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System Values in AS/400

Why System Values

On the iSeries, all user and system data structures are held in objects (files, folders, libraries,menus, programs, user profiles, etc.). It is possible to see in the objects only via their defined interfaces. iSeries operates on object-level security. The iSeries comes with four major operating system components: Integrated Communications, Integrated Database, Integrated Work Management, and Integrated Security. The functions within the Integrated Security component protect all objects and data from unauthorized access. The iSeries has default values known as system values, which can be used to control the operations of the system. System values are a part of iSeries and cannot be created by a user. However, most can be changed to customize your system according to your requirements. System values are used as default parameters in many commands and object descriptions. Other system values control the operation of certain parts of the operating system.

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System values, *SYSVAL, are AS/400 attributes that allow each installation to customize the machine to the organizations own needs and specifications. Consider, for example, the differing needs of an AS/400 installed in China and one installed in Holland. Each machine would need different alphabet characters, different displays of the time and date, and probably different security levels and hardware.

Few Examples of System Values

Consider the date system value QDATE, which may be either a 5-digit or 6-digit field. A 6-digit field could hold a date such as 11-28-96, while a 5-digit field would be used for a Julian date. Julian dates have no days or months; instead, they contain a single value for the day of the year. For example, the first day of January expressed as a Julian date is 1, while December 31 is 365 (or 366 in a leap year). Another system value is QYEAR, which would hold only the year value in this example, 96. QDATFMT (an editing system value) defines how your machine will use the date value. Several options are available for this, including mm-dd-yy, used for most reports; yy/mm/dd, convenient for sorting; or dd:mm:yy, used in military format, and in many European countries. You can also customize the type of separators; the previous examples show three such options the hyphen, the dash, and the colon.
The time value, QTIME, represents the system time of day. It comprises three other system values, QHOUR, QMINUTE, and QSECOND. QHOUR is based on a 24-hour clock. For example, 1:00 p.m. is 13. The system value QCURSYM determines the currency symbol, which is country dependent; for example, the yen, lira, franc, and dollar use different symbols.

Changing System Values

A user must have proper authority to change a system value; in many installations only the security officer has sufficient authority to make these changes. However, operators must be aware of many of the nearly 100 system values, because these values provide a convenient method for modifying small portions of the operating system they control how a given command, or even the entire system, will perform. Particular system values control system performance; others define the security levels; yet others simply provide defaults to command options that were unspecified. System values can be divided into eight categories: Date/time, editing, system control items, library lists, allocations, message logging, storage values, and security values.

In order to access the complete list of system values for viewing or editing purposes, enter the command “WRKSYSVAL” at the command line prompt. If the user is authorized to access this menu, the “Work with System Values” menu will appear. The matrix of values contains the system value, the category that the value fits under (Security, Storage, System control, etc.), and a description of the value. The values can be changed by entering option 2 or just displayed by entering option 5. Once option 2 is selected to edit a particular value, the menu may allow the user to choose from the different options available to that value or the user will be able to type the value in a provided space. If option 5 is selected for viewing, the user typically will see the option currently set for the value, as well as all the options available with a short description. If the user edits the system value, a confirmation notice is displayed at the bottom of the screen upon returning to the “Work with System Values” menu.

Few Important System Value Definitions

There are many other system values that can strengthen or weaken the security surround an iSeries machine that the reader should take into consideration. There are over 130 system values and an almost endless amount of configurations for an iSeries machine.


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