Asmg1025 PDF

High Level Assembler for z/OS & z/VM &
z/VSE
1.6
General Information
IBM
GC26-4943-06

Note
Before using this information and the product it supports, be sure to read the general information under
“Notices” on page 75.

This edition applies to IBM High Level Assembler for z/OS & z/VM & z/VSE, Release 6, Program Number 5696-234 and
to any subsequent releases until otherwise indicated in new editions. Make sure you are using the correct edition for the
level of the product.
Order publications through your IBM® representative or the IBM branch office serving your locality.
IBM welcomes your comments. For information on how to send comments, see “How to send your comments to IBM” on
page xiii.
When you send information to IBM, you grant IBM a nonexclusive right to use or distribute the information in any way it
believes appropriate without incurring any obligation to you.
© Copyright International Business Machines Corporation 1992, 2021.
US Government Users Restricted Rights – Use, duplication or disclosure restricted by GSA ADP Schedule Contract with
IBM Corp.
Contents
Figures................................................................................................................ vii
Tables.................................................................................................................. ix
About this manual................................................................................................ xi

Who should use this manual....................................................................................................................... xi
Organization of this manual........................................................................................................................ xi
High Level Assembler documents..............................................................................................................xii
Publications...........................................................................................................................................xii
Related publications............................................................................................................................ xiii
How to send your comments to IBM.........................................................................................................xiii
If you have a technical problem.......................................................................................................... xiii
Chapter 1. What's new in High Level Assembler release 6....................................... 1
Chapter 2. Introduction to High Level Assembler.................................................... 3

Language compatibility................................................................................................................................ 3
Highlights of High Level Assembler............................................................................................................. 3
The Toolkit Feature...................................................................................................................................... 4
Planning for High Level Assembler.............................................................................................................. 4
Chapter 3. Assembler language extensions............................................................ 5

Additional assembler instructions...............................................................................................................5
Revised assembler instructions...................................................................................................................5
2-Byte relocatable address constants........................................................................................................ 7
Character set support extensions............................................................................................................... 7
Standard character set........................................................................................................................... 7
Double-byte character set..................................................................................................................... 8
Translation table.....................................................................................................................................8
Unicode support..................................................................................................................................... 8
Assembler language syntax extensions...................................................................................................... 8
Blank lines.............................................................................................................................................. 8
Comment statements.............................................................................................................................8
Mixed-case input.................................................................................................................................... 9
Continuation lines...................................................................................................................................9
Continuation lines and double-byte data.............................................................................................. 9
Continuation error warning messages................................................................................................... 9
Symbol length.........................................................................................................................................9
Underscore........................................................................................................................................... 10
Literals.................................................................................................................................................. 10
Levels within expressions..........................................................................................................................10
Generalized object format modules (z/OS and CMS)............................................................................... 10
Extended addressing support................................................................................................................... 10
Addressing mode (AMODE) and residence mode (RMODE)............................................................... 10
Channel Command Words (CCW0 and CCW1).................................................................................... 11
Programming sectioning and linking controls...........................................................................................11
Read-only control sections.................................................................................................................. 12
Association of code and data areas..................................................................................................... 12
Multiple location counters................................................................................................................... 12
iii
External dummy sections.....................................................................................................................12
Number of external symbols................................................................................................................12
Addressing extensions...............................................................................................................................13
Labeled USINGs and qualified symbols.............................................................................................. 13
Dependent USINGs.............................................................................................................................. 14
Specifying assembler options in external file or library member.............................................................14
Specifying assembler options in the source program......................................................................... 14
IBM-supplied default assembler options................................................................................................. 15
Chapter 4. Macro and conditional assembly language extensions......................... 17

The macro language...................................................................................................................................17
General advantages in using macros................................................................................................... 17
Assembler editing of the macro definition.......................................................................................... 18
Macro language extensions....................................................................................................................... 18
Redefining macros................................................................................................................................18
Inner macro definitions........................................................................................................................18
Generated macro instruction operation codes....................................................................................19
Multilevel sublists in macro instruction operands...............................................................................19
Macro instruction name entries........................................................................................................... 20
DBCS language support....................................................................................................................... 20
Source stream input—AREAD...............................................................................................................21
Source stream insertion—AINSERT..................................................................................................... 22
Macro definition listing control—ASPACE and AEJECT........................................................................22
Other macro language extensions....................................................................................................... 22
Conditional assembly language extensions.............................................................................................. 23
External function calls..........................................................................................................................23
Built-in functions.................................................................................................................................. 23
AIF instruction......................................................................................................................................23
AGO instruction.................................................................................................................................... 24
Extended continuation statements......................................................................................................24
SET symbols and SETx statements......................................................................................................24
Substring length value..........................................................................................................................26
Attribute references............................................................................................................................. 27
Redefining conditional assembly instructions.....................................................................................29
System variable symbols..................................................................................................................... 30
&SYSTIME and the AREAD statement................................................................................................. 31
Chapter 5. Using exits to complement file processing ...........................................33

User exit types .......................................................................................................................................... 33
How to supply a user exit to the assembler ............................................................................................. 34
Passing data to I/O exits from the assembler source ..............................................................................34
Statistics ....................................................................................................................................................34
Disabling an exit ........................................................................................................................................ 34
Communication between exits ................................................................................................................. 34
Reading edited macros (z/VSE only) ........................................................................................................ 34
Sample exits provided with High Level Assembler (z/OS and CMS) ........................................................35
Chapter 6. Programming and diagnostic aids........................................................ 37

Assembler listings......................................................................................................................................37
Option summary................................................................................................................................... 38
External Symbol Dictionary..................................................................................................................41
Source and object.................................................................................................................................42
Relocation dictionary........................................................................................................................... 44
Ordinary symbol and literal cross-reference....................................................................................... 45
Unreferenced symbols defined in CSECTs...........................................................................................47
General Purpose Register cross-reference......................................................................................... 47
Macro and copy code source summary............................................................................................... 48
iv
Macro and copy code cross-reference.................................................................................................49
DSECT cross-reference........................................................................................................................ 50
USING map........................................................................................................................................... 50
Diagnostic cross-reference and assembler summary.........................................................................52
Improved page-break handling........................................................................................................... 53
Macro-generated statements....................................................................................................................53
Sequence field in macro-generated statements................................................................................. 54
Format of macro-generated statements............................................................................................. 54
Macro-generated statements with PRINT NOGEN............................................................................. 54
Diagnostic messages in macro assembly..................................................................................................55
Error messages for a library macro definition..................................................................................... 55
Error messages for source program macro definitions....................................................................... 56
Terminal output..........................................................................................................................................56
Input/output enhancements..................................................................................................................... 56
CMS interface command............................................................................................................................57
Macro trace facility (MHELP)..................................................................................................................... 57
Abnormal termination of assembly........................................................................................................... 58
Diagnosis facility........................................................................................................................................ 58
Chapter 7. Associated Data Architecture.............................................................. 59
Chapter 8. Factors improving performance........................................................... 61
Appendix A. Assembler options........................................................................... 63
Appendix B. System variable symbols.................................................................. 67
Appendix C. Hardware and software requirements............................................... 71

Hardware requirements.............................................................................................................................71
Software requirements.............................................................................................................................. 71
Assembling under z/OS............................................................................................................................. 71
Assembling under VM/CMS....................................................................................................................... 72
Assembling under z/VSE............................................................................................................................73
Notices................................................................................................................75
Trademarks................................................................................................................................................ 76
Bibliography........................................................................................................ 77
Index.................................................................................................................. 79
v
vi
Figures
1. LOCTR instruction application.................................................................................................................... 12
2. Editing inner macro definitions................................................................................................................... 19
3. AREAD assembler operation.......................................................................................................................21
4. Option summary including options specified on *PROCESS statements.................................................. 40
5. External Symbol Dictionary.........................................................................................................................42
6. Source and object listing section—121 format...........................................................................................43
7. Source and object listing section—133 format...........................................................................................44
8. Relocation dictionary.................................................................................................................................. 44
9. Ordinary symbol and literal cross-reference..............................................................................................46
10. Unreferenced symbols defined in CSECTS...............................................................................................47
11. General Purpose Register cross-reference.............................................................................................. 47
12. Macro and copy code source summary.................................................................................................... 48
13. Macro and copy code cross-reference..................................................................................................... 49
14. Macro and copy code cross reference - with LIBMAC option.................................................................. 49
15. DSECT cross-reference............................................................................................................................. 50
16. USING map................................................................................................................................................50
17. Diagnostic cross-reference and assembler summary............................................................................. 52
18. Format of macro-generated statements.................................................................................................. 54
19. The effect of the PRINT NOGEN instruction.............................................................................................55
20. Macro definition with format error............................................................................................................55
21. Error messages for a library macro definition.......................................................................................... 56
22. Sample terminal output in the NARROW format......................................................................................56
23. Sample terminal output in the WIDE format............................................................................................56
vii
viii
Tables
1. IBM High Level Assembler for z/OS & z/VM & z/VSE documents...............................................................xii
2. Changes to High Level Assembler default options.....................................................................................15
3. Multilevel sublists........................................................................................................................................20
4. Data attributes.............................................................................................................................................27
5. Flags used in the option summary..............................................................................................................41
6. Assembler input/output devices (z/OS)..................................................................................................... 72
7. Assembler input/output devices (CMS)......................................................................................................73
8. Assembler input/output devices (VSE).......................................................................................................74
ix
x
Who should use this manual
About this manual

This book contains general information about IBM High Level Assembler for z/OS® & z/VM® & z/VSE® ,
Licensed Program 5696-234, hereafter referred to as High Level Assembler, or simply the assembler.
This book is designed to help you evaluate High Level Assembler for your data processing operation and
to plan for its use.
Who should use this manual

HLASM General Information helps data processing managers and technical personnel evaluate High Level
Assembler for use in their organization. This manual also provides an introduction to the High Level
Assembler Language for system programmers and application programmers.
The assembler language supported by High Level Assembler has functional extensions to the languages
supported by Assembler H Version 2 and DOS/VSE Assembler. To fully appreciate the features offered by
High Level Assembler you should be familiar with either Assembler H Version 2 or DOS/VSE Assembler.
Organization of this manual

This manual is organized as follows:
• Chapter 1, “What's new in High Level Assembler release 6,” on page 1, gives a summary of the
features and enhancements introduced in High Level Assembler Release 5.
• Chapter 2, “Introduction to High Level Assembler,” on page 3, gives a summary of the main
features of the assembler and its purpose.
• Chapter 3, “Assembler language extensions,” on page 5, describes the major extensions to the
basic assembler language provided by High Level Assembler, and not available in earlier assemblers.
• Chapter 4, “ Macro and conditional assembly language extensions,” on page 17, briefly describes
some of the features of the macro and conditional assembly language, and the extensions to the macro
and conditional assembly language provided by High Level Assembler that were not available in earlier
assemblers.
• Chapter 5, “Using exits to complement file processing ,” on page 33, describes the facilities in the
assembler to support user-supplied input/output exits, and how these might be used to complement
the output produced by High Level Assembler.
• Chapter 6, “Programming and diagnostic aids,” on page 37, describes the many assembly listing
and diagnostic features that High Level Assembler provides to help in the development of assembler
language programs and the location and analysis of program errors.
• Chapter 7, “Associated Data Architecture,” on page 59, gives a summary of the Associated Data
Architecture, and the associated data file produced by High Level Assembler.
• Chapter 8, “Factors improving performance,” on page 61, describes some of the methods used by
High Level Assembler to improve performance relative to earlier assemblers.
• Appendix A, “Assembler options,” on page 63, lists and describes the assembler options you can
specify with High Level Assembler.
• Appendix B, “System variable symbols,” on page 67, lists and describes the system variable
symbols provided by High Level Assembler.
• Appendix C, “Hardware and software requirements,” on page 71, provides information about the
operating system environments in which High Level Assembler will operate.
• The “Bibliography” on page 77 lists other IBM publications which may serve as a useful reference to
this book.
Throughout this book, we use these indicators to identify platform-specific information:
© Copyright IBM Corp. 1992, 2021 xi

• Prefix the text with platform-specific text (for example, "Under CMS…")
• Add parenthetical qualifications (for example, "(CMS)")
• A definition list, for example:
z/OS
Informs you of information specific to z/OS.
z/VM
Informs you of information specific to z/VM.
z/VSE
Informs you of information specific to z/VSE.
CMS is used in this manual to refer to Conversational Monitor System on z/VM.
High Level Assembler documents

This section describes the High Level Assembler publications. Each publication applies to High Level
Assembler on the z/OS, z/VM, z/VSE, and Linux® on IBM Z® operating systems.
Publications
Here are the High Level Assembler documents. The table shows tasks, and which document can help you
with that particular task. Then there is a list showing each document and a summary of its contents.
Table 1. IBM High Level Assembler for z/OS & z/VM & z/VSE documents
Task Document Order Number
Evaluation and HLASM V1R6 General Information GC26-4943
Planning
Installation and HLASM V1R6 Installation and Customization Guide SC26-3494
customization
HLASM V1R6 Programmer's Guide SC26-4941
HLASM V1R6 Toolkit Feature Installation and Customization GC26-8711
Guide
Application HLASM V1R6 Programmer's Guide SC26-4941
Programming
HLASM V1R6 Language Reference SC26-4940
HLASM V1R6 Toolkit Feature User's Guide GC26-8710
HLASM V1R6 Toolkit Feature Interactive Debug Facility User's GC26-8709
Guide
Diagnosis HLASM V1R6 Installation and Customization Guide SC26-3494
HLASM General Information

Introduces you to the High Level Assembler product by describing what it does and which of your data
processing needs it can fill. It is designed to help you evaluate High Level Assembler for your data
processing operation and to plan for its use.
HLASM Installation and Customization Guide
Contains the information you need to install and customize, and diagnose failures in, the High Level
Assembler product.
The diagnosis section of the book helps users determine if a correction for a similar failure has been
documented previously. For problems not documented previously, the book helps users to prepare
an APAR. This section is for users who suspect that High Level Assembler is not working correctly
because of some defect.
xii High Level Assembler for z/OS & z/VM & z/VSE: HLASM V1R6 General Information
HLASM Language Reference

Presents the rules for writing assembler language source programs to be assembled using High Level
Assembler.
HLASM Programmer's Guide
Describes how to assemble, debug, and run High Level Assembler programs.
HLASM Toolkit Feature Installation and Customization Guide
Contains the information you need to install and customize, and diagnose failures in, the High Level
Assembler Toolkit Feature.
HLASM Toolkit Feature User's Guide
Describes how to use the High Level Assembler Toolkit Feature.
HLASM Toolkit Feature Interactive Debug Facility Reference Summary
Contains a reference summary of the High Level Assembler Interactive Debug Facility.
HLASM Toolkit Feature Interactive Debug Facility User's Guide
Describes how to use the High Level Assembler Interactive Debug Facility.
For more information about High Level Assembler, see the IBM Documentation site, at https://
www.ibm.com/support/knowledgecenter/SSENW6
Related publications
See “Bibliography” on page 77 for a list of publications that supply information you might need while
using High Level Assembler.
How to send your comments to IBM

Your feedback is important in helping to provide the most accurate and high-quality information. If you
have any comments about this book, use IBM Documentation to comment.
When you send us comments, you grant to IBM a nonexclusive right to use or distribute the information in
any way it believes appropriate without incurring any obligation to you.
If you have a technical problem

Do not use the feedback methods listed above. Instead, do one of the following:
• Contact your IBM service representative
• Call IBM technical support
• Visit the IBM support web page
About this manual xiii

xiv High Level Assembler for z/OS & z/VM & z/VSE: HLASM V1R6 General Information
What's new in High Level Assembler release 6
Chapter 1. What's new in High Level Assembler

release 6
High Level Assembler Release 6 provides these enhancements over High Level Assembler Release 5:
Changed Assembler instructions
• New QY-type and SY-type address constants provide resolution into long-displacement.
• Support for three decimal floating-point data types, increasing instruction addressability and reducing
the need for additional instructions.
Unified Opcode table
• OPTABLE option
– The OPTABLE option is permitted on the *PROCESS statement.
Mnemonic tagging
• Suffix tags for instruction mnemonics let you use identically-named macro instructions and machine
instructions in the same source program.
New features
• High Level Assembler for Linux on z Systems®
• Support for IBM Z processors up to IBM z14®.
New options
• WORKFILE
Changed assembler instructions
• DC/DS
– Decimal floating-point constants
– Unsigned binary constants
Changed assembler statements
• OPTABLE option for ACONTROL
Services Interface
• HLASM Services Interface for I/O exits added
Miscellany
• Qualifiers identified in symbol cross-reference.
• References to System z® have been changed to IBM Z.
High Level Assembler Release 6 requires processors supporting z/Architecture® (Architecture Level
Set 2 or later), executing either in z/Architecture mode or (for CMS) in ESA/390 mode.
For example:
• zSeries z900, z990, and z800 servers (or compatible) and later IBM Z systems.
For details, see https://www.ibm.com/it-infrastructure/z/hardware.
© Copyright IBM Corp. 1992, 2021 1

