The REVIEW Public Domain Fullscreen
Browser, Editor and Utility Workbench
for TSO and TSS

Release 51.3 - 27th July 2024

Including RFE (Review Front End)

Download resources

These components are all at the latest available level. The release where each was last changed is shown to help you identify components that need to be refreshed.

• Read-Me, Sample JCL and Release Notes
  R51.3 (zipped XMIT)
• Source code
  R51.3 (zipped XMIT)
• z/OS executables
  R51.3 (zipped XMIT)
• MVS 3.8J executables
  R51.3 (zipped XMIT)
• TSO HELP members
  R51.0 (zipped XMIT)
• TSO CLISTs
  R51.0 (zipped XMIT)
• z/OS ISPF panels
  R48.3 (zipped XMIT)
• Sample pictures for 3270 graphics
  R44.0 (zipped XMIT)
• Release Notes
  R51.3 (web page)
• REVIEW FAQ
  R41.0 (web page)
• REVIEW CSECT CALL Structure
  R47.2 (SVG diagram)
• SHARE session from 2009
  R42.2 (PDF of slide deck)
• CBT Tape
  Executables (File 135) and The-Rest-Of-It (File 134).

• IBM's High-Level Assembler (HLASM) in a z/OS environment.
• Tachyon Legacy Assembler in an MVS 3.8J environment.

• TSO application for IBM z/OS.
• TSO application for IBM MVS Release 3.8.
• TSS application for Fujitsu MSP.

• IBM 3270-family terminals, including compatibles from various OEM vendors.
• Fujitsu F6680-family terminals when running under a Fujitsu Operating System. Fujitsu F9526 extensions are not used.
• Emulated terminals, including those with non-standard screen sizes.
• Acceptable number of screen lines is from 24 to 255 inclusive.
• Acceptable number of screen columns is any even number from 80 to 254 inclusive.
• 3270 and 6680 extended data stream capabilities can be used if present.

REVIEW was written in 1981 by Bill Godfrey in System/370 Assembler as a fullscreen browser before ISPF reached its height of popularity. Since 1984 REVIEW has been maintained by Greg Price, with the assistance of input from numerous contributors, and has been growing at a rate exceeding 2,000 lines of code per year.
 

So what can REVIEW do for you?

You can

• REVIEW data sets by data set name, either via the catalog, or by specifying the volume serial number.
• REVIEW data sets by data definition or file name. This is particularly useful for concatenated files and temporary data sets.
• REVIEW subsystem data sets. For example, CA-Librarian master files can be REVIEWed using the LAM subsystem.
• REVIEW VTOCs by specifying a data set name of FORMAT4.DSCB and the relevant volume serial number.
• REVIEW tape data sets with full interactive facilities available.
• REVIEW the system parameter library concatenation under OS/390 1.2 or later by specifying a file name of PARMLIB.
• REVIEW VVDS files with APF authorisation.
• REVIEW ICF Catalog BCS data sets with APF authorisation.
• REVIEW all sorts of VSAM clusters, components, paths and indices.
• REVIEW ASCII data.
• REVIEW HFS (UNIX) files.
• REVIEW several files in parallel and switch between them.

But REVIEW does more than let you access file data bytes on your screen. REVIEW can also format the data.

You can

• format SMF records with the SMF command.
• format SMF records with the ZOOM command.
• format LOGREC records with the EREP command.
• format any record layout with Assembler DC and DS source statements.
• format PDS directory entries including SSI, ISPF and PFD statistics, IMS details, and load module attributes.
• format PDSE program object directory entries including long member names and program attributes.
• format HFS directory entries. REVIEW provides explorer-like navigation access to the entire Hierarchical File System structure.
• format ZIP file directory entries and REVIEW the contents of zipped files in MVS data sets and z/OS UNIX files.
• format VTOC entries.
• view program compile, bind and zap history.
• view program section maps.
• view TRANSMIT data sets that are automatically reconstituted back into their original form.

REVIEW can also employ 3270 graphics to render images from ZSoft Paintbrush (.PCX) files (single-plane pictures with 1-bit, 4-bit or 8-bit colour only) and Windows and OS/2 Bitmap (.BMP) files (single plane pictures only), and from Graphics Interchange Files (.GIF) including interlaced and animated images.
 

REVIEW can do more than just display file data.

You can

• sort directory entries. (This was inspired by the FILELIST/FLIST/FILEL/FL family of commands under VM's CMS of over 30 years ago - well before ISPF did the sort member thing.)
• search all or selected members of a PDS, PDSE, or concatenation of partitioned data sets.
• search all or selected files in an HFS directory.
• invoke ISPF EDIT for any member or HFS file that ISPF can edit.
• invoke ISPF BROWSE for any member or HFS file.
• offload (ie. sequentialise) member contents with or without IEBUPDTE-like (PDSLOAD) control statements.
• offload load modules to a "card-image" file for restoration on a system without TSO/E TRANSMIT/RECEIVE.
• offload file data translating it from ASCII to EBCDIC.
• offload file data selectively based on data content.
• display HELP for TSO commands in fullscreen mode, with tranparent support for imbedded HELP control statements.
• use the REVEDIT editor to update sequential and partitioned data sets.
• conserve PDS disk space by updating members in place if the member size has not changed (for fixed-length records only).

If you install other software from the CBT tape additional powerful functions become available.

You can

• reload members previously offloaded by REVIEW or other utilities with the PDSLOAD program.
• reload load module members offloaded by REVIEW with the REVLMOD program.
• create object "decks" from load modules with the DELINKI program written by David Noon in PL/I.

• a particular feature added?
• advice to get some feature working?
• more information about a REVIEW function?
• to report a problem?
• to donate source code or other technical input?

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