AS400 Objects / Object Type

Objects

Objects are the building block of AS/400. 

Almost each and everything in the AS/400 is an object. These include Library, commands, data files, compiled programs, user profiles, queues etc.

The AS/400 is sometimes described as an object based system because objects are a fundamental part of the design of the system.

An OS/400 object is a named unit that exists (occupies space) in storage, and on which operations are performed by the operating system.

Objects provide the means through which all data processing information is stored and processed by OS/400.

The most common examples of objects are files and programs. Other types of objects include commands, queues, libraries, and folders.

Objects on the system are identified by object name, object type, and the library in which the object resides. Each object on the system can be secured.

Object Types

The number of object types is huge and a small subset of them are available to users. The human readable form of the object type is always a three to six character mnemonic preceded by an asterisk. Following is a short list of the commonly used objects and their mnemonics:

• *LIB: Library.
• *PGM: Program (for compiled languages: CL, RPG-IV, C, C++, COBOL, etc.).
• *MODULE: Module.
• *SRVPGM: Service program .
• *BNDDIR: Binding directory (holds a list of modules and service programs and is used when creating programs).
• *CMD: Command (an object used for calling programs that allows users to prompt for their parameters; can be created with the Command Definition language).
• *MENU: Menu.
• *FILE: File.
• *DTAARA: Data area.
• *DIR: Directory.
• *JRN & *JRNRCV: Journal and journal receiver.
• *USRPRF: User profile.
• *JOBQ: Job queue.
• *DTAQ: Data queue.
• *MSGQ: Message queue.
• *OUTQ: Output queue.

You may found a complete list of Object types with Predefined values and default library here.
[Last Update 18/01/2014]