What's new in High Level Assembler release 6
2 High Level Assembler for z/OS & z/VM & z/VSE: HLASM V1R6 General Information
Language compatibility
Chapter 2. Introduction to High Level Assembler
High Level Assembler is an IBM licensed program that helps you develop programs and subroutines to
provide functions not typically provided by other symbolic languages, such as COBOL, FORTRAN, and
PL/I.
Language compatibility
The assembler language supported by High Level Assembler has functional extensions to the languages
supported by Assembler H Version 2 and DOS/VSE Assembler. High Level Assembler uses the same
language syntax, function, operation, and structure as these earlier assemblers. The functions provided
by the Assembler H Version 2 macro facility are all provided by High Level Assembler.
Migration from Assembler H Version 2 or DOS/VSE Assembler to High Level Assembler requires an
analysis of existing assembler language programs to ensure that they do not contain macro instructions
with names that conflict with the High Level Assembler symbolic operation codes, or SET symbols with
names that conflict with the names of High Level Assembler system variable symbols.
With the exception of these possible conflicts, and with appropriate High Level Assembler option values,
assembler language source programs written for Assembler H Version 2 or DOS/VSE Assembler, that
assemble without warning or error diagnostic messages, should assemble correctly using High Level
Assembler.
High Level Assembler, like its predecessor Assembler H Version 2, can assemble source programs that
use the following machine instructions:
• S/370
• System/370 Extended Architecture (370-XA)
• Enterprise Systems Architecture/370 (ESA/370)
• Enterprise Systems Architecture/390 (ESA/390)
• z/Architecture
The set of machine instructions that you can use in an assembler source program depend upon which
operation code table you use for the assembly.
Highlights of High Level Assembler

High Level Assembler is a functional replacement for Assembler H Version 2 and DOS/VSE Assembler.
It offers all the proven facilities provided by these earlier assemblers, and many new facilities
designed to improve programmer productivity and simplify assembler language program development
and maintenance.
Some of the highlights of High Level Assembler are:
• Extensions to the basic assembler language
• Extensions to the macro and conditional assembly language, including external function calls and
built-in functions
• Enhancements to the assembly listing, including a new macro and copy code member cross-reference
section, and a new section that lists all the unreferenced symbols defined in CSECTs.
• New assembler options
• A new associated data file, the ADATA file, containing both language-dependent and language-
independent records that can be used by debugging and other tools
• A DOS operation code table to assist in migration from DOS/VSE Assembler
• The use of 31-bit addressing for most working storage requirements

The Toolkit Feature
• A generalized object format data set

• Internal performance enhancements and diagnostic capabilities
This book contains a summary of information designed to help you evaluate the High Level Assembler
licensed product. For more detailed information, see HLASM Programmer's Guide and HLASM Language
Reference.
The Toolkit Feature

The optional High Level Assembler Toolkit Feature provides a powerful and flexible set of tools to improve
application recovery and development. The tools include the Cross-Reference Facility, the Program
Understanding Tool, the Disassembler, the Interactive Debug Facility, Enhanced SuperC, and an extensive
set of Structured Programming Macros.
Planning for High Level Assembler

The assembler language and macro language extensions provided by High Level Assembler include
functional extensions to those provided by Assembler H Version 2 and the DOS/VSE assembler. The
following chapters and appendices help you evaluate these extensions, and plan the installation and
customization process. They include:
• A description of the language differences and enhancements that will help you decide if there are any
changes you need to make to existing programs.
• A summary of the assembler options to help you decide which ones are appropriate to your installation.
• A summary of the system variable symbols to help you determine if they conflict with symbols already
defined in your programs.
• A description of the hardware and software required to install and run High Level Assembler.
Additional assembler instructions
Chapter 3. Assembler language extensions
The instructions, syntax and coding conventions of the assembler language supported by High Level
Assembler include functional extensions to those supported by Assembler H Version 2 and DOS/VSE
Assembler. This chapter describes the most important of those extensions, and the language differences
between High Level Assembler and the earlier assemblers.
Additional assembler instructions

The following additional assembler instructions are provided with High Level Assembler:
*PROCESS statement:
The *PROCESS statement lets you specify assembler options in the assembler source program. See
“Specifying assembler options in the source program” on page 14.
ACONTROL instruction:
The ACONTROL instruction lets you change many assembler options within a program.
ADATA instruction:
The ADATA instruction allows user records to be written to the associated data file.
ALIAS instruction:
The ALIAS instruction lets you replace an external symbol name with a string of up to 64 bytes.
CEJECT instruction:
The CEJECT instruction allows page ejects to be done conditionally, under operand control.
CATTR instruction (z/OS and CMS):
You can use the CATTR instruction to establish a program object external class name, and assign
binder attributes for the class. This instruction is only valid when you specify the GOFF assembler
option to produce generalized object format modules. See “Generalized object format modules (z/OS
and CMS)” on page 10. By establishing the deferred load attribute, text is not loaded when the
program is brought into storage, but is partially loaded, for fast access when it is requested.
EXITCTL instruction:
The EXITCTL instruction allows data to be passed from the assembler source to any of the input/
output user exits. See Chapter 5, “Using exits to complement file processing ,” on page 33.
RSECT instruction:
The RSECT instruction defines a read-only control section. See “Read-only control sections” on page
12.
XATTR instruction (z/OS and CMS):
The XATTR instruction enables attributes to be assigned to an external symbol. The instruction is only
valid when you specify the GOFF assembler option to produce generalized object format modules. See
“Generalized object format modules (z/OS and CMS)” on page 10. The linkage conventions for the
symbol are established using this instruction.
Revised assembler instructions

Several assembler instructions used in earlier assemblers have been extended in High Level Assembler.
CNOP instruction:
Symbols in the operand field of a CNOP instruction do not need to be previously defined.
The operands of the CNOP instruction are extended to allow for any ‘boundary’ operand that is a
power of 2, from 4 up to the value of the SECTALGN option. Valid values for the ‘byte’ operand are
even numbers from 0, to 2 less than the ‘boundary’ operand, inclusive. For example, a SECTALGN
value of 4096 allows ‘boundary’ values from 4 to 4096 with allowable values of the byte operand of 0
to 4094 inclusive. Note that any present use of CNOP may generate different object code and ADATA
output but the new object code will not change the execution.

Revised assembler instructions
COPY instruction:
Any number of nestings (COPY instructions within code that has been brought into your program by
another COPY instruction) is permitted. However, recursive COPY instructions are not permitted.
A variable symbol that has been assigned a valid ordinary symbol may be used as the operand of a
COPY instruction in open code:
&VAR SETC 'LIBMEM'

COPY &VAR
+ COPY LIBMEM Generated Statement
DC instruction:
The DC instruction has been enhanced to cater for the new binary and decimal floating-point
numbers, Unicode character constants, and doubleword fixed-point and A-type address constants.
As well, the J-type, Q-type and R-type address constants have been added.
A new data type, CA, has been added to indicate an ASCII character constant type to be represented.
This constant is not modified by the TRANSLATE option. The CE data type generates an EBCDIC
constant that is not modified by the TRANSLATE option.
A new subfield has been added for the program type of symbol.
DROP instruction:
The DROP instruction now lets you end the domain of labeled USINGs and labeled dependent
USINGs. See “Labeled USINGs and qualified symbols” on page 13 and “Dependent USINGs” on
page 14.
DS instruction:
A new subfield has been added for the program type of symbol.
DXD instruction:
The DXD instruction now aligns external dummy sections to the most restrictive alignment of the
specified operands (instead of that of the first operand).
EQU instruction:
Symbols appearing in the first operand of the EQU instruction do not need to be previously defined. In
the following example, both WIDTH and LENGTH can be defined later in the source code:
Name Operation Operand
VAL EQU 40-WIDTH+LENGTH
Two new operands are provided for the EQU instruction, a program-type operand, and an assembler-
type operand.
ISEQ instruction:
Sequence checking of any column on input records is allowed.
OPSYN instruction:
You can code OPSYN instructions anywhere in your source module.
ORG instruction:
Two new operands are provided for the ORG statement that will specify the boundary and offset to be
used to set the location counter.
The BOUNDARY operand is an absolute expression that must be a power of 2 with a range from 8
(doubleword) to 4096 (page).
The OFFSET operand is any absolute expression.
If BOUNDARY and/or OFFSET are used, then the resultant location counter will be calculated by
rounding the expression up to the next higher BOUNDARY and then adding the OFFSET value.
POP instruction:
An additional operand, NOPRINT, can be specified with the POP instruction to cause the assembler to
suppress the printing of the specified POP statement. The operand ACONTROL saves the ACONTROL
status.
2-Byte relocatable address constants
PRINT instruction:
Seven additional operands can be specified with the PRINT instruction. They are:
MCALL | NOMCALL
The MCALL operand instructs the assembler to print nested macro call instructions.
The NOMCALL operand suppresses the printing of nested macro call instructions.
MSOURCE | NOMSOURCE
The MSOURCE operand causes the assembler to print the source statements generated during
macro processing, as well as the assembled addresses and generated object code of the
statements.
The NOMSOURCE operand suppresses the printing of the generated source statements, but does
not suppress the printing of the assembled addresses and generated object code.
UHEAD | NOUHEAD
The UHEAD operand causes the assembler to print a summary of active USINGs following the
TITLE line on each page of the source and object program section of the assembler listing.
The NOUHEAD operand suppresses the printing of this summary.
NOPRINT
The NOPRINT operand causes the assembler to suppress the printing of the PRINT statement that
is specified.
The assembler has changed the way generated object code is printed in the assembler listing when
the PRINT NOGEN instruction is used. Now the object code for the first generated instruction, or the
first 8 bytes of generated data is printed in the object code column of the listing on the same line
as the macro call instruction. The DC, DS, DXD, and CXD instructions can cause the assembler to
generate zeros as alignment data. With PRINT NOGEN the generated alignment data is not printed in
the listing.
PUSH instruction:
An additional operand, NOPRINT, can be specified with the PUSH instruction to cause the assembler
to suppress the printing of the specified PUSH statement. The operand ACONTROL restores the
ACONTROL status.
USING statements:
Labeled USINGs and dependent USINGs provide you with enhanced control over the resolution of
symbolic expressions into base-displacement form with specific base registers. Dependent USINGs
can be labeled or unlabeled.
The end of range parameter lets you specify a range for the USING statement, rather than accepting
the default range. See “Labeled USINGs and qualified symbols” on page 13 and “Dependent
USINGs” on page 14.
2-Byte relocatable address constants

The assembler now accepts 2 as a valid length modifier for relocatable A-type address constants, such
as AL2(*). A 2-byte, relocatable, A-type address constant is processed in the same way as a Y-type
relocatable address constant, except that no boundary alignment is provided.
Character set support extensions

High Level Assembler provides support for both standard single-byte characters and double-byte
characters.
Standard character set

The standard character set used by High Level Assembler is EBCDIC. A subset of the EBCDIC character
set can be used to code terms and expressions in assembler language statements.
Chapter 3. Assembler language extensions 7

Assembler language syntax extensions
In addition, all EBCDIC characters can be used in comments and remarks, and anywhere that characters
can appear between paired single quotation marks.
Double-byte character set

In addition to the standard EBCDIC set of characters, High Level Assembler accepts double-byte
character set (DBCS) data.
When the DBCS option is specified, High Level Assembler accepts double-byte data as follows:
• Double-byte data, optionally mixed with single-byte data, is permitted in:
– The nominal value of character (C-type) constants and literals
– The value of character (C-type) self-defining terms
– The operand of MNOTE, PUNCH and TITLE statements
• Pure double-byte data is supported by:
– The pure DBCS (G-type) constant and literal
– The pure DBCS (G-type) self-defining term
Double-byte data in source statements must always be bracketed by the shift-out (SO) and shift-in (SI)
characters to distinguish it from single-byte data.
Double-byte data is supported in the operands of the AREAD and REPRO statements, and in comments
and remarks, regardless of the invocation option. Double-byte data assigned to a SETC variable symbol by
an AREAD statement contain the SO and SI.
Translation table
In addition to the standard EBCDIC set of characters, High Level Assembler can use a user-specified
translation table to convert the characters contained in character (C-type) data constants (DCs) and
literals. High Level Assembler provides a translation table to convert the EBCDIC character set to the
ASCII character set. The assembler can also use a translation table supplied by the programmer.
Unicode support
High Level Assembler can be used to create Unicode character constants. The CODEPAGE option selects
which codepage to use and the CU constant is used to define the data that will be translated into the
Unicode.

The syntax of the assembler language deals with the structure of individual elements of any instruction
statement, and with the order that the elements are presented in that statement. Several syntactical
elements of earlier assembler languages are extended in the High Level Assembler language.
Blank lines
High Level Assembler allows blank lines to be used in the source program. In open code, each blank line is
treated as equivalent to a SPACE 1 statement. In the body of a macro definition, each blank line is treated
as equivalent to an ASPACE 1 statement.
Comment statements
A macro comment statement consists of a period in the begin column, followed by an asterisk, followed by
any character string. An open code comment consists of an asterisk in the begin column followed by any
character string.
High Level Assembler allows open code statements to use the macro comment format, and processes
them like an open code comment statement.
Mixed-case input
High Level Assembler allows mixed-case input statements, and maintains the case when it produces the
assembler listing. You can use the COMPAT and FOLD assembler options to control how the assembler
treats mixed-case input.
Continuation lines
You are allowed as many as nine continuation lines for most ordinary assembler language statements.
However, you are allowed to specify as many continuation lines as you need for the following statements:
• Macro prototype statements
• Macro instruction statements
• The AIF, AGO, SETx, LCLx, and GBLx conditional assembly instructions.
When you specify the FLAG(CONT) assembler option, the assembler issues new warning messages if it
suspects that a continuation statement might be incorrect.
Continuation lines and double-byte data

If the assembler is called with the DBCS option, then:
• When an SI occurs in the end column of a continued line, and an SO occurs in the continue column of
the next line, the SI and SO are considered redundant and are removed from the statement before the
statement is analyzed.
• An extended continuation indicator provides you with a flexible end column on a line-by-line basis so
that any alignment of double-byte data in a source statement can be supported.
Continuation error warning messages

The FLAG(CONT) assembler option directs the assembler to issue warning messages for continuation
statement errors for macro calls in the following circumstances:
• The operand on the continued record ends with a comma and a continuation statement is present but
continuation does not start in the continue column (usually column 16).
• A list of one or more operands ends with a comma, but the continuation column (usually column 72) is
blank.
• The continuation record starts in the continue column (usually column 16) but there is no comma
present following the operands on the previous record.
• The continued record is full but the continuation record does not start in the continue column (usually
column 16).
Symbol length
High Level Assembler supports three types of symbols:
Ordinary symbols
The format of an ordinary symbol consists of an alphabetic character, followed by a maximum of 62
alphanumeric characters.
Variable symbols
The format of a variable symbol consists of an ampersand (&) followed by an alphabetic character,
followed by a maximum of 61 alphanumeric characters.
Sequence symbols
The format of a sequence symbol consists of a period (.) followed by an alphabetic character, followed
by a maximum of 61 alphanumeric characters.
External symbols are ordinary symbols used in the name field of START, CSECT, RSECT, COM, DXD, and
ALIAS statements, and in the operand field of ENTRY, EXTRN, WXTRN, and ALIAS statements. Symbols

Levels within expressions
used in V-type and Q-type address constants are restricted to 8 characters, unless the GOFF option is
specified, which allows symbols up to 63 characters. You can specify an alias string of up to 64 characters
to represent an external symbol.
Underscore
High Level Assembler accepts the underscore character as alphabetic. It is accepted in any position in any
symbol name.
Literals
The following changes have been made to previous restrictions on the use of literals:
• Literals can be used as relocatable terms in expressions. They no longer have to be used as a complete
operand.
• Literals can be used in RX-format instructions in which an index register is used.
Levels within expressions

The number of terms or levels of parentheses in an expression is limited by the storage buffer size
allocated by the assembler for its evaluation work area.
Generalized object format modules (z/OS and CMS)

High Level Assembler provides support for generalized object format modules. The GOFF or XOBJECT
assembler option instructs the assembler to produce the generalized object data set. The following new
or modified instructions support the generation of the generalized object format records:
• ALIAS
• AMODE
• RMODE
• CATTR
• XATTR
For further details about this facility refer to z/OS MVS Program Management: User's Guide and Reference,
SA23-1393.
Extended addressing support

High Level Assembler provides several instructions for the generation of object modules that exploit
extended addressing. These instructions are:
• AMODE
• RMODE
• CCW0
• CCW1
Addressing mode (AMODE) and residence mode (RMODE)

Use the AMODE instruction to specify the addressing mode to be associated with the control sections in
the object program. The addressing modes are:
24
24-bit addressing mode
31
31-bit addressing mode
Programming sectioning and linking controls
64
64-bit addressing mode - See note below
ANY
The same as ANY31
ANY31
24-bit or 31-bit addressing mode
ANY64
24-bit, 31-bit, or 64-bit addressing mode
Use the RMODE instruction to specify the residence mode to be associated with the control sections in
the object program. The residence modes are:
24
Residence mode of 24. The control section must reside below the 16MB line.
31
Residence mode of either 24 or 31. The control section can reside above or below the 16MB line.
64
Residence mode of 64 - See note below.
ANY
Is understood to mean RMODE(31).
You can specify the AMODE and RMODE instructions anywhere in the assembly source. If the name field
in either instruction is left blank, you must have an unnamed control section in the assembly. These
instructions do not initiate an unnamed control section.
Note: The 64-bit addressing and residence modes are accepted and processed by the assembler.
However, other operating system components and utility programs may not be able to accept and process
information related to these operands.
Channel Command Words (CCW0 and CCW1)

The CCW0 instruction performs the same function as the CCW instruction, and is used to define and
generate a format-0 channel command word that allows a 24-bit data address. The CCW1 instruction
result is used to define and generate a format-1 channel command word that allows a 31-bit data
address.
The format of the CCW0 and CCW1 instructions, like that of the CCW instruction, consists of a name field,
the operation, and an operand (that contains a command code, data address, flags, and data count).
Using EXCP or EXCPVR access methods:
If you use the EXCP or EXCPVR access method, only CCW or CCW0 is valid, because EXCP and
EXCPVR do not support 31-bit data addresses in channel command words.
Using RMODE ANY:
If you use RMODE ANY with CCW or CCW0, an invalid data address in the channel command word can
result at execution time.

