High Level Assembler: Debugging and Maintenance.

This course covers the major OS/390 debugging techniques including dump reading.

The course is intended for:

• Experienced assembler programmers needing to extend their debugging and dump reading skills for the Assembler environment.

This overview comes in three parts, which are presented in sequence below:

1. Course Description
2. Course Objectives
3. Topical Outline

Course Description

Recommended Duration: 2 Days

Benefits: Students who complete this course will be able to write or maintain Assembler programs that involve subroutine linkages.
Students will also have a solid basis for debugging and dump reading Assembler programs.

Audience: Experienced Assembler programmers needing to learn additional debugging, or maintenance skills in the Assembler language environment.

Prerequisites: The student should have practice in coding and testing Assembler programs and should be familiar with the editor and the job submission and review facilities used in their installation.

Related IBM Materials. This course is drawn from these IBM manuals; access to them in the classroom is recommended but not required:

• GC28-1762 - Assembler Services Guide
• GC28-1910 - Assembler Services Reference
• SC26-4922 - Using Data Sets
• SC26-4913 - Macro Instructions for Data Sets
• SC26-4916 - Program Management

Major Topics Include:

• Program linkages and save areas
• Obtaining PARM data from the EXEC statement
• QSAM macros and processing
• SYNAD routines
• Subroutines and the Linkage Editor
• Debugging and dump reading
• The Program Binder
• The WTO and SNAP macros

Exercises: There are four hands-on exercises

Note 1:
This course is included, in its entirety, in High Level Assembler: Interfaces.

Note 2:
All course material is in American English. Oral explanation will be in English by default, but is also available in Dutch, German, and/or French.

This course description Copyright © 2001 by Steven H. Comstock. All rights reserved.

Course Objectives

On successful completion of this course, the student, with the aid of the appropriate reference materials, should be able to:

1. Follow standard OS/390 conventions regarding save area chaining and the passing and receiving of parameters
   
   
2. Debug most program ABENDs, using OS/390 full dumps or symptom dumps to track down problems
   
   
3. Write mainline programs and subroutines; use the Linkage Editor to combine mainline and subroutine programs
   
   
4. Use the Linkage Editor or Program Binder to maintain load modules by replacing existing CSECTs with new versions of these CSECTs
   
   
5. Use the WTO and SNAP macros for debugging purposes.

These course objectives Copyright © 2001 by Steven H. Comstock. All rights reserved.

Topical Outline

Day One

Program Linkages

• Program linkages and Save Areas
• SAVE and RETURN macros
• Obtaining the PARM value from EXEC statement
• I/O Linkages
• ABEND macro
• Computer Exercise: Program Linkages and QSAM Files

Subroutines and the Linkage Editor

• CSECTs and the Linkage Editor
• Assemble, Link Edit, and Run Data Flow
• Assembler PARMs
• Subroutines
• CALL macro
• Linkage Editor
• Passing and receiving parameters
• Computer Exercise: Subroutine Linkages

More on the Linkage Editor

• Computer Exercise: The Linkage Editor and Maintenance

Introduction to Debugging

• Computer Exercise: ONION

Day Two

Guidelines for Debugging

• Program Termination
• Sources of Information
• IBM Publications
• BookManager
• READMVS
• Quick Reference
• Messages and Clues
• Common System Completion Codes
• MVS, OS/390 Dispatching
• Load Modules and Dumps
• Dump Reading

Some System Services

• WTO and SNAP macros

This topical outline Copyright © 2001 by Steven H. Comstock. All rights reserved.

Remarks? Questions? More information? Select the topic of your choice or e-mail us with your questions.

To the Course Description
To the Course Objectives
To the Topical Outline

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