Because I'm a follower of New Function APARs, I was happy to see closure for the APAR which is intended to remove one of my "Big Migs" for getting to z/OS V2.2, if you are running on z14. That /dev/random needed ICSF, as many system functions now do, was a bit of a surprise to some on z/OS V2.2.  So much so, that I made it a "Big Mig" to draw folks attention to it. 

Here's the APAR, if you want to look at that intended function.

But, this blog is really more about something bigger than that lovely APAR.  It's about how I was able to know about it early.  You see, I've been eating my own cooking, and subscribing to the New Function APAR notification on MyNotifications.  In that way, I was notified immediately when the APAR started closure.  A click from my email later to show me a couple of details on the APAR, and I was very pleased with what I see is planned to be closed.  

Note only do I get the daily email, I also look monthly for those that I might have missed in an email here.  (This link will redirect you (thankfully!) here.)  This website is updated in the middle of every month, and lets me do a little bit more organized "shopping" for new functions because it is intelligently organized in a spreadsheet I can filter on.  

With the new functions being added all the time in the service stream, it really does pay to keep an eye on this, even occasionally.  If you happen to be migrating from V2.1 to V2.3 and are running on z14, this one might have been a nice one to notice early.

-Marna  

#ibmaot