High Level Assembler provides several facilities that allow increased control of program organization.
These include:
• Association of code and data areas
• Multiple location counters
• Multiple classes and parts for code and data
• External dummy sections
• Support for up to 65535 external symbols

Read-only control sections

With the RSECT instruction, you can initiate a read-only executable control section, or continue a
previously initiated read-only executable control section.
When a control section is initiated by the RSECT instruction, the assembler automatically checks the
control section for non-reentrant code. As the assembler cannot check program logic, the checking is not
exhaustive. If the assembler detects non-reentrant code it issues a warning message.
The read-only attribute in the object module shows which control sections are read-only.
Association of code and data areas

To provide for the support of application program reentrancy and dynamic binding, the assembler
provides a way to associate code and data areas. This is achieved by defining and accessing 'associated
data areas' which are referred to as PSECTs. A PSECT, when instantiated, becomes the working storage for
an invocation of a reentrant program.
Multiple location counters

Multiple location counters are defined in a control section by using the LOCTR instruction. The assembler
assigns consecutive addresses to the segments of code using one location counter before it assigns
addresses to segments of code using the next location counter. By using the LOCTR instruction, you can
cause your program object-code structure to differ from the logical order appearing in the listing. You can
code sections of a program as independent logical and sequential units. For example, you can code work
areas and constants within the section of code that requires them, without branching around them. Figure
1 on page 12 shows this procedure.
Figure 1. LOCTR instruction application
External dummy sections

An external dummy section is a reference control section that you can use to describe a communication
area between two or more object modules that are link-edited together. The assembler generates
an external dummy section when you define a Q-type address constant that contains the name of a
reference control section specified in a DXD or DSECT instruction.
z/VSE External dummy sections are only supported by VSE/ESA Version 2 Release 2 or later.
Number of external symbols

The assembler can support up to 65535 independently relocatable items. Such items include control
section names, names declared in EXTRNs and so forth. The names of some of these items can appear
in the external symbol dictionary (ESD) of the assembler's object module. Note that other products might
not be able to handle as many external symbols as the assembler can produce.
Addressing extensions
Assembler instructions that can produce independently relocatable items and appear in the ESD are:
• START
• CSECT
• RSECT
• COM
• DXD
• EXTRN
• WXTRN
• ALIAS
• CATTR
• V-type address constant
• DSECT if the DSECT name appears in a Q-type address constant
Many instructions can cause the initiation of an unnamed CSECT if they appear before a START or CSECT
statement. Unnamed CSECTs appear in the external symbol dictionary with a type of PC.
Addressing extensions
High Level Assembler extends the means that you can use to establish addressability of a control section
with two powerful new facilities:
• Labeled USINGs and qualified symbols
• Dependent USINGs
Labeled USINGs and qualified symbols

The format of the assembler USING instruction now lets you code a symbol in the name entry of the
instruction. When a valid ordinary symbol, or a variable symbol that has been assigned a valid ordinary
symbol, is specified in the name entry of a USING instruction, it is known as the USING label, and the
USING is known as a labeled USING.
Labeled USINGs provide you with enhanced control over the resolution of symbolic expressions into
base-displacement form with specific base registers. The assembler uses a labeled USING when you
qualify a symbol with the USING label. You qualify a symbol by prefixing the symbol with the label on the
USING followed by a period.
Labeled USING domains

You can specify the same base register or registers in any number of labeled USING instructions.
However, unlike ordinary USING instructions, as long as all the labeled USINGs have unique labels, the
assembler considers the domains of all the labeled USINGs to be active and their labels can be used
as qualifiers. With ordinary USINGs, when you specify the same base register in a subsequent USING
instruction, the domain of the prior USING is ended.
The domain of a labeled USING instruction continues until the end of a source module, except when:
• You specify the label in the operand of a subsequent DROP instruction.
• You specify the same label in a subsequent USING instruction.
Labeled USING ranges

You can specify the same base address in any number of labeled USING instructions. You can also
specify the same base address in an ordinary USING and a labeled USING. However, unlike ordinary
USING instructions that have the same base address, if you specify the same base address in an ordinary
USING instruction and a labeled USING instruction, the assembler does not treat the USING ranges as
coinciding. When you specify an unqualified symbol in an assembler instruction, the assembler uses the

Specifying assembler options in external file or library member
base register specified in the ordinary USING to resolve the address into base-displacement form. You
can specify an optional parameter on the USING instruction. This option sets the range of the USING,
overwriting the default of 4096.
Dependent USINGs
The format of the assembler USING instruction now lets you specify a relocatable expression instead of
a base register in the instruction operand. When you specify a relocatable expression, it is known as the
supporting base address, and the USING is known as a dependent USING. If a valid ordinary symbol, or
a variable symbol that has been assigned a valid ordinary symbol, is specified in the name entry of a
dependent USING instruction, the USING is known as a labeled dependent USING.
A dependent USING depends on the presence of one or more corresponding ordinary or labeled USINGs
to resolve the symbolic expressions in the dependent USING range.
Dependent USINGs provide you with further control over the resolution of symbolic expressions into
base-displacement form. With dependent USINGs you can reduce the number of base registers you need
for addressing by using an existing base register to provide addressability to the symbolic address.
Dependent USING domains

The domain of a dependent USING begins where the dependent USING instruction appears in the source
module and continues until the end of the source module, except when:
• You end the domain of the corresponding ordinary USING by specifying the base register or registers
from the ordinary USING instruction in a subsequent DROP instruction.
• You end the domain of the corresponding ordinary USING by specifying the same base register or
registers from the ordinary USING instruction in a subsequent ordinary USING instruction.
• You end the domain of a labeled dependent USING by specifying the label of the labeled dependent
USING in the operand of a subsequent DROP instruction.
Dependent USING ranges

The range of a dependent USING is 4096 bytes, or as limited by the end operand, beginning at the
base address specified in the corresponding ordinary or labeled USING instruction. If the corresponding
ordinary or labeled USING assigns more than one base register, the dependent USING range is the
composite USING range of the ordinary or labeled USING.
If the dependent USING instruction specifies a supporting base address that is within the range of more
than one ordinary USING, the assembler determines which base register to use during base-displacement
resolution as follows:
• The assembler computes displacements from the ordinary USING base address that gives the smallest
displacement, and uses the corresponding base register.
• If more than one ordinary USING gives the smallest displacement, the assembler uses the higher-
numbered register for assembling addresses within the coinciding USING ranges.
Specifying assembler options in external file or library member

High Level Assembler accepts options from an external file (z/OS and CMS) or library member (VSE). The
file or library member may contain multiple records. This facility is provided to help avoid the limitation in
both z/VSE and z/OS which restricts the length of the options list to 100 characters.
Specifying assembler options in the source program

Process (*PROCESS) statements let you specify selected assembler options in the assembler source
program. You can include them in the primary input data set or provide them from a SOURCE user exit.
You can specify a maximum of 10 process statements in one assembly. After processing 10 process
statements, the assembler treats the next input record as an ordinary assembler statement; in addition
IBM-supplied default assembler options
the assembler treats further process statements as comment statements. You cannot continue a process
statement from one statement to the next.
When the assembler detects an error in a process statement, it produces one or more warning messages.
If the installation default option PESTOP is set, then the assembler stops after it finishes processing any
process statements. If the keyword OVERRIDE is added to a process statement, then the nominated
assembler option is not overridden by specifications at a lower level of precedence. If the specified option
is not accepted on a process statement and a different value has been supplied as an invocation or input
file option, the option is not accepted and a warning message is issued.
The ACONTROL instruction lets you specify selected assembler options anywhere through the assembler
source program, rather than at the beginning of the source (as provided by *PROCESS statements).
The assembler recognizes the assembler options in the following order of precedence (highest to lowest):
1. Fixed installation defaults
2. Options on *PROCESS OVERRIDE statements
3. Options in the External File (z/OS and CMS) or Library member (z/VSE)
4. Options on the PARM parameter of the JCL EXEC statement under z/OS and z/VSE or the High Level
Assembler command under CMS
5. Options on the JCL OPTION statement (z/VSE only)
6. Options specified via the STDOPT (Standard JCL Options) command (z/VSE)
7. Options on *PROCESS statements
8. Non-fixed installation defaults
Options specified by the ACONTROL instruction take effect when the specifying ACONTROL instruction
is encountered during the assembly. An option specified by an ACONTROL instruction may override an
option specified at the start of the assembly.
The assembler lists the options specified in process statements in the High Level Assembler Option
Summary section of the assembler listing.
Process statements are also shown as comment lines in the source and object section of the assembler
listing.

Table 2 on page 15 shows the changes made to the IBM-supplied default assembler options for High
Level Assembler Release 6:
Table 2. Changes to High Level Assembler default options

New in Release 6 Previously in Release 5
WORKFILE Not available
See Appendix A, “Assembler options,” on page 63 for a list of all assembler options.

The macro language
Chapter 4. Macro and conditional assembly language

extensions
The macro and conditional assembly language supported by High Level Assembler provides a number
of functional extensions to the macro languages supported by Assembler H Version 2 and DOS/VSE
Assembler. This chapter provides an overview of the language, and describes the major extensions.
The macro language

The macro language is an extension of the assembler language. It provides a convenient way to generate
a preferred sequence of assembler language statements many times in one or more programs. There are
two parts to the macro language supported by High Level Assembler:
Macro definition
A named sequence of statements you call with a macro instruction. The name of the macro is the
symbolic operation code used in the macro instruction. Macro definitions can appear anywhere in your
source module; they can even be nested within other macro definitions. Macros can also be redefined
at a later point in your program.
Macro instruction
Calls the macro definition for processing. A macro instruction can pass information to the macro
definition which the assembler uses to process the macro.
There are two types of macro definition:
Source macro definition
A macro definition defined in your source program.
Library macro definition
A macro definition that resides in a library data set.
Either type of macro definition can be called from anywhere in the source module by a macro instruction,
however a source macro definition must occur before it is first called.
You use a macro prototype statement to define the name of the macro and the symbolic parameters you
can pass it from a macro instruction.
General advantages in using macros

The main use of a macro is to insert assembler language statements into your source program each
time the macro definition is called by a macro instruction. Values, represented by positional or keyword
symbolic parameters, can be passed from the calling macro instruction to the statements within the body
of a macro definition. The assembler can use global SET symbols and absolute ordinary symbols created
by other macros and by open code.
The assembler assigns attribute values to the ordinary symbols and variable symbols that represent data.
By referencing the data attributes of these symbols, or by varying the values assigned to these symbols,
you can control the logic of the macro processing, and, in turn, control the sequence and contents of
generated statements.
The assembler replaces the macro call with the statements generated from the macro definition. The
generated statements are then processed like open code source statements.
Using macros gives you a flexibility similar to that provided by a problem-oriented language. You can use
macros to create your own procedural language, tailored to your specific applications.

Macro language extensions
Assembler editing of the macro definition

The initial processing of a macro definition is called editing. In editing, the assembler checks the syntax of
the instructions and converts the source statements to an edited version used throughout the remainder
of the assembly. The edited version of the macro definition is used to generate assembler language
statements when the macro is called by a macro instruction. This is why a macro must always be edited,
and consequently be defined, before it can be called by a macro instruction.
z/VSE“Reading edited macros (z/VSE only) ” on page 34 describes how you can use a LIBRARY exit to
allow High Level Assembler to read edited macros.

Extensions to the macro language include the following:
• Macro redefinition facilities
• Inner macro definitions
• Multilevel sublists in macros
• DBCS language support
• AINSERT instruction that enables the creation of records to be inserted into the assembler's input
stream
• Instructions to control the listing of macro definitions
• Support for internal and external arithmetic and character functions
• Many new system variable symbols
Redefining macros
You can redefine a macro definition at any point in your source module. When a macro is redefined, the
new definition is effective for all subsequent macro instructions that call it.
You can save the function of the original macro definition by using the OPSYN instruction before you
redefine the macro. If you want to reestablish the initial function of the operation code, you can include
another OPSYN instruction to redefine it. The following example shows this:
Name Operation Operand Comment
MACRO
MAC1 , The symbol MAC1 is assigned as the name
of this macro definition.
⋮
MEND
⋮
MAC2 OPSYN MAC1 MAC2 is assigned as an alias for MAC1.
MACRO
MAC1 , MAC1 is assigned as the name of this new macro definition.
⋮
MEND
⋮
MAC1 OPSYN MAC2 MAC1 is assigned to the first definition.
The second definition is lost.
You can issue a conditional assembly branch (AGO or AIF) to a point before the initial definition of the
macro and reestablish a previous source macro definition. Then that definition will be edited and effective
for subsequent macro instructions calling it.
See “Redefining conditional assembly instructions” on page 29.
Inner macro definitions

High Level Assembler allows both inner macro instructions and inner macro definitions. The inner macro
definition is not edited until the outer macro is generated as the result of a macro instruction calling it,
and then only if the inner macro definition is encountered during the generation of the outer macro. If
the outer macro is not called, or if the inner macro is not encountered in the generation of the outer
macro, the inner macro definition is never edited. Figure 2 on page 19 shows the editing of inner macro
definitions.
Figure 2. Editing inner macro definitions
First MAC1 is edited, and MAC2 and MAC3 are not. When MAC1 is called, MAC2 is edited (unless its definition
is bypassed by an AIF or AGO branch); when MAC2 is called, MAC3 is edited. No macro can be called until
it has been edited.
There is no limit to the number of nestings allowed for inner macro definitions.
Generated macro instruction operation codes

Macro instruction operation codes can be generated by substitution, either in open code or inside macro
definitions.
Multilevel sublists in macro instruction operands

Multilevel sublists (sublists within sublists) are permitted in macro instruction operands and in the
keyword default values in prototype statements, as shown in the following:
MAC1 (A,B,(W,X,(R,S,T),Y,Z),C,D)
MAC2 &KEY=(1,12,(8,4),64)
The depth of this nesting is limited only by the constraint that the total length of an individual operand
cannot exceed 1024 characters.
To access individual elements at any level of a multilevel operand, you use additional subscripts after
&SYSLIST or the symbolic parameter name. Table 3 on page 20 shows the value of selected elements if
&P is the first positional parameter and the value assigned to it in a macro instruction is (A,(B,(C)),D).
Chapter 4. Macro and conditional assembly language extensions 19

Table 3. Multilevel sublists

Selected Elements from &P Selected Elements from Value of Selected Element
&SYSLIST
&P &SYSLIST(1) (A,(B,(C)),D)

&P(1) &SYSLIST(1,1) A
&P(2) &SYSLIST(1,2) (B,(C))
&P(2,1) &SYSLIST(1,2,1) B
&P(2,2) &SYSLIST(1,2,2) (C)
&P(2,2,1) &SYSLIST(1,2,2,1) C
&P(2,2,2) &SYSLIST(1,2,2,2) null
N'&P(2,2) N'&SYSLIST(1,2,2) 1
N'&P(2) N'&SYSLIST(1,2) 2
N'&P(3) N'&SYSLIST(1,3) 1
N'&P N'&SYSLIST(1) 3
Sublists may also be assigned to SETC symbols and used in macro instruction operands. However, if
you specify the COMPAT(SYSLIST) assembler option, the assembler treats sublists in SETC symbols as
character strings, not sublists, when used in the operand of macro instructions.
Macro instruction name entries

You can write a name field parameter on the macro prototype statement. You can then assign a value to
this parameter from the name entry in the calling macro (instruction). Unlike in earlier assemblers, the
name entry need not be a valid symbol.
The name entry of a macro instruction can be used to:
• Pass values into the called macro definition.
• Provide a conditional assembly label (sequence symbol) so that you can branch to the macro instruction
during conditional assembly.
DBCS language support

