Grasp (spooler)
Open-knowledge reference entry
GRASP was a systems software package that provided spooling facilities for IBM mainframes: the IBM/370 running DOS/VS or DOS/VSE environment, and IBM/360 running DOS/360.
Overview
GRASP was a mainframe operating system enhancement available for DOS/360, DOS/VS, DOS/VSE, and some third-party compatible operating systems. Subsequent versions became known as GRASP/VS and GRASP/VSE.
It spooled (queued) input and output data, freeing programs from dependence on the speed of peripherals, such as printers and punched card equipment. GRASP was the first such spooler for IBM mainframes, although it later had competition from IBM's own POWER as well as DataCorp's Spooler.
GRASP manages both SYSIN (system input) and SYSOUT (system output) datasets. These are spooled datasets stored on direct-access storage devices (DASD), allowing input and output to be processed independently of the speed of physical devices such as card readers, printers, and card punches.
SYSIN and SYSOUT
SYSIN datasets contain spooled system input. Under DOS itself there is no native spooling support, so GRASP provides the system reader functions that queue input, typically from card readers, although magnetic tape can also be used. Many application programs conventionally expect their primary input on the ddname SYSIN. The term SYSIN is also used in OS JCL for the DD * and DD DATA statements, although those facilities are outside the DOS environment.
SYSOUT datasets contain spooled system output.
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