Skip to Main Content
IBM Z Software


This portal is to open public enhancement requests against IBM Z Software products. To view all of your ideas submitted to IBM, create and manage groups of Ideas, or create an idea explicitly set to be either visible by all (public) or visible only to you and IBM (private), use the IBM Unified Ideas Portal (https://ideas.ibm.com).


Shape the future of IBM!

We invite you to shape the future of IBM, including product roadmaps, by submitting ideas that matter to you the most. Here's how it works:

Search existing ideas

Start by searching and reviewing ideas and requests to enhance a product or service. Take a look at ideas others have posted, and add a comment, vote, or subscribe to updates on them if they matter to you. If you can't find what you are looking for,

Post your ideas
  1. Post an idea.

  2. Get feedback from the IBM team and other customers to refine your idea.

  3. Follow the idea through the IBM Ideas process.


Specific links you will want to bookmark for future use

Welcome to the IBM Ideas Portal (https://www.ibm.com/ideas) - Use this site to find out additional information and details about the IBM Ideas process and statuses.

IBM Unified Ideas Portal (https://ideas.ibm.com) - Use this site to view all of your ideas, create new ideas for any IBM product, or search for ideas across all of IBM.

ideasibm@us.ibm.com - Use this email to suggest enhancements to the Ideas process or request help from IBM for submitting your Ideas.

Status Not under consideration
Categories General DB
Created by Guest
Created on Apr 8, 2016

IMS catalog does not support the specification of PL/I BIT fields and BIT arrays

Take, for example, BIT2, BIT3, BIT4 and BIT58 in this PL/I data declaration:
DCL 1 RECORD_LAYOUT_01,
3 CHR5 CHAR(5),
3 BIT1 BIT(1),
3 BIT2 BIT(1),
3 BIT3 BIT(1),
3 BIT4 BIT(1),
3 BIT58 BIT(4),
3 CHR74 CHAR(74);
The IMS catalog does not support the specification of the offset of the bit within the byte and the length of the bit field.
PL/1 also supports BIT arrays both varying and static and the IMS catalog doesn't.

Idea priority Medium