Double-byte data is supported by the macro language with the following:
• The addition of a pure DBCS (G-type) self-defining term.
• Double-byte data is permitted in the operands of the MNOTE, PUNCH and TITLE statements.
• The REPRO statement exactly reproduces the record that follows it, whether it contains double-byte
data or not.
• Double-byte data can be used in the macro language, wherever quoted EBCDIC character strings can be
used.
• When a shift-in (SI) code is placed in the end column of a continued line, and a shift-out (SO) code
is placed in the continue column of the next line, the SI and SO are considered redundant and are
removed from the statement before it is analyzed.
• Redundant SI/SO pairs are removed when double-byte data is concatenated with double-byte data.
• An extended continuation indicator provides the ability to:
– Extend the end column to the left on a line-by-line basis, so that any alignment of double-byte data in
a source statement can be supported.
– Preserve the readability of a macro-generated statement on a DBCS device by splitting double-byte
data across listing lines with correct SO/SI bracketing.
Source stream input—AREAD

The AREAD assembler operation permits a macro to read a record directly from the source stream into a
SETC variable symbol. The card image is assigned in the form of an 80-byte character string to the symbol
specified in the name field of the instruction. Figure 3 on page 21 shows how the instruction is used:
Figure 3. AREAD assembler operation
The assembler processes the instructions in Figure 3 on page 21 as follows:

The macro instruction MAC ( 1 ) causes the macro MAC ( 2 ) to be called. When the AREAD instruction ( 3 )
is encountered, the next sequential record ( 4 ) following the macro instruction is read and assigned to the
SETC symbol &S ( 5 ).
Repeated AREAD statements read successive records.
When macro instructions are nested, the records read by AREAD must always follow the outermost macro
instruction regardless of the level of nesting in which the AREAD instruction is found.
If the macro instruction is found in code brought in by the COPY instruction (copy code), the records
read by the AREAD instruction can also be in the copy code. If no more records exist in the copy code,
subsequent records are read from the ordinary input stream.
Records that are read in by the AREAD instruction are not checked by the assembler. Therefore, no
diagnostic is issued if your AREAD statements read records that are meant to be part of your source
program. For example, if an AREAD statement is processed immediately before the END instruction, the
END instruction is lost to the assembler.
AREAD listing options

Normally, the AREAD input records are printed in the assembler listing and assigned statement numbers.
However, if you do not want them to be printed or assigned statement numbers, you can specify NOPRINT
or NOSTMT in the operand of the AREAD instruction.
AREAD clock functions

You can specify the CLOCKB or CLOCKD operand in the AREAD instruction to obtain the local time. The
time is assigned to the SETC symbol you code in the name field of the AREAD instruction. The CLOCKB
operand obtains the time in hundredths of a second. The CLOCKD operand obtains the time in the format
HHMMSSTH.
Macro input/output capability

The AREAD facility complements the PUNCH facility to provide macros with direct input/output (I/O)
capability. The total I/O capability of macros is as follows:

Implied input:
Parameter values and global SET symbol values that are passed to the macro
Implied output:
Generated statements passed to the assembler for later processing. See also the AINSERT operation
below.
Direct input:
AREAD
Direct output:
MNOTE for printed messages; PUNCH for punched records
Conditional I/O:
SET symbol values provided by external functions, using the SETAF and SETCF conditional assembly
instructions.
For example, you can use AREAD and PUNCH to write simple conversion programs. The following macro
interchanges the left and right halves of records placed immediately after a macro instruction calling it.
End-of-input is indicated with the word FINISHED in the first columns of the last record in the input to the
macro.
MACRO
SWAP
.loop ANOP
&CARD AREAD
AIF ('&CARD'(1,8) EQ 'FINISHED').MEND
&CARD SETC '&CARD'(41,40).'&CARD'(1,40)
PUNCH '&CARD'
AGO .LOOP
.MEND MEND
Source stream insertion—AINSERT

The AINSERT assembler operation inserts statements into the input stream. The statements are stored
in an internal buffer until the macro generator is completed. Then the internal buffer is used to provide
the next statements. An operand controls the sequence of insertion of statements within the buffer.
Statements can be inserted at the front or back of the queue, though they are removed only from the front
of the queue.
Macro definition listing control—ASPACE and AEJECT

You can use the ASPACE and AEJECT instructions to control the listing of your macro definitions. The
ASPACE instruction is similar to the SPACE instruction, but instead of controlling the listing of your open
code, you can use it to insert one or more blank lines in your macro definition listing. Similarly, the AEJECT
instruction is like the EJECT instruction, but you can use it to stop printing the macro definition on the
current page and continue printing on the next page.
Other macro language extensions

High Level Assembler provides the following extensions to some earlier macro languages:
• You can insert blank lines in macro definitions provided they are not continuation lines. See also “Blank
lines” on page 8.
• Macro names, variable symbols (including the ampersand), and sequence symbols (including the
period), can be a maximum of 63 alphanumeric characters.
• You can insert comments (both ordinary and internal macro types) between the macro header and the
prototype and, for library macros, before the macro header. These comments are not printed with the
macro generation.
• You can use a macro definition to redefine any machine or assembler instruction. When you
subsequently use the machine or assembler instruction the assembler interprets it as a macro call.
Conditional assembly language extensions
• You can include any instruction, except ICTL and *PROCESS statements, in a macro definition.
• You no longer need to precede the SET symbol name with an ampersand in LCLx and GBLx instructions,
except for created SET symbols.
• The SETA and SETB instructions now allow you to use predefined absolute symbols in arithmetic
expressions.

Extensions to the conditional assembly language provides you with a flexible and powerful tool to
increase your productivity, and simplify your coding needs. These include:
• New instructions that support external function calls
• New built-in functions
• Extensions to existing instructions
• Extensions to SET symbol usage
• New system variable symbols
• New data attributes
External function calls

You can use the new SETAF and SETCF instructions to call your own routines to provide values for SET
symbols. The routines, which are called external functions, can be written in any programming language
that conforms to standard OS linkage conventions. The format of the SETAF and SETCF instructions is the
same as a SETx instruction, except that the first operand of SETAF is a character string.
The assembler calls the external function load module, and passes it the address of an external function
parameter list. Each differently named external function called in the same assembly is provided with a
separate parameter list.
SETAF instruction:
You use the SETAF instruction to pass parameters containing arithmetic values to the external
function module. The symbol in the name field of the instruction is assigned the fullword integer
value returned by the external function module.
SETCF instruction:
You use the SETCF instruction to pass parameters containing character values to the external function
module. The symbol in the name field of the instruction is assigned the character string value returned
by the external function module. The length of the returned character string can be from 0 to 1024
bytes.
Built-in functions
The assembler provides you with many built-in functions that you can use in SETx instructions to perform
logical, arithmetic, and character string operations on SETA, SETB and SETC expressions.
For a complete list, refer to the table "Summary of Built-In Functions and Operators" in the HLASM
Language Reference.
AIF instruction
The AIF instruction can include a string of logical expressions and related sequence symbols that is
equivalent to multiple AIF instructions. This form of the AIF instruction is described as an extended AIF
instruction. There is no limit to the number of expressions and symbols that you can use in an extended
AIF instruction.

AGO instruction
An AGO instruction lets you make branches according to the value of an arithmetic expression in the
operand. This form of the AGO instruction is described as a computed AGO instruction.
Extended continuation statements

For the following statements, the assembler allows as many continuation statements as are needed:
• Prototype statement of a macro definition
• Macro instruction statement
• AGO conditional assembly statement
• AIF conditional assembly statement
• GBLA, GBLB, and GBLC conditional assembly statements
• LCLA, LCLB, and LCLC conditional assembly statements
• SETA, SETB, and SETC conditional assembly statements
SET symbols and SETx statements

The most powerful element of the conditional assembly language is SET symbol support. SET symbols are
variable symbols that provide you with arithmetic, binary, or character data, and whose values you can
set at conditional assembly time with the SETA, SETB, and SETC instructions, respectively. This section
discusses some of the major features of this support, and the extensions High Level Assembler provides.
SET symbol definition

When you define a SET symbol, you determine its scope. The scope of the SET symbol is that part of a
program for which the SET symbol has been declared. A SET symbol can be defined as having local scope
or global scope.
If you declare a SET symbol to have local scope, you can use it only in the statements that are part of:
• The macro definition in which it was defined, or
• Open code, if it was defined in open code
If you declare a SET symbol to have global scope, you can use it in the statements that are part of:
• The same macro definition
• A different macro definition
• Open code
To help you with SET symbol definition, High Level Assembler provides the following facilities:
• A SET symbol is declared implicitly when it appears in the name field of a SETx instruction, and it has
not been declared in a LCLx or GBLx instruction. It is assigned as having local scope. If the assembler
subsequently encounters any local scope explicit declaration of the symbol, the symbol is flagged as
a duplicate declaration. A SET symbol is declared as an array if the name field of the SETx instruction
contains a subscript. See “Array processing with SET symbols” on page 25.
• Global and local SET symbol declarations are processed at conditional assembly time. Both a macro
definition and open code can contain more than one declaration for a given SET symbol, as long as only
one is encountered during a given macro generation or conditional assembly of open code.
• A SET symbol can be defined as an array of values by specifying a subscript when you declare it, either
explicitly or implicitly. All such SET symbol arrays are open-ended; the subscript value specified in the
declaration does not limit the size of the array, as shown in the following example:
LCLA &J(50)
&J(45) SETA 415

&J(89) SETA 38
Created SET symbols

You can create SET symbols during the generation of a macro. A created SET symbol has the form &(e),
where e represents one or more of the following:
• Variable symbols, optionally subscripted
• Strings of alphanumeric characters
• Predefined symbols with absolute values
• Other created SET symbols
After substitution and concatenation, e must consist of a string of 1 to 62 alphanumeric characters, the
first being alphabetic. This string is then used as the name of a SETx variable. For example:
&X(1) SETC 'A1','A2','A3','A4'

&(&X(3)) SETA 5
&X is a variable whose value is the name of the variable to be updated.

These statements have an effect identical to:
&A3 SETA 5
You can use created SET symbols wherever ordinary SET symbols are permitted, including declarations;
they can even be nested in other created SET symbols.
The created SET symbol can be thought of as a form of indirect addressing. With nested created SET
symbols, you can use such indirect addressing to any level.
Created SET symbols can also offer an "associative memory" facility. For example, a symbol table of
numeric attributes can be referenced by an expression of the form &(&SYM)(&I) to yield the I-th
element of the symbol substituted for &SYM. Note that the value of &SYM need not be the name of a valid
symbol; thus created SET symbols may have arbitrary names.
Created SET symbols also allow you to achieve some of the effect of multidimensional arrays by creating
a separate named item for each element of the array. For example, a three-dimensional array of the form
&X(&I,&J,&K) can be addressed as &(X&I.$&J.$&K). Then &X(2,3,4) is represented as a reference
to the symbol &X2$3$4.
Note that what is being created here is a SET symbol. Both creation and recognition occur at macro-
generation time. In contrast, the names of parameters are recognized and encoded (fixed) at macro-edit
time. If a created SET symbol name happens to coincide with a parameter name, the coincidence is
ignored and there is no interaction between the two.
Array processing with SET symbols

You can use the SET statement to assign lists or arrays of values to subscripted SET symbols. For
example, a list of 100 SETx values can be coded in one extended SETx statement. The extended SETx
statement has the following format:
&SYM(exp) SETx X1,X2,,X4,…,Xn
where:
&SYM
is a dimensioned SET symbol
exp
is a SETA arithmetic expression

SETx
is SETA, SETB, or SETC
An operand can be omitted by specifying two commas without intervening blanks. Whenever an operand
is omitted, the corresponding element of the dimensioned variable SET symbol (&SYM) is left unchanged.
Using SETC variables in arithmetic expressions

You can use a SETC variable as an arithmetic term if its character string value represents a valid self-
defining term. This includes the G-type self-defining term. A null value is treated as zero. This use of the
SETC variable lets you associate numeric values with EBCDIC, DBCS, or hexadecimal characters, and can
be used for such applications as indexing, code conversion, translation, or sorting.
For example, the following set of instructions converts a hexadecimal value in &X into the decimal value
243 in &VAL.
&X SETC 'X''F3''' &VAL SETA

&X
Using ordinary symbols in SETx statements

In addition to variable symbols, self-defining terms, and attribute references, predefined symbols that
have absolute values can be used in SETA and SETB statements. You can use this facility to do arithmetic
or logical operations on expressions whose values are unknown at coding time, or are difficult to
calculate. For example, the following code could be used to assign the length of a CSECT to a SETA
symbol:
BEGIN CSECT
⋮
CSECTLEN EQU *-BEGIN
&CSCTLEN SETA CSECTLEN
Similarly, in addition to character expressions and type attribute references, predefined symbols that have
absolute values can be used in SETC statements. For example, the following code could be used to assign
a string of fifty spaces to a SETC symbol:
FIFTY EQU 50
⋮
&SPACES SETC (FIFTY)' '
Substring length value

You can specify an asterisk as the second subscript value of the substring notation. This indicates that the
length of the extracted string is equal to the length of the character string, less the number of characters
before the starting character.
The following examples show how the substring notation can be used:
&Z SETC 'Astring'(2,3) length specified

&Y SETC 'Astring'(2,*) length not specified
&X SETC (UPPER '&Y'(3,*)) length not specified
These statements have the following effect:

&Z contains the character value 'str'
&Y contains the character value 'string'
&X contains the character value 'RING'
Attribute references
Data such as instructions, constants, and areas have characteristics called data attributes. The assembler
assigns attribute values to the ordinary symbols and variable symbols that represent the data.
You can determine up to eight attributes of symbols you define in your program by means of an attribute
reference. By testing attributes in conditional assembly instructions, you can control the conditional
assembly logic.
Attributes of symbols produced by macro generation or substitution in open code are available
immediately after the referenced statement is generated.
Table 4 on page 27 shows the data attributes.
Table 4. Data attributes

Attribute Purpose Notation
Type Gives a letter that identifies the type of data represented by an ordinary T'
symbol, a macro instruction operand, a SET symbol, and a literal
Length Gives the number of bytes occupied by the data that is named by the symbol, L'
or literal, specified in the attribute reference
Scaling Refers to the position of the decimal point in decimal, fixed-point, and S'
floating-point constants
Integer Is a function of the length and scaling attributes of decimal, fixed-point, and I'
floating-point constants
Count Gives the number of characters that would be required to represent the K'
current value of the SET symbol or the system variable symbol. It also gives
the number of characters that constitute the macro operand instruction.
Number Gives the number of sublist entries in a macro instruction operand sublist N'
Defined Indicates whether the symbol referenced has been defined prior to the D'
attribute reference
Operation Indicates whether a given operation code has been defined prior to the O'
Code attribute reference
Where attribute references can be used

References to the type (T'), length (L'), scaling (S'), and integer (I') attributes of ordinary symbols and
SETC symbols can be used in:
• Conditional assembly instructions
• Any assembler instruction that accepts an absolute expression as an operand
• Any machine instruction
For example:
&TYPE SETC T'PACKED Type

LENGTH LA 2,L'PACKED Length
ADTYPE LA 2,T'PACKED Value of Type (C'P')
&SCALE SETA S'PACKED Scaling
INTEGER DC AL1(I'PACKED) Integer
⋮
PACKED DC P'123.45' Referenced Symbol
Attribute references to the count (K') and number (N') attributes, however, can only be used in conditional
assembly instructions.

Attribute references and SETC variables

The symbol referenced by an attribute reference of length (L'), type (T'), scaling (S'), integer (I'), and
defined (D'), can only be an ordinary symbol. The name of the ordinary symbol can, however, be specified
in three different ways:
• The name of the ordinary symbol itself
• The name of a symbolic parameter whose value is the name of the ordinary symbol
• The name of a SETC symbol whose value is the name of the ordinary symbol
Attribute references and literals

In addition to symbols, you can reference literals with the type, length, defined, scaling, and integer
attribute references. For example:
LENGTH LA 2,L'=C'ABCXYZ' Length attribute has value 6

TYPE EQU T'=F'1000' Type attribute has value 'F'
Type attribute of a CNOP label

The type attribute (T') of a CNOP label has been changed to ‘I’. In Assembler H Version 2 the attribute
value was ‘J’.
Defined attribute (D')

The defined attribute (D') can be used in conditional assembly statements to determine if a given symbol
has been defined at a prior point in the source module. If the symbol is already defined, the value of the
defined attribute is one; if it has not been defined, the value is zero. By testing a symbol for the defined
attribute, you can avoid a forward scan of the source code. See “Forward attribute-reference scan” on
page 29.
Operation code attribute (O')

The operation code attribute (O') can be used in conditional assembly statements to determine if a given
operation code has been defined prior to the attribute reference. The following letters are used for the
operation code attribute value:
A
Assembler operation codes
E
Extended mnemonic operation codes
M
Macro operation codes
O
Machine operation codes
S
Macro found in SYSLIB (z/OS and CMS) or library (by Librarian on z/VSE)
U
Undefined operation codes
If an operation code is redefined using the OPSYN instruction the attribute value represents the new
operation code type. If the operation code is deleted using the OPSYN instruction the attribute value is ‘U’.
The following example checks to see if the macro MYMAC is defined. If not, the MYMAC macro instruction
is bypassed. This example prevents the assembly from failing when the macro is not available.
&CHECKIT SETC O'MYMAC

AIF ('&CHECKIT' EQ 'U').NOMAC
MYMAC
.NOMAC ANOP
⋮
DATAAREA DC F'0'
Number attributes for SET symbols

The number attribute (N') can be applied to SETx variables to determine the highest subscript value of
a SET symbol array to which a value has been assigned in a SETx instruction. For example, if the only
occurrences of the definitions of the SETA symbol &A are:
&A(1) SETA 0
&A(2) SETA 0
&A(3) SETA &A(2)
&A(5) SETA 5
&A(10) SETA 0
then N'&A is 10.

