Mainframe, MVS and zOS Discussion

Here are a couple of approaches you could consider to address this issue:

1. Modify Job Configuration: If the return code 4 is expected under certain conditions and does not actually indicate a critical error that needs addressing, you could modify the job's definition in CA7 to accept a return code of 4 as a successful completion for this particular step. This way, the job won't go into the abend queue for this return code.
2. Use CA7 Exception Handling: CA7 allows you to define exception handling rules. You can specify that if a job step ends with a specific return code (in your case, return code 4), it should be treated differently—such as marking it complete and continuing with the next steps without sending the job to the abend queue.
3. Pre-Processing Script: Consider adding a pre-processing step that checks the file before the main step executes. If the file is empty, the step can handle this gracefully—either by bypassing the step with a successful return code or by creating a default file content that allows the step to complete without error.
4. Post-Processing Actions: Implement a post-processing action that can check the return codes of individual steps. If the return code is 4 due to an empty file, the post-processing step can reset the job's overall return code to 0 (or another appropriate value) to indicate successful completion.

Hope this helps,

Thanks Anuj. We plan to chose option 4.

Thanks again for your help,