parameters to help ensure that application processing will have reduced interruptions and delays resulting from JCL errors.
• **Triggers to JCL checking and output reception: **Enhance a developer’s capabilities on existing familiar testing platforms for faster application code testing and delivery to production.
• **Straightforward run of site rules program: **Integrate the custom program that validates the site-specific JCL standards in the automated workflow to ensure that employees apply company-required policies consistently and accurately.
• **Security checks: **Validate that the submitter of a JCL check or a different user ID has the required access to data sets defined in the JCL, and Db2, if used in the JCL, has READ access to any data sets defined in JCLLIB.
• **Existence of referenced objects: **Validate the existence and availability of data set and Db2 plans used in the JCL to help ensure that application processing will have reduced interruptions and delays resulting from JCL errors.
• **Easy integration in a DevOps pipeline: **Enhance a DevOps engineer's capabilities to integrate the JCL check step into a DevOps pipeline process through the available CLI interfaces.

Benefits

• **Expertise to create and maintain JCL: **Quickly validate JCL before execution and expedite testing time in the existing development environments.
• **Reduced processing delays or missed SLAs: **Identify and correct JCL errors before being added to the scheduler for execution to help prevent execution-time failure and processing delays.
• **Verification of JCL correctness and compliance: **Validate site JCL coding standards to reduce errors and simplify problem diagnosis after mass updates due to workload moves or merges.