The number attribute is zero for a SET symbol that has been defined but not assigned any value,
regardless of whether it is subscripted or not. The number attribute is always 1 for a SET symbol that
is not subscripted and when the SET symbol has been assigned a value.
The number attribute also applies to the operands of macro instructions.
Forward attribute-reference scan

If you make an attribute reference to an undeclared symbol, the assembler scans the source code either
until it finds the symbol in the name field of a statement in open code, or until it reaches the end of the
source module. The assembler makes an entry in the symbol table for the symbol, as well as for any other
previously undefined symbols it encounters during the scan. The assembler does not completely check
the syntax of the statements for which it makes entries in the symbol table. Therefore, a valid attribute
reference can result from a forward scan, even though the statement is later found to be in error and
therefore not accepted by the assembler.
You must be careful with the contents of any AREAD input in your source module. If an AREAD input
record is encountered before the symbol definition, and the record has the same format as an assembler
language statement, and the name field contains the symbol referred to in the attribute reference, then
the forward scan will attempt to evaluate that record instead.
Redefining conditional assembly instructions

You can use the OPSYN instruction to redefine conditional assembly instructions anywhere in your source
module. A redefinition of a conditional assembly instruction affects only macro definitions occurring after
the OPSYN instruction. The original definition of a conditional assembly instruction is always used during
the processing of subsequent calls to a macro that was defined before the OPSYN instruction.
An OPSYN instruction that redefines the operation code of an assembler or machine instruction generated
from a macro instruction is effective immediately, even if the definition of the macro was made prior to the
OPSYN instruction. Consider the following example:
MACRO Macro header

MACRDEF … Macro prototype
AIF …
MVC …
⋮
MEND Macro trailer
⋮
AIF OPSYN AGO Assign AGO properties to AIF
MVC OPSYN MVI Assign MVI properties to MVC
⋮

MACRDEF … Macro call

(AIF interpreted as AIF instruct-
ion; generated AIFs not printed)
+ MVC … Interpreted as MVI instruction
⋮
Open code started at this point
AIF … Interpreted as AGO instruction
MVC … Interpreted as MVI instruction
In this example, AIF and MVC instructions are used in a macro definition. AIF is a conditional assembly
instruction, and MVC is a machine instruction. OPSYN statements assign the properties of AGO to AIF and
assign the properties of MVI to MVC. In subsequent calls of the macro MACRDEF, AIF is still defined, and
used as an AIF operation, but the generated MVC is treated as an MVI operation. In open code following
the macro call, the operations of both instructions are derived from their new definitions assigned by the
OPSYN statements. If the macro is redefined (by another macro definition), the new definitions of AIF and
MVC (that is, AGO and MVI) are used for further generations.
This description does not apply to nested macro definitions because the assembler does not edit inner
macro definitions until it encounters them during the generation of its outer macro. An OPSYN statement
placed before the outer macro instruction can affect conditional assembly statements in the inner macro
definition.
System variable symbols

System variable symbols are read-only, local-scope or global-scope variable symbols whose values are
determined and assigned only by the assembler. System variable symbols that have local scope are
assigned a read-only value each time a macro definition is called by a macro instruction. You can only
refer to local-scope system variable symbols inside macro definitions. System variable symbols that have
global scope are assigned a read-only value for the whole assembly. You can refer to global-scope system
variable symbols in open code and in macro definitions.
The format of the following two system variables has changed since Assembler H Version 2:
• &SYSLIST treats parenthesized sublists in SETC symbols as sublists when passed to a macro definition
in the operand of a macro instruction. The COMPAT(SYSLIST) assembler option can be used to treat
sublists in the same way as Assembler H Version 2, that is, parenthesized sublists are treated as
character strings, not sublists.
• &SYSPARM can now be up to 255 characters long, subject to restrictions imposed by job control
language.
Some of the new system variable symbols introduced with High Level Assembler supplement the data
provided by system variables available in previous assemblers.
&SYSCLOCK:
&SYSCLOCK provides the date and time the macro is generated.
&SYSDATE and &SYSDATC:
&SYSDATE provides the date in the format MM/DD/YY without the century digits, and the year digits
are in the lowest-order positions.
The new variable symbol &SYSDATC provides the date with the century, and the year digits in the
highest-order positions. Its format is YYYYMMDD.
&SYSECT and &SYSSTYP:
All previous assemblers have supported the &SYSECT variable to hold the name of the enclosing
control section at the time a macro was invoked. This allows a macro that needs to change control
sections to resume the original control section on exit from the macro. However, there was no
capability to determine what type of control section to resume.
The &SYSSTYP variable provides the type of the control section named by &SYSECT. This permits a
macro to restore the correct previous control section environment on exit.
&SYSMAC:
Retrieves the name of any macro called between open code and the current nesting level.
&SYSM_HSEV:
Provides the highest MNOTE severity code for the assembly so far.
&SYSM_SEV:
Provides the highest MNOTE severity code for the macro most recently called from this macro or open
code.
&SYSOPT_XOBJECT:
Determines if the XOBJECT assembler option was specified.
&SYSNDX and &SYSNEST:
All previous assemblers have supported the &SYSNDX variable symbol, which is incremented by one
for every macro invocation in the program. This permits macros to generate unique ordinary symbols
if they are needed as local labels. Occasionally, in recursively nested macro calls, the value of the
&SYSNDX variable was used to determine either the depth of nesting, or to determine when control
had returned to a particular level.
Alternatively, the programmer could define a global variable symbol, and in each macro insert
statements to increment that variable on entry and decrement it on exit. This technique is both
cumbersome (because it requires extra coding in every macro) and unreliable (because not every
macro called in a program is likely to be under the programmer's control).
High Level Assembler provides the &SYSNEST variable to keep track of the level of macro-call
nesting in the program. The value of &SYSNEST is incremented globally on each macro entry, and
decremented on each exit.
&SYSTIME and the AREAD statement

The &SYSTIME variable symbol is provided by High Level Assembler and Assembler H, but not by earlier
assemblers. It provides the local time of the start of the assembly in HH.MM format. This time stamp may
not have sufficient accuracy or resolution for some applications.
High Level Assembler provides an extension to the AREAD statement, discussed in more detail in “AREAD
clock functions” on page 21, that may be useful if a more accurate time stamp is required.
Appendix B, “System variable symbols,” on page 67 describes all the system variable symbols.

User exit types
Chapter 5. Using exits to complement file processing
The High Level Assembler EXIT option lets you provide an exit module that can replace or complement
the assembler's data set input/output processing. This chapter describes the exits available to you and
how to use them.
User exit types

You can select up to seven exit types during an assembly on z/OS and CMS, or six on z/VSE:
Exit type
Exit processing
SOURCE
Use this exit to replace or complement the assembler's primary input file processing. It can read
primary input records instead of the assembler, or it can monitor and optionally modify the records
read by the assembler before they are processed. You can also use the SOURCE exit to provide
additional primary input records.
LIBRARY
Use this exit to replace or complement the assembler's MACRO and COPY library processing. It can
read MACRO and COPY library records instead of the assembler, or it can monitor and optionally
modify the records read by the assembler before they are processed. You can also use the LIBRARY
exit to provide additional MACRO and COPY source records.
LISTING
Use this exit to replace or complement the assembler's listing output processing. It can write the
listing records provided by the assembler, or it can monitor and optionally modify the records before
they are written by the assembler. You can also use the LISTING exit to provide additional listing
records.
OBJECT
(z/OS and CMS) Use this exit to replace or complement the assembler's object module output
processing. It can write object module records provided by the assembler, or monitor and optionally
modify the records before they are written by the assembler. You can also use the OBJECT exit to
provide additional object module records.
The OBJECT exit is the same as the PUNCH exit, except that you use it when you specify the OBJECT
assembler option to write object records to SYSLIN.
PUNCH
On z/OS and CMS, the PUNCH exit is the same as the OBJECT exit, except that you use it when you
specify the DECK assembler option to write object records to SYSPUNCH.
On z/VSE, use this exit to replace or complement the assembler's object module output processing.
It can write object module records provided by the assembler, or monitor and optionally modify
the records before they are written by the assembler. You can also use the PUNCH exit to provide
additional object module records.
ADATA
Use this exit to replace or complement the assembler's ADATA I/O. The ADATA exit can modify the
records, discard records, or provide additional records.
TERM
Use this exit to replace or complement the assembler's terminal output processing. It can write
the terminal records provided by the assembler, or it can monitor and optionally modify the records
before they are written by the assembler. You can also use the TERM exit to provide additional
terminal output records.
Note: The ASMAOPT file does not have an I/O exit.

How to supply a user exit to the assembler
How to supply a user exit to the assembler

You must supply a user exit as a module that is available in the standard module search order.
You may write an exit in any language that allows it to be loaded once and called many times at the
module entry point, and conforms to standard OS Linkage conventions.
On entry to the exit module, Register 1 points to an Exit Parameter list supplied by the assembler. The
Exit Parameter list has a pointer to an Exit-Specific Information block that contains specific information
for each exit type. High Level Assembler provides you with a macro, called ASMAXITP, which lets you map
the Exit Parameter list and the Exit Specific Information block.
You specify the name of the exit module in the EXIT assembler option. You can also pass up to 64
characters of data to the exit, by supplying them as a suboption of the EXIT option. The assembler passes
the data to your exit during assembler initialization.
Passing data to I/O exits from the assembler source

You can use the EXITCTL instruction to pass data from the assembler source to any of the exits. The
assembler maintains four signed, fullword, exit-control parameters for each type of exit. You use the
EXITCTL instruction to set or modify the contents of the four fullwords during the assembly, by specifying
the following values in the operand fields:
• A decimal self-defining term with a value in the range -231 to +231-1.
• An expression in the form *±n, where * is the current value of the corresponding exit-control parameter
to which n, a decimal self-defining term, is added or from which n is subtracted. The value of the result
of adding n to or subtracting n from the current exit-control parameter value must be in the range -231
to +231-1.
If a value is omitted, the corresponding exit-control parameter retains its current value.
The assembler initializes all exit-control parameters to binary zeros.
Statistics
The assembler writes the exit usage statistics to the Diagnostic Cross Reference and Assembler Summary
section of the assembler listing.
Disabling an exit
A return code of 16 allows an EXIT to disable itself. The EXIT is not called again during this assembly, or
any following assemblies if the BATCH option is being used.
Communication between exits

The Common User field in the Request information block provides a mechanism by which all exits can
communicate and share information.
Reading edited macros (z/VSE only)

An E-Deck refers to a macro source book of type E that can be used as the name of a macro definition
to process in a macro instruction. E-Decks are stored in edited format, however High Level Assembler
requires library macros to be stored in source statement format. You can use the LIBRARY exit to analyze
a macro definition, and, in the case of an E-Deck, call the z/VSE/ESA ESERV program to change, line by
line, the E-Deck definition back into source statement format.
See the subsection Using the High Level Assembler Library Exit for Processing E-Decks, in Chapter 4 Using
VSE Libraries, section High Level Assembler Considerations, in VSE/ESA Guide to System Functions . This
section describes how to set up a LIBRARY exit and use it to process E-Decks.
Sample exits provided with High Level Assembler (z/OS and CMS)
The following sample exits are provided with High Level Assembler:
ADATA exit:
The ADATA exit handles the details of interfaces to the assembler. It provides ADATA records to a
number of filter routines, and also to exits which control the ADATA record output, or reformat ADATA
records from new to old format.
The filter routines inspect the records to extract the information they require. This lets you add or
modify a filter routine without impacting either the exit or the other filter routines.
The design of the exit:
• Supports multiple simultaneous filter routines.
• Simplifies the ADATA-record interface for each filter, because you do not need to be concerned
about the complex details of interacting directly with the assembler.
• Supports filter routines written in high-level languages.
• Supports an exit to control the ADATA record output.
• Supports an exit to reformat ADATA records from new to old format.
There are three components that make up the functional ADATA filter routine:
1. The exit, ASMAXADT, which the assembler invokes.
2. A table of filter-routine names, contained in a Filter Management Table (FMT), module ASMAXFMT.
The exit routine loads the FMT.
3. The filter routines. The exit loads these as directed by the FMT.
The functional ADATA exit, ASMAXADC, controls ADATA record output. ASMAXADC uses parameters
specified on the assembler EXIT option to determine if it, or the assembler, will perform output
processing for the ADATA records, and which record types are to be kept or discarded.
The functional exit, ASMAXADR, reformats ADATA records from the High Level Assembler Release 5
format, back to the Release 4 format. ASMAXADR uses parameters specified on the assembler EXIT
option to determine which ADATA types are to be reformatted.
No exit modules are provided with High Level Assembler. "" in the HLASM Programmer's Guide
describes the exit and the input format of the exit routines.
LISTING exit:
Use the LISTING exit to suppress the High Level Assembler Options Summary section, or the
Diagnostic Cross Reference and Assembler Summary section, or both from the assembler listing. The
exit can also direct the assembler to print the options summary at the end of the assembler listing.
You specify keywords as suboptions of the EXIT option to control how the assembler processes these
sections of the listing.
The LISTING exit is called ASMAXPRT.
"Sample LISTING user exit (z/OS and CMS)" in the HLASM Programmer's Guide describes the exit and
the keywords you can use to select the print options.
SOURCE exit:
Use the SOURCE exit to read variable-length source data sets. Each record that is read is passed to
the assembler as an 80-byte source statement. If any record in the input data set is longer than 71
characters the remaining part of the record is converted into continuation records.
The exit also reads a data set with a fixed record length of 80 bytes.
The SOURCE exit is called ASMAXINV.
"Sample SOURCE user exit (z/OS and CMS)" in the HLASM Programmer's Guide describes this exit.
Chapter 5. Using exits to complement file processing 35

Assembler listings
Chapter 6. Programming and diagnostic aids
High Level Assembler has many assembler listing and diagnostic features to aid program development
and to simplify the location and analysis of program errors. You can also produce terminal output to assist
in diagnosing assembly errors. This chapter describes these features.
Assembler listings
High Level Assembler produces a comprehensive assembler listing that provides information about a
program and its assembly. Each section of the assembler listing is clear and easily readable. The following
assembler options are used to control the format and which sections of the listing to produce:
ASA
(z/OS and CMS) Allows you to use American National Standard printer control characters, instead of
machine printer control characters.
DXREF
Produces the DSECT Cross Reference section.
ESD
Produces the External Symbol Dictionary section.
EXIT(PRTEXIT(mod3))
Supplies a listing exit to replace or complement the assembler's listing output processing.
FOLD
Instructs the assembler to print the assembler listing in uppercase characters, except for quoted
strings and comments.
LANGUAGE
Produces error diagnostic messages in the following languages:
• English mixed case (EN)
• English uppercase (UE)
• German (DE)
• Japanese (JP)
• Spanish (ES)
When you select either of the English languages, the assembler listing headings are produced in the
same case as the diagnostic messages.
When you select either the German language or the Spanish language, the assembler listing headings
are produced in mixed case English.
When you select the Japanese language, the assembler listing headings are produced in uppercase
English.
The assembler uses the installation default language for messages produced in CMS by the High Level
Assembler command.
LINECOUNT
Specifies how many lines should be printed on each page, including the title and heading lines.
LIST
Controls the format of the Source and Object section of the listing. NOLIST suppresses the entire
listing.
MXREF
Produces one, or both, of the Macro and Copy Code Source Summary and Macro and Copy Code Cross
Reference sections.

