Techniques for varying the search process

We can widen or narrow the scope of our search or we can alter the keywords to make the search more precise.

To vary your search, follow these guidelines:

Dropping keywords to widen your search

If we used a complete set of keywords (as described in Building a keyword string ) and could not find any problem descriptions to examine, drop one or more of the following keywords and try again:

• Release-level keyword
• Load Module modifier keyword
• Recovery routine modifier keyword
• CSECT keyword

Adding keywords to narrow your search

If you tried to search with an incomplete set of keywords and found too many problem descriptions to examine, add keywords to narrow your search. For example, for storage manager abends (which produce a reason code beginning with X'00E2'), we use the CSECT name recorded in the VRA to narrow or vary the search.

Making your set of keywords more precise

If you tried to search with a complete set of keywords and found too many matching descriptions and if you received a 4-byte IBM MQ abend reason code, you might be able to make your set of keywords more precise. Look up the 4-byte abend reason code in IBM MQ for z/OS messages, completion, and reason codes to find additional information available for this problem.

Replacing keywords to locate problems

If your type-of-failure keyword is WAIT, LOOP, or PERFM, and if you did not find a matching problem description, replace that keyword with one of the other two listed here. Sometimes a problem that appears to be a performance problem might actually be a WAIT or LOOP; likewise, a problem that seems to be a WAIT or a LOOP might actually be recorded as a performance problem.

Use message numbers in your search

If your type-of-failure keyword is MSGx and you received more than one message near the time of the problem, repeat the search replacing the message number in the keyword with the number of each related message in turn.

Use DOC as a keyword in your search

If your type-of-failure keyword is MSGx, PERFM, or INCORROUT, and if the problem occurred immediately after you performed some action that an IBM MQ documentation told you to perform, the problem could be recorded as a DOC type of failure. In this case, try searching with DOC as your type-of-failure keyword, rather than with MSGx, PERFM, or INCORROUT.

Parent topic: The search argument process