Assembler listings
PCONTROL
Controls what statements are printed in the listing, and overrides some PRINT instructions.
RLD
Produces the Relocation Dictionary section.
RXREF
Produces the General Purpose Register Cross Reference section.
USING(MAP)
Produces the Using Map section.
XREF
Produces one, or both, of the Ordinary Symbol and Literal Cross Reference and the Unreferenced
Symbols Defined in CSECTs sections.
Option summary
High Level Assembler provides a summary of the options current for the assembly, including:
• A list of the overriding parameters specified in the external file or library member (z/VSE only)
• A list of the overriding parameters specified when the assembler was called
• The options specified on *PROCESS statements
• In-line error diagnostic messages for any overriding parameters and *PROCESS statements in error
You cannot suppress the option summary unless you suppress the entire listing, or you supply a user exit
to control which lines are printed.
On z/OS and CMS, High Level Assembler provides a sample LISTING exit that allows you to suppress the
option summary or print it at the end of the listing. See the description of the sample LISTING exit.
Figure 4 on page 40 shows an example of the High Level Assembler Option Summary. The example
includes assembler options that have been specified in the external file or library member, the invocation
parameters and in *PROCESS statements. It also shows the *PROCESS statements in the Source and
Object section of the listing.
Assembler listings
High Level Assembler Option Summary (PTF R160 ) Page 1

1 2
HLASM R6.0 2015/02/20 18.42
Overriding ASMAOPT Parameters -
>* Input ASMAOPT Statement
>sysparm(thisisatestsysparm),rxref
>LIST(MAX)
Overriding Parameters- NOOBJECT,LANGUAGE(EN),SIZE(4MEG),XREF(SHORT,UNREFS),NOMXREF,NORXREF,ADATA,NOADATA,GOFF
Process Statements- OVERRIDE(ADATA,MXREF(full))
ALIGN
noDBCS
MXREF(FULL),nolibmac
FLAG(0)
noFOLD,LANGUAGE(ue)
NORA2
NODBCS
XREF(FULL)
3
** ASMA400W Error in invocation parameter - SIZE(4MEG)
** ASMA438N Attempt to override ASMAOPT parameter. Option NORXREF ignored.
** ASMA425N Option conflict in invocation parameters. NOADATA overrides an earlier setting.
** ASMA423N Option ADATA, in a *PROCESS OVERRIDE statement conflicts with invocation or default option. Option is not
permitted in a
*PROCESS statement and has been ignored.
** ASMA422N Option LANGUAGE(ue) is not valid in a *PROCESS statement.
** ASMA437N Attempt to override invocation parameter in a *PROCESS statement. Suboption FULL of XREF option ignored.
Options for this Assembly
4
3 Invocation Parms NOADATA
5 *PROCESS ALIGN
NOASA
BATCH
CODEPAGE(047C)
NOCOMPAT
5 *PROCESS NODBCS
NODECK
DXREF
ESD
NOEXIT
FAIL(NOMSG,NOMNOTE,MAXERRS(500))
5 *PROCESS FLAG(0,ALIGN,CONT,EXLITW,NOIMPLEN,NOPAGE0,PUSH,RECORD,NOSUBSTR,USING0)
5 *PROCESS NOFOLD
3 Invocation Parms GOFF(NOADATA)
NOINFO
3 Invocation Parms LANGUAGE(EN)
5 *PROCESS NOLIBMAC
LINECOUNT(60)
2 ASMAOPT LIST(MAX)
MACHINE(,NOLIST)
1 *PROCESS OVERRIDE MXREF(FULL)
3 Invocation Parms NOOBJECT
OPTABLE(UNI,NOLIST)
NOPCONTROL
NOPESTOP
NOPROFILE
5 *PROCESS NORA2
NORENT
RLD
2 ASMAOPT RXREF
SECTALGN(8)
Chapter 6. Programming and diagnostic aids 39

Assembler listings
High Level Assembler Option Summary (PTF R160 ) Page 2

HLASM R6.0 2015/02/20 18.42
SIZE(MAX)
NOSUPRWARN
2 ASMAOPT SYSPARM(thisisatestsysparm)
NOTERM
NOTEST
THREAD
NOTRANSLATE
TYPECHECK(MAGNITUDE,REGISTER)
USING(NOLIMIT,MAP,WARN(15))
NOWORKFILE
3 Invocation Parms XREF(SHORT,UNREFS)
5
No Overriding DD Names
External Symbol Dictionary Page 3
Symbol Type Id Address Length Owner Id Flags Alias-of HLASM R6.0 2015/02/20 18.42
SAMP01 SD 00000001
B_IDRL ED 00000002 00000001
B_PRV ED 00000003 00000001
B_TEXT ED 00000004 00000000 0000006C 00000001 00
SAMP01 LD 00000005 00000000 00000004 00
ENTRY1 LD 00000006 00000000 00000004 00
DateRcvd ER 00000007 00000001 RCNVDATE
RCNVTIME ER 00000008 00000001
Page 4
Active Usings: None
Loc Object Code Addr1 Addr2 Stmt Source Statement HLASM R6.0 2015/02/20 18.42
6
1 *PROCESS OVERRIDE(ADATA,MXREF(full))
2 *PROCESS ALIGN
3 *PROCESS noDBCS
4 *PROCESS MXREF(FULL),nolibmac
5 *PROCESS FLAG(0)
6 *PROCESS noFOLD,LANGUAGE(ue)
7 *PROCESS NORA2
8 *PROCESS NODBCS
9 *PROCESS XREF(FULL)
Sample Program - HLASM Page 5
Active Usings: None
11 ***********************************************************************
12 * *
13 * Licensed Materials - Property of IBM *
14 * *
15 * 5696-234 *
16 * *
17 * Copyright IBM Corporation 2008, 2015 All Rights Reserved. *
18 * *
19 * US Government Users Restricted Rights - Use, duplication *
20 * or disclosure restricted by GSA ADP Schedule Contract *
21 * with IBM Corp. *
22 * *
23 ***********************************************************************
00000000 00000000 0000006C 24 Samp01 Csect
25 ASMDREG include standard registers
26+ PUSH
PRINT 01-ASMDREG
126+ POP
PRINT 01-ASMDREG
127 Entry1 MACSAMP Parm1=YES
00000000 18CF 128+Entry1 LR
12,15 01-MACSAMP
129+ ENTRY
Entry1 01-MACSAMP
R:C 00000000 130+ USING Entry1,12 Ordinary
Using 01-MACSAMP
Figure 4. Option summary including options specified on *PROCESS statements
The highlighted numbers in the example are:

1
The product description. Shown on each page of the assembler listing. (You can use the TITLE
instruction to generate individual headings for each page of the source and object program listing.)
2
The date and the time of the assembly.
3
Error diagnostic messages for overriding parameters and *PROCESS statements. These immediately
follow the list of *PROCESS statement options. The error diagnostic messages are:
ASMA400W -
The value specified as the size option is not valid. The valid option is SIZE(4M).
Assembler listings
ASMA438N -
The option RXREF is specified in the ASMAOPT file and the conflicting option NORXREF is
specified as an invocation parameter. The ASMAOPT options have precedence over the invocation
parameters and the NORXREF option is ignored.
ASMA425N -
The ADATA option specified as an invocation parameter overrides the option NOADATA which was
also specified as an invocation parameter. When conflicting options are received from the same
source, the last occurrence takes precedence.
ASMA423N -
The option ADATA has been specified in a *PROCESS statement with the OVERRIDE option. The
option cannot be set by a *PROCESS statement, and the option conflicts with an invocation
or default option. This message is printed when an option that cannot be set by a *PROCESS
statement is included in a *PROCESS OVERRIDE statement and the option conflicts with an
invocation or default option. If the option does not conflict with the invocation or default option no
message is printed. (For more information on *PROCESS statement, refer to "*PROCESS statement
options" in the HLASM Programmer's Guide.)
ASMA422N -
The option LANGUAGE is not permitted in a *PROCESS statement.
ASMA437N -
The option XREF(FULL) which is specified in the last *PROCESS statement conflicts with the option
NORXREF which is specified as an invocation parameter. The option XREF(FULL) is ignored.
4
Each option may be preceded by a flag that indicates the option’s source. If the flag is omitted, the
option came from the installation defaults.
Table 5. Flags used in the option summary

Flag Meaning
1 The option came from a *PROCESS OVERRIDE statement.
2 The option came from the ASMAOPT options file (z/OS and CMS) or ASMAOPT.USEROPT
library member (z/VSE ).
3 The option came from the invocation parameters.
4 The permanent job control options set by the VSE command STDOPT.
5 The option came from a *PROCESS statement.
(blank) The option came from the installation defaults.
5
On z/OS and CMS, if the assembler has been called by a program and any standard (default) DDnames
have been overridden, both the default DDnames and the overriding DDnames are listed. Otherwise,
this statement appears:
No Overriding DD
Names
6
The *PROCESS statements are written as comment statements in the Source and Object section of
the listing.
External Symbol Dictionary

Figure 5 on page 42 shows the external symbol dictionary (ESD) information passed to the linkage editor
or loader, or z/OS Program Management Binder in the object module.

Assembler listings
SAMP01 External Symbol Dictionary Page 2

1
2 3 4
Symbol Type Id Address Length Owner Id Flags Alias-of HLASM R6.0 2008/07/11 17.48
SAMP01 SD 00000001
B_PRV ED 00000002 00000001
B_TEXT ED 00000003 00000000 000000E0 00000001 00
SAMP01 LD 00000004 00000000 00000003 00
ENTRY1 LD 00000005 00000000 00000003 00
KL_INST SD 00000006
B_PRV ED 00000007 00000006
B_TEXT ED 00000008 00000000 00000000 00000006 00
KL_INST CM 00000009 00000000 00000008 00
SD 0000000A
B_PRV ED 0000000B 0000000A
B_TEXT ED 0000000C 000000E0 00000000 0000000A 00
Date0001 ER 0000000D 0000000A RCNVDATE
RCNVTIME ER 0000000E 0000000A
Figure 5. External Symbol Dictionary
1
Shows the name of every external dummy section, control section, entry point, external symbol, and
class.
2
Indicates whether the symbol is the name of a label definition, external reference, unnamed
control section definition, common control section definition, external dummy section, weak external
reference, or external definition.
3
Shows the length of the control section.
4
When you define a symbol in an ALIAS instruction, this field shows the external symbol name of which
the symbol is an alias.
You can suppress this section of the listing by specifying the NOESD assembler option.
Source and object

On z/OS and CMS, the assembler can produce two formats of the source and object section: a 121-
character format and a 133-character format. To select one, you must specify either the LIST(121)
assembler option or the LIST(133) assembler option. Both sections show the source statements of the
module, and the object code of the assembled statements.
The 133-character format shows the location counter, and the first and second operand addresses
(ADDR1 and ADDR2) as 8-byte fields in support of 31-bit addresses. This format is required when
producing the extended object file; see “Generalized object format modules (z/OS and CMS)” on page 10.
The 133-character format also contains the first eight characters of the macro name in the identification-
sequence field for statements generated by macros.
Figure 6 on page 43 shows an example of the Source and Object section of the listing. This section shows
the source statements of the module, and the object code of the assembled statements.
The fixed heading line printed on each page of the source and object section of the assembler listing
indicates if the control section, at the time of the page eject, is a COM section, a DSECT or an RSECT.
High Level Assembler lets you write your program and print the assembler listing headings in mixed-case.
121-Character listing format

Figure 6 on page 43 shows an example of the source and object section in 121-character format, and in
mixed-case.
Assembler listings
1
Loc Object Code Addr1 Addr2 Stmt Source Statement
000000 00000 0006C 24 Samp01 Csect
25 ASMDREG include standard registers
26+ PUSH PRINT 01-ASMDR
126+ POP PRINT 01-ASMDR
127 Entry1 MACSAMP Parm1=YES
000000 18CF 128+Entry1 LR 12,15 01-MACSA
129+ ENTRY Entry1 01-MACSA
2
R:C 00000 130+ USING Entry1,12 Ordinary Using 01-MACSA
000002 0000 0000 00000 131+ LA Savearea,10 01-MACSA
** ASMA044E Undefined symbol - Savearea
** ASMA029E Incorrect register specification - Savearea
** ASMA435I Record 10 in SMORSA.BOOK.SAMPLE.MACS(MACSAMP) on volume: 37P004
000006 50D0 A004 00004 132+ ST 13,4(,10) 01-MACSA
00000A 50A0 D008 00008 133+ ST 10,8(,13) 01-MACSA
00000E 18DA 134+ LR 13,10 01-MACSA
3
R:A35 00010 135+ USING *,10,3,5 Ordinary Using,Multiple Base 01-MACSA
** ASMA303W Multiple address resolutions may result from this USING and the USING on statement number 130
** ASMA435I Record 14 in SMORSA.BOOK.SAMPLE.MACS(MACSAMP) on volume: 37P004
136+ DROP 10,3,5 Drop Multiple Registers 01-MACSA
000010 D4C1C3E2C1D4D7C4 137+Entry1Date DC CL16'MACSAMPDATE' 01-MACSA
138 COPY memsamp
139=* Start of copybook - MEMSAMP
140=* 5696-234
141=* Copyright IBM Corporation 2008, 2015 All Rights Reserved.
142=* This copybook member is incled by sample HLASM programs
000020 C481A385D6958540 143=DateOne DC CL16'DateOne Field'
144=* End of copybook - MEMSAMP
145 push using
R:2 00000 146 PlistIn Using Plist,2 Establish Plist addressability
R:3 00000 147 PlistOut Using Plist,3
000030 1851 148 ?LoadMe LR R5,R1 Save Plist pointer
** ASMA147E Symbol too long, or first character not a letter - ?LoadMe
** ASMA435I Record 31 in SMORSA.BOOK.SAMPLE.ASM(SAMP01) on volume: 37P003
R:9 00000 149 using WorkingStorage,R9
000032 5820 5000 00000 150 L R2,0(,R5) R2 = address of request list
C 050 00000 00050 151 STAT Using STATDS,StaticData
000036 152 Label1 dc 0h Label1
000036 5810 C060 00060 153 L R1,=f'1' load
00003A 5010 9008 00008 154 st r1,WSNumber and save
00003E 5870 C064 00064 155 l R7,=V(RCNVDATE)
000042 5880 C068 00068 156 l r8,=V(RCNVTIME)
157 RETURN
Sample Program - HLASM Page 15
Active Usings (1):WorkingStorage,R9 Entry1,R12 PlistIn.Plist,R2 PlistOut.Plist,R3 STAT.STATDS(X'FB0'),R12+X'50'
000046 07FE 159+ BR 14 RETURN 01-RETUR
000048 00000036 160 pLabel1 dc a(Label1) address of Label1
161 RCNVDATE ALIAS c'DateRcvd'
000050 162 StaticData ds 0D'0'
000050 E2E3C1E3C9C3C440 163 StatDate dc CL16'STATICD'
000000 00000 00018 164 STATDS dsect
000000 165 SDATA ds CL16' '
000010 00000014 166 pNumDays DC A(NumDays)
000014 00000064 167 NumDays DC A(100)
000000 00000 00014 168 Plist DSECT SAMP01 input parameter list
000000 169 inputN ds F'0' input identifier
000004 170 inputD ds cl16' ' input description
000000 00000 0001C 171 WorkingStorage DSECT program w/s
000000 172 WSID ds cl8'WORKAREA' identifier
000008 173 WSNumber ds f
00000C 174 WSDate ds cl16' ' WS Date
175 End
** ASMA138W Non-empty PUSH USING stack
** ASMA435I Record 56 in SMORSA.BOOK.SAMPLE.ASM(SAMP01) on volume: 37P003
000060 00000001 176 =f'1'
000064 00000000 177 =V(RCNVDATE)
000068 00000000 178 =V(RCNVTIME)
Figure 6. Source and object listing section—121 format
1
The assembled address of the object code occupies six characters.
2
The Addr1 and Addr2 columns show six-character operand addresses.
3
The first five characters of the macro name are shown in the identification-sequence field.

Assembler listings
133-character listing format

Figure 7 on page 44 shows an example of the Source and Object section when the same assembly is run
with assembler option LIST(133), and is followed by a description of its differences with Figure 6 on page
43:
SAMP01 Sample Listing Description Page 3

Active Usings: None
1
00000000 00000000 000000E0 2 Samp01 Csect
22 Entry1 SAMPMAC Parm1=YES 00002300
00000000 18CF 23+Entry1 LR 12,15 01-SAMPMAC
24+ ENTRY Entry1 01-SAMPMAC
2
R:C 00000000 25+ USING Entry1,12 Ordinary Using 01-SAMPMAC
00000002 0000 0000 00000000 26+ LA Savearea,10 01-SAMPMAC
** ASMA044E Undefined symbol - Savearea
** ASMA029E Incorrect register specification - Savearea
** ASMA435I Record 6 in SAMP01 MACLIB A1(SAMPMAC) on volume: EAR191
00000006 50D0 A004 00000004 27+ ST 13,4(,10) 01-SAMPMAC
0000000A 50A0 D008 00000008 28+ ST 10,8(,13) 01-SAMPMAC
0000000E 18DA 29+ LR 13,10 01-SAMPMAC
3
R:A35 00000010 30+ USING *,10,3,5 Ordinary Using,Multiple Base 01-SAMPMAC
** ASMA303W Multiple address resolutions may result from this USING and the USING on statement number 25
** ASMA435I Record 10 in SAMP01 MACLIB A1(SAMPMAC) on volume: EAR191
31+ DROP 10,3,5 Drop Multiple Registers 01-SAMPMAC
32 COPY SAMPLE 00002400
33=* Line from member SAMPLE
C 02A 00000000 0000002A 34 Using IHADCB,INDCB Establish DCB addressability 00002500
C 07A 00000000 0000007A 35 ODCB Using IHADCB,OUTDCB 00002600
36 push using 00002700
R:2 00000000 37 PlistIn Using Plist,2 Establish Plist addressability 00002800
R:3 00000000 38 PlistOut Using Plist,3 00002900
SAMP01 Sample Listing Description Page 4
Active Usings (1):Entry1,R12 IHADCB(X'FD6'),R12+X'2A' PlistIn.plist,R2 PlistOut.plist,R3
ODCB.IHADCB(X'F86'),R12+X'7A'
Loc Object Code Addr1 Addr2 Stmt Source Statement HLASM R6.0HLASM R6.0 2008/07/11 17.48
00000010 1851 40 ?Branch LR R5,R1 Save Plist pointer 00003100
** ASMA147E Symbol too long, or first character not a letter - ?Branch
** ASMA435I Record 30 in SAMP01 ASSEMBLE A1 on volume: EAR191
00000012 5820 5000 00000000 41 L R2,0(,R5) R2 = address of request list 00003200
00000016 47F0 C022 00000022 42 B Open 00003300
697 End 00055100
000000D0 00000001 698 =f'1'
000000D4 00000000 699 =V(RCNVDATE)
000000D8 00000000 700 =V(RCNVTIME)
000000DC 00000002 701 =f'2'
Figure 7. Source and object listing section—133 format
1
The assembled address of the object code occupies 6 characters.
2
The Addr1 and Addr2 columns show 6-character operand addresses.
3
The first five characters of the macro name are shown in the identification-sequence field.
Relocation dictionary
Figure 8 on page 44 shows an example of the Relocation Dictionary section of the listing, which contains
information passed to the linkage editor, or z/OS Program Management Binder, in the object module. The
entries describe the address constants in the assembled program that are affected by relocation.
Relocation Dictionary Page 7

1 2 3 4 5
Pos.Id Rel.Id Address Type Action HLASM R6.0 2015/02/20 18.42
00000004 00000004 00000048 A 4 +
00000004 00000007 00000064 V 4 ST
00000004 00000008 00000068 V 4 ST
Figure 8. Relocation dictionary
1
Indicates the ESD ID assigned to the ESD entry for the control section in which the address constant is
defined.
Assembler listings
2
Indicates the ESD ID assigned to the ESD entry for the control section to which this address constant
refers.
3
Shows the assembled address of the address constant.
4
Indicates the type and length of the address constant. The type may be one of the following:
A
A-type address constant
V
V-type address constant
Q
Q-type address constant
J
J-type address constant or CXD instruction
R
R-type address constant
RI
Relative Immediate offset
5
Indicates the relocation action. The action may be one of the following:
+
the relocation operand is added to the address constant
-
the relocation operand is subtracted from the address constant
ST
the relocation operand overwrites the address constant
You can suppress this section of the listing by specifying the NORLD assembler option.
Ordinary symbol and literal cross-reference

Figure 9 on page 46 shows an example of the Ordinary Symbol and Literal Cross Reference section of the
listing. It shows a list of symbols and literals defined in your program. This is a useful tool for checking the
logic of your program. It helps you see if your data references and branches are correct.

Assembler listings
Ordinary Symbol and Literal Cross Reference Page 8

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 7 9 10
Symbol Length Value Id R Type Asm Program Defn References HLASM R6.0 2015/02/20 18.42
Entry1 2 00000000 00000004 I 128 129 130U
Label1 2 00000036 00000004 H H 152 160
NumDays 4 00000014 FFFFFFFF A A 167 166
Plist 1 00000000 FFFFFFFE J 168 146U 147U
RCNVDATE 1 00000000 00000007 T 177 177
RCNVTIME 1 00000000 00000008 T 178 178
R1 1 00000001 00000004 A U 35 148 153M 154
R2 1 00000002 00000004 A U 36 150M
R5 1 00000005 00000004 A U 39 148M 150
R7 1 00000007 00000004 A U 41 155M
R8 1 00000008 00000004 A U 42 156M
R9 1 00000009 00000004 A U 43 149U
Savearea ***UNDEFINED*** 00000000 U 131
STATDS 1 00000000 FFFFFFFF J 164 151U
StaticData
8 00000050 00000004 D D 162 151U
WorkingStorage
1 00000000 FFFFFFFD J 171 149U
WSNumber 4 00000008 FFFFFFFD F F 173 154M
=f'1' 4 00000060 00000004 F 176 153
=V(RCNVDATE)
4 00000064 00000004 V 177 155
=V(RCNVTIME)
4 00000068 00000004 V 178 156
Figure 9. Ordinary symbol and literal cross-reference
1
Each symbol or literal. Symbols are shown in the form in which they are defined, either in the
name entry of a machine or assembler instruction, or in the operand of an EXTRN or WXTRN
instruction. Symbols defined using mixed-case letters are shown in mixed-case letters, unless the
FOLD assembler option was specified.
2
The byte length of the field represented by the symbol, in decimal notation.
3
Shows the hexadecimal address that the symbol or literal represents, or the hexadecimal value to
which the symbol is equated.
4
Shows the ESD ID assigned to the ESD entry for the control section in which the symbol or literal is
defined.
5
Column title R is an abbreviation for “Relocatability Type”.
6
Indicates the type attribute of the symbol or literal.
7
Indicates the assembler type of the symbol.
7
Indicates the program type of the symbol.
9
Indicates the number of the statement in which the symbol or literal was defined.
10
Shows the statement numbers of the statements in which the symbol or literal appears as an operand.
Additional indicators are suffixed to statement numbers as follows:
B
The statement contains a branch instruction, and the symbol is used as the branch-target
operand.
D
The statement contains a DROP instruction, and the symbol is used in the instruction operand.
M
The statement caused the field named by the symbol to be modified.
Assembler listings
U
The statement contains a USING instruction, and the symbol is used in one of the instruction
operands.
X
The statement contains an EX machine instruction and the symbol, in the second operand, is the
symbolic address of the target instruction.
You can suppress this section of the listing by specifying the NOXREF assembler option. You can also
suppress all symbols not referenced in the assembly by specifying the XREF(SHORT) assembler option.
Unreferenced symbols defined in CSECTs

Figure 10 on page 47 shows an example of the Unreferenced Symbols Defined in CSECTs section of the
listing. This section contains a list of symbols defined in CSECTs in your program that are not referenced.
It helps you remove unnecessary labels and data definitions, and reduce the size of your program. Use the
XREF(UNREFS) assembler option to produce this section.
Unreferenced Symbols Defined in CSECTs Page 9

1 2
Defn Symbol HLASM R6.0 2015/02/20 18.42
110 AR0
111 AR1
120 AR10
91 CR0
92 CR1
143 DateOne
137 Entry1Date
Figure 10. Unreferenced symbols defined in CSECTS
1
Shows the statement number that defines the symbol.
2
Shows the symbol name.
General Purpose Register cross-reference

Figure 11 on page 47 shows an example of the General Purpose Register Cross Reference section of the
listing. It lists the registers, and the lines where they are referenced. This helps find all references to
registers, particularly those generated by macros that do not use symbolic names, or references using
symbolic names than the common R0, R1, and so on.
General Purpose Register Cross Reference Page 11

Register References (M=modified, B=branch, U=USING, D=DROP, N=index) HLASM R6.0 2008/07/11 17.48
1 2
0(0) (no references identified)
1(1) 40 396M 397M 400M
2(2) 37U 41M 399M
3(3) 30U 31D 38U
4(4) (no references identified) 3
5(5) 30U 31D 40M 41
10(A) 27 28 29 30U 31D
11(B) (no references identified)
12(C) 23M 25U
13(D) 27 28 29M
14(E) (no references identified)
15(F) 23
Figure 11. General Purpose Register cross-reference

Assembler listings
1
Lists the sixteen general registers (0–15).
2
The statements within the program that reference the register. Additional indicators are suffixed to
the statement numbers as follows:
(blank)
Referenced
M
Modified
B
Used as a branch address
U
Used in USING statement
D
Used in DROP statement
N
Used as an index register
3
The assembler indicates when it has not detected any references to a register.
You can produce this section of the listing by specifying the RXREF
Note: The implicit use of a register to resolve a symbol to a base and displacement does not create a
reference in the General Purpose Register Cross Reference.
Macro and copy code source summary

Figure 12 on page 48 shows an example of the Macro and Copy Code Source Summary section of
the listing. This section shows where the assembler read each macro or copy code member from. It
helps you ensure you have included the correct version of a macro or copy code member. Either the
MXREF(SOURCE), or MXREF(FULL) assembler option generates this section of the listing.
Macro and Copy Code Source Summary Page 11

1 2 3 4
Con Source Volume Members HLASM R6.0 2015/02/20
18.42
L1 SMORSA.BOOK.SAMPLE.MACS 37P004 MACSAMP
L2 SMORSA.BOOK.SAMPLE.COPY 37P002 MEMSAMP
L3 ANTZ.HLASM.V160.SPA160.AASMMAC2 37P001 ASMDREG
L4 SYS1.MACLIB 37SY03 RETURN SYSSTATE
Figure 12. Macro and copy code source summary
1
Shows the concatenation value representing the source of the macros and copy code members. This
number is not shown if the source is PRIMARY INPUT. The number is prefixed with L which indicates
Library. The concatenation value is cross referenced in the Macro and Copy Code Cross Reference
section, and the Diagnostic Cross Reference and Assembler Summary section.
2
Shows the name of each library from which the assembler read a macro or a copy code member. The
term PRIMARY INPUT is used for in-line macros.
3
Shows the volume serial number of the volume on which the library resides.
4
Shows the names of the macros or copy members.
Assembler listings
You can suppress this section of the listing by specifying the NOMXREF assembler option, or by specifying
the MXREF(XREF) assembler option.
Macro and copy code cross-reference

Figure 13 on page 49 shows an example of the Macro and Copy Code Cross Reference section of the
listing. This section lists the names of macros and copy code members used in the program, and the
statement numbers where each was called. Either the MXREF(XREF), or MXREF(FULL) assembler option
generates this section of the listing.
Macro and Copy Code Cross Reference Page 12

1 2 3 4 5
Macro Con Called By Defn References HLASM R6.0 2015/02/20 18.42
ASMDREG L3 PRIMARY INPUT - 25
MACSAMP L1 PRIMARY INPUT - 127
MEMSAMP L2 PRIMARY INPUT - 138C 6
RETURN L4 PRIMARY INPUT - 157
SYSSTATE L4 RETURN - 158
Figure 13. Macro and copy code cross-reference
1
Shows the macro or copy code member name.
2
Shows the concatenation value representing the source of the macro or copy code member. This
value is cross-referenced in the Macro and Copy Code Source Summary section, and under Datasets
Allocated for this Assembly in the Diagnostic Cross Reference and Assembler Summary section.
3
Shows the name of the macro that calls this macro or copy code member, or PRIMARY INPUT,
meaning that the macro or copy code member was called directly from the primary input source.
4
Shows one of the following:
• The statement number for macros defined in the primary input file
• A dash (–) for macros or copy code members read from a library.
5
Shows the statement number that contains the macro call or COPY instruction.
6
Shows the statement reference number with a suffix of C, which indicates that the member is
specified on a COPY instruction.
Figure 14 on page 49 shows an example of the Macro and Copy Code Cross Reference section when you
specify the LIBMAC assembler option.
Macro and Copy Code Cross Reference Page 38

1
Macro Con Called By Defn References HLASM R6.0 2015/04/14 08.16
ASMDREG L3 PRIMARY INPUT 26X 226
MACSAMP L1 PRIMARY INPUT 333X 345
MEMSAMP L2 PRIMARY INPUT - 356C
RETURN L4 PRIMARY INPUT 376X 463
SYSSTATE L4 RETURN 669X 1026
Figure 14. Macro and copy code cross reference - with LIBMAC option
1
The "X" flag indicates the macro was read from a macro library and imbedded in the input source
program immediately preceding the invocation of that macro. For example, in Figure 14 on page 49,
you can see that MACSAMP was called by the PRIMARY INPUT stream from LIBRARY L1, at statement
number 345, after being embedded in the input stream at statement number 333.

Assembler listings
You can suppress this section of the listing by specifying the NOMXREF assembler option, or the
MXREF(SOURCE) assembler option.
DSECT cross-reference
Figure 15 on page 50 shows an example of the DSECT Cross Reference section of the listing. This section
shows the names of all internal and external dummy sections defined in the program, and the statement
number where the definition of the dummy section begins.
Dsect Cross Reference Page 13

1 2 3 4
Dsect Length Id Defn HLASM R6.0 2015/02/20 18.42
Plist 00000014 FFFFFFFE 168
STATDS 00000018 FFFFFFFF 164
WorkingStorage
0000001C FFFFFFFD 171
Figure 15. DSECT cross-reference
1
Shows the name of each dummy section defined in your program.
2
Shows, in hexadecimal notation, the assembled byte length of the dummy section.
3
Shows the ESD ID assigned to the ESD entry for external dummy sections. For internal dummy
sections it shows the control section ID assigned to the dummy control section. You can use this field
in conjunction with the ID field in the Ordinary Symbol and Literal Cross Reference section to relate
symbols to a specific DSECT.
4
Shows the number of the statement where the definition of the dummy section begins.
You can suppress this section of the listing by specifying the NODXREF assembler option.
USING map
Figure 16 on page 50 shows an example of the Using Map section of the listing. It shows a summary of
the USING, DROP, PUSH USING, and POP USING instructions used in your program.
Using Map Page 14

HLASM R6.0 2015/02/20 18.42
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Stmt -----Location----- Action ----------------Using----------------- Reg Max Last Label and Using Text
Count Id Type Value Range Id Disp Stmt
130 00000002 00000004 USING ORDINARY 00000000 00001000 00000004 12 00068 156 Entry1,12
135 00000010 00000004 USING ORDINARY 00000010 00001000 00000004 10 00000 *,10,3,5
135 00000010 00000004 USING ORDINARY 00001010 00001000 00000004 3 00000
135 00000010 00000004 USING ORDINARY 00002010 00001000 00000004 5 00000
136 00000010 00000004 DROP 10 10
136 00000010 00000004 DROP 3 3
136 00000010 00000004 DROP 5 5
145 00000030 00000004 PUSH
146 00000030 00000004 USING LABELED 00000000 00001000 FFFFFFFE 2 00000 PlistIn.Plist,2
147 00000030 00000004 USING LABELED 00000000 00001000 FFFFFFFE 3 00000 PlistOut.Plist,3
149 00000032 00000004 USING ORDINARY 00000000 00001000 FFFFFFFD 9 00008 154 WorkingStorage,R9
151 00000036 00000004 USING LAB+DEPND +00000050 00000FB0 FFFFFFFF 12 STAT.STATDS,StaticData
Figure 16. USING map
1
Shows the number of the statement that contains the USING, DROP, PUSH USING, or POP USING
instruction.
2
Shows the value of the location counter when the USING, DROP, PUSH USING, or POP USING
statement was encountered.
Assembler listings
3
Shows the value of the ESDID of the current section when the USING, DROP, PUSH USING, or POP
USING statement was encountered.
4
Shows whether the instruction was a USING, DROP, PUSH, or POP instruction.
5
For USING instructions, this field indicates whether the USING is an ordinary USING, a labeled USING,
a dependent USING, or a labeled dependent USING.
6
For ordinary and labeled USING instructions, this field indicates the base address that is specified in
the USING. For dependent USING instructions, this field is prefixed with a plus sign (+) and indicates
the hexadecimal offset of the address of the second operand from the base address that is specified
in the corresponding ordinary USING.
For a USING statement which specified a lower limit, an extra line is added where the field below the
base address shows the lower limit relative to the location addressed by the first base register.
7
Shows the range of the USING. For more information, see "USING instruction" in the HLASM Language
Reference.
For a USING statement which specified an upper limit, an extra line is added where the field below the
range value shows the upper limit relative to the location addressed by the first base register.
8
For USING instructions, this field indicates the ESDID of the section that is specified on the USING
statement.
9
For ordinary and labeled USING instructions, and for DROP instructions, this field indicates the
register or registers specified in the instruction. There is a separate line in the USING map for each
register that is specified in the instruction. If the DROP instruction has no operands, all registers and
labels are dropped and this field contains two asterisks (**).
For dependent USING instructions, the field indicates the register for the corresponding ordinary
USING instruction that is used to resolve the address. If the corresponding ordinary USING instruction
has multiple registers that are specified, only the first register that is used to resolve the address is
displayed.
10
For each base register specified in an ordinary USING instruction or a labeled USING instruction, this
field shows the maximum displacement that is calculated by the assembler when resolving symbolic
addresses into base-displacement form by using that base register.
11
For ordinary and labeled USING instructions, this field indicates the statement number of the last
statement that used the specified base register to resolve an address. Where an ordinary USING
instruction is used to resolve a dependent USING, the statement number printed reflects the use of
the register to resolve the dependent USING.
12
For USING and DROP instructions, this field lists the text that is specified on the USING or DROP
instruction, which is truncated if necessary. For labeled USING instructions, the text is preceded by
the label specified for the USING.
If a DROP instruction drops more than one register or labeled USING, the text for each register or
labeled USING is printed on the line corresponding to the register that is dropped.
You can suppress this section of the listing by specifying the USING(NOMAP) assembler option, or the
NOUSING assembler option.

Assembler listings
Diagnostic cross-reference and assembler summary

Figure 17 on page 52 shows an example of the Diagnostic Cross Reference and Assembler Summary
section of the listing. This sample listing is from a CMS assembly, and shows CMS data set information.
This section includes a summary of the statements flagged with diagnostic messages, and provides
statistics about the assembly. You cannot suppress this section unless you use a LISTING exit to discard
the listing lines.
See the description of the sample LISTING exit, which lets you suppress this section.
Diagnostic Cross Reference and Assembler Summary Page 16

HLASM R6.0 2015/02/20 18.42
Statements Flagged
1 131(L1:MACSAMP,10), 135(L1:MACSAMP,14), 148(P1,31), 175(P1,56)
2 4 Statements Flagged in this Assembly 8 was Highest Severity Code
HIGH LEVEL ASSEMBLER, 5696-234, RELEASE 6.0, PTF R160 3
SYSTEM: z/OS 02.01.00 JOBNAME: SAMP01 STEPNAME: C PROCSTEP: (NOPROC) 4
Data Sets Allocated for this Assembly 5
Con DDname Data Set Name Volume Member
A1 ASMAOPT SMORSA.SAMP01.JOB47707.D0000101.?
P1 SYSIN SMORSA.BOOK.SAMPLE.ASM 37P003 SAMP01
L1 SYSLIB SMORSA.BOOK.SAMPLE.MACS 37P004
L2 SMORSA.BOOK.SAMPLE.COPY 37P002
L3 ANTZ.HLASM.V160.SPA160.AASMMAC2 37P001
L4 SYS1.MACLIB 37SY03
6 SYSPRINT SMORSA.SAMP01.JOB47707.D0000102.?
10 64708K allocated to Buffer Pool Storage required 248K

11 56 Primary Input Records Read 13 925 Library Records Read 0 Work File Reads
12 3 ASMAOPT Records Read 14 386 Primary Print Records Written 0 Work File Writes
15 1 Object Records Written 16 0 ADATA Records Written
Assembly Start Time: 18.42.10 Stop Time: 18.42.11 Processor Time: 00.00.00.0044 16
Return Code 008
Figure 17. Diagnostic cross-reference and assembler summary
1
The statement number of a statement that causes an error message, or contains an MNOTE
instruction, appears in this list. Flagged statements are shown in either of two formats. When
assembler option FLAG(NORECORD) is specified, only the statement number is shown. When
assembler option FLAG(RECORD) is specified, the format is: statement(dsnum:member,record), where:
statement
is the sequential, absolute statement number as shown in the source and object section of the
listing.
dsnum
is the value applied to the source or library dataset, showing the type of input file and the
concatenation number. "P" indicates the statement was read from the primary input source, and
"L" indicates the statement was read from a library. This value is cross-referenced to the input
datasets listed under the sub-heading "Datasets Allocated for this Assembly" 4 .
member
is the name of the macro from which the statement was read. On z/OS, this may also be the name
of a partitioned data set member that is included in the primary input (SYSIN) concatenation.
record
is the relative record number from the start of the dataset or member which contains the flagged
statement.
2
The number of statements flagged, and the highest non-zero severity code of all messages issued.
3
Provides information about the system on which the assembly was run.
4
On z/OS and CMS, all data sets used in the assembly are listed by their standard DDname. The data
set information includes the data set name, and the serial number of the volume containing the data
set. On z/OS, the data set information may also include the name of a member of a partitioned data
set (PDS).
Macro-generated statements
If a user exit provides the data set information, then the data set name is the value extracted from the
Exit-Specific Information Block described in "" in the HLASM Programmer's Guide.
The "Con" column shows the concatenation value assigned for each input data set. You use this value
to cross-reference flagged statements, and macros and copy code members listed in the Macro and
Copy Code Cross Reference section.
5
Output data sets do not have a concatenation value.
6
The usage statistics of external functions for the assembly. The following statistics are reported:
SETAF function calls
The number of times the function was called from a SETAF assembler instruction.
SETCF function calls
The number of times the function was called from a SETCF assembler instruction.
Messages issued
The number of times the function requested that a message be issued.
Messages severity
The maximum severity for the messages issued by this function.
Function name
The name of the external function module.
10
On z/VSE, the assembly start and stop times in hours, minutes and seconds.
On z/OS and CMS, the assembly start and stop times in hours, minutes and seconds and the
approximate amount of processor time used for the assembly, in hours, minutes, and seconds to
four decimal places.
Improved page-break handling

In order to prevent unnecessary page ejects that leave blank pages in the listing, the assembler takes into
account the effect EJECT, SPACE and TITLE instructions have when the assembler listing page is full. The
EJECT and TITLE instruction explicitly starts a new page, while the assembler implicitly starts a new page
when the current page is full.
When an explicit new page is pending the following processing occurs:
• Successive EJECT statements are ignored
• Successive TITLE statements allow the title to change but the EJECT is ignored
• A SPACE statement forces a new page heading to be written, followed by the given number of blank
lines. The number of blank lines specified can cause an implicit page eject if the number exceeds the
page depth.
When an implicit new page is pending the following processing occurs:
• An EJECT statement converts the implicit new page to an explicit pending new page.
• A TITLE statement converts the implicit new page to an explicit pending new page and redefines the
title.
• Any other statement forces a new page heading to be printed.
A macro-generated statement is a statement generated by the assembler after a macro call. During
macro generation, the assembler copies any model statements processed in the macro definition into the
input stream for further processing. Model statements are statements from which assembler language

statements are generated during conditional assembly. You can use variable symbols as points of
substitution in a model statement to vary the contents or format of a generated statement.
Open code: Model statements can also be included in open code by using variable symbols as points of
substitution.
Sequence field in macro-generated statements

The Source and Object section of the listing includes an identification-sequence field for macro-generated
statements. This field is printed to the extreme right of each generated statement in the listing.
When a statement is generated from a library macro, the identification-sequence field of the generated
statement contains the nesting level of the macro call in the first two columns, a hyphen in the third
column, and the macro definition name in the remaining columns.
On z/OS and CMS, when you specify the LIST(121) assembler option, the first 5 characters of the
macro name are printed after the hyphen. When you specify the LIST(133) assembler option, the first 8
characters of the macro name are printed after the hyphen.
On z/VSE, only the first 5 characters of the macro name are printed after the hyphen.
This information can be an important diagnostic aid when analyzing output dealing with macro calls within
macro calls.
When a statement is generated from an in-line macro or a copied library macro, the identification-
sequence field of the generated statement contains the nesting level of the macro call in the first two
columns, a hyphen in the third column, and the model statement number from the definition in the
remaining columns.
Format of macro-generated statements

Whenever possible, the assembler prints a generated statement in the same format as the corresponding
macro-definition (model) statement. The assembler preserves the starting columns of the operation,
operand, and comments fields unless they are displaced by field substitution, as shown in the following
example:
1 macro
2 macgen
3 &A SETC 'abcdefghijklmnopq'
4 &A LA 1,4 Comment
5 &B SETC 'abc'
6 &B LA 1,4 Comment
7 mend
8 macgen
000000 4110 0004 00004 9+abcdefghijklmnopq LA 1,4 Comment 01-00004
000004 4110 0004 00004 10+abc LA 1,4 Comment 01-00006
11 end
Figure 18. Format of macro-generated statements
Macro-generated statements with PRINT NOGEN

The PRINT NOGEN instruction suppresses the printing of all statements generated by the processing of a
macro. PRINT NOGEN also suppress the generated statement for model statements in open code. When
the PRINT NOGEN instruction is in effect, the assembler prints one of the following on the same line as
the macro call or model statement:
• The object code for the first instruction generated. The object code includes the data that is shown
under the ADDR1 and ADDR2 columns of the assembler listing.
• The first 8 bytes of generated data from a DC instruction
Diagnostic messages in macro assembly
When the assembler forces alignment of an instruction or data constant, it generates zeros in the object
code and prints the generated object code in the listing. When you use the PRINT NOGEN instruction the
generated zeros are not printed.
Note: If the next line to print after macro call or model statement is a diagnostic message, the object code
or generated data is not shown in the assembler listing.
Figure 19 on page 55 shows the object code of the first statement generated for the wto macro
instruction when PRINT NOGEN is effective. The data constant (DC) for jump causes 7 bytes of binary
zeroes to be generated before the DC to align the constant on a double word. With PRINT NOGEN
effective, these are not shown, but the location counter accounts for them.

⋮
000016 1851 13 lr 5,1
14 print nogen
000018 4510 F026 00002 15 wto 'Hello'
000028 C1 23 dc cl1'A'
000030 4238000000000000 24 jump dc d'56'

⋮
Figure 19. The effect of the PRINT NOGEN instruction
Diagnostic messages in macro assembly

The diagnostic facilities for High Level Assembler include diagnostic messages for format errors within
macro definitions, and assembly errors caused by statements generated by the macro.
Error messages for a library macro definition

Format errors within a particular library macro definition are listed directly following the first call to that
macro. Subsequent calls to the library macro do not result in this type of diagnostic. You can bring the
macro definition into the source program with a COPY statement or by using the LIBMAC assembler
option. The format errors then follow immediately after the statements in error. The macro definition in
Figure 20 on page 55 shows a format error in the LCLC instruction:
MACRO
MAC1
⋮
LCLC &.A Invalid variable symbol
⋮
&N SETA &A
⋮
MEND
Figure 20. Macro definition with format error
Figure 21 on page 56 shows the placement of error messages when the macro is called:

Terminal output
1 MAC1
** ASMA024E Invalid variable symbol - MACRO - MAC1
⋮
** ASMA003E Undeclared variable symbol; default=0, null, or type=U - LIBMA/A
⋮
36 MAC1
⋮
** ASMA003E Undeclared variable symbol; default=0, null, or type=U - LIBMA/A
⋮
66 END
Figure 21. Error messages for a library macro definition
Error messages for source program macro definitions

The assembler prints diagnostic messages for macro-generated statements even if the PRINT NOGEN
instruction is in effect. In-line macro editing error diagnostic messages are inserted in the listing directly
following the macro definition statement in error. Errors analyzed during macro generation produce in-line
messages in the generated statements.
Terminal output
On z/OS and CMS, the TERM option lets you receive a summary of the assembly at your terminal. You may
direct the terminal output to a disk data set.
On z/VSE, the TERM option lets you send a summary of the assembly to SYSLOG.
The output from the assembly includes all error diagnostic messages and the source statement in error. It
also shows the number of flagged statements and the highest severity code.
The terminal output can be shown in two formats. Figure 23 on page 56, the wide format, shows the
source statements in the same columns as they were in the input data set. Figure 22 on page 56,
the narrow format, shows the source statements which have been compressed by replacing multiple
consecutive blanks with a single blank. Use the TERM assembler option to control the format.
1 &abc setc l'f 00000100

ASMA137S Invalid character expression - l'f
000000 3 dc c'' 00000300
ASMA068S Length error - '
Assembler Done 2 Statements Flagged / 12 was Highest Severity Code
Figure 22. Sample terminal output in the NARROW format
1 &abc setc l'f

00000100
ASMA137S Invalid character expression - l'f
000000 3 dc c''
00000300
ASMA068S Length error - '
Assembler Done 2 Statements Flagged / 12 was Highest Severity Code
Figure 23. Sample terminal output in the WIDE format
You can replace or modify the terminal output using a TERM user exit. See Chapter 5, “Using exits to
complement file processing ,” on page 33.
Input/output enhancements
High Level Assembler includes the following enhancements:
• QSAM Input/Output
The assembler uses QSAM input/output for all sequential data sets.
CMS interface command
• System-Determined Blocksize
Under z/OS, High Level Assembler supports DFSMS System-Determined Blocksize (SDB) for all output
datasets.
SDB is applicable when all of the following conditions are true:
– You run High Level Assembler under a z/OS operating system that includes a DFSMS level of 3.1 or
higher.
– You DO NOT allocate the data set to SYSOUT.
– Your JCL omits the blocksize, or specifies a blocksize of zero.
– You specify a record length (LRECL).
– You specify a record format (RECFM).
– You specify a data set organization (DSORG).
If these conditions are met, DFP selects the appropriate blocksize for a new data set depending on the
device type you select for output.
If the System-Determined Blocksize feature is not available, and your JCL omits the blocksize, or
specifies a blocksize of zero, the assembler uses the logical record length as the blocksize.
CMS interface command

The name of the CMS interface command is ASMAHL. Your installation can create a synonym for ASMAHL
when High Level Assembler is installed.
You can specify assembler options as parameters when you issue the High Level Assembler command.
You may delimit each parameter using either a space or comma. There must be no intervening spaces
when you specify suboptions and their delimiters.
The following invocation of High Level Assembler is not correct:
ASMAHL XREF( SHORT )
The assembly continues but issues message ASMA400W ERROR IN INVOCATION PARAMETER in the
High Level Assembler Options Summary section of the assembly listing.
The correct way to specify the option is as follows:
ASMAHL XREF(SHORT)
The Assembler H Version 2 CMS-specific options NUM, STMT, and TERM have been removed. SYSTERM
support is provided by the standard assembler TERM option.
The new SEG and NOSEG options let you specify from where CMS should load the High Level Assembler
modules. By default the assembler loads its modules from the Logical Saved Segment (LSEG), but if the
LSEG is not available, it loads the modules from disk. You can specify the NOSEG option to force the
assembler to load its modules from disk, or you can specify the SEG option to force the assembler to
load its modules from the Logical Saved Segment (LSEG). If the assembler cannot load its modules it
terminates with an error message.
Macro trace facility (MHELP)

The assembler provides you with a set of trace and dump facilities to assist you in debugging errors in
your macros and conditional assembly language. You use the MHELP instruction to invoke these trace and
dump facilities. You can code a MHELP instruction anywhere in open code or in macro definitions. The
operands on the MHELP instruction let you control which facilities to invoke. Each trace or dump remains
in effect until you supersede it with another MHELP instruction.
The MHELP instruction lets you select one or more of the following facilities:

Abnormal termination of assembly
Macro Call Trace

A one-line trace for each macro call
Macro Branch Trace
A one-line trace for each AGO and true AIF conditional assembly statement within a macro
Macro Entry Dump
A dump of parameter values from the macro dictionary immediately after a macro call is processed
Macro Exit Dump
A dump of SET symbol values from the macro dictionary on encountering a MEND or MEXIT statement
Macro AIF dump
A dump of SET symbol values from the macro dictionary immediately before each AIF statement that
is encountered
Global Suppression
Suppresses the dumping of global SET symbols in the two preceding types of dump
Macro Hex Dump
An EBCDIC and hexadecimal dump of the parameters and SETC symbol values when you select the
Macro AIF dump, the Macro Exit dump or the Macro Entry dump
MHELP suppression
Stops all active MHELP options.
MHELP Control on &SYSNDX
Controls the maximum value of the &SYSNDX system variable symbol. The limit is set by specifying
the number in the operand of the MHELP instruction. When the &SYSNDX value is exceeded, the
assembler produces a diagnostic message, terminates all current macro generation, and ignores all
subsequent macro calls.
Abnormal termination of assembly

Whenever the assembler detects an error condition that prevents the assembly from completing, it issues
an assembly termination message and, in most cases, produces a specially formatted dump. This feature
helps you determine the nature of the error. The dump is also useful if the abnormal termination is caused
by an error in the assembler itself.
Diagnosis facility
If there is an error in the assembler, the IBM service representative may ask for the output produced
by the assembler, and the source program to help debug the error. A new internal trace facility in the
assembler can provide the IBM service representative with additional debugging information. The IBM
service representative determines the need for this information and the circumstances under which it can
be produced. Until this facility is invoked, its inclusion in the assembler does not impact the performance.
Associated Data Architecture
Chapter 7. Associated Data Architecture
This chapter describes High Level Assembler support for the associated data architecture. Associated
data was previously known as assembler language program data. This support includes a general-use
programming interface which lets you write programs to use the associated data records the High Level
Assembler produces.
The associated data (ADATA) file contains language-dependent and language-independent records.
Language-dependent records contain information that is relevant only to programs assembled by the High
Level Assembler. Language-independent records contain information that is common to all programming
languages that produce ADATA records, and includes information about the environment the program is
assembled in. You use the ADATA assembler option to produce this file.
The ADATA file contains variable-length blocked records. The maximum record length is 32756 bytes, and
the maximum block size is 32760 bytes.
The file contains records classified into different record types. Each type of record provides information
about the assembler language program being assembled. Each record consists of two parts:
• A 12-byte header section which has the same structure for all record types
• A variable-length data section, which varies by record type
The header section contains:
• The language code
• The record code, which identifies the type of record
• The associated data file architecture level
• A continuation flag indicator
• The record edition number
• The length of data following
The records written to the ADATA file are:
Job identification
This record provides information about the assembly job, and its environment, including the names of
primary input files.
ADATA identification
This record contains the Universal Time, and the Coded Character Set used by the assembler.
ADATA compilation-unit (Start)
This record contains the assembly start time.
ADATA compilation-unit (End)
This record contains the assembly stop time, and the number of ADATA records written.
Output file information
This record provides information about the data sets the assembler produces.
Options file information
This record provides information about the external options file the assembler read, if provided
Options
This record contains the assembler options specified for the assembly.
External Symbol Dictionary (ESD)
This record describes all the control sections, including DSECTs, defined in the program.
Source analysis
This record contains the assembled source statements, with additional data describing the type and
specific contents of the statement.

Associated Data Architecture
Source error
This record contains error message information the assembler produces after a source statement in
error.
DC/DS
This record describes the constant or storage defined by a source program statement that contains
a DC or DS instruction. If a source program statement contains a DC or DS instruction, then a DC/DS
record is written following the Source record.
DC extension
This record describes the object code generated by a DC statement when the DC statement has
repeating fields. This record is only created if the DC statement has a duplication factor greater than 1
and at least one of the operand values has a reference to the current location counter (*).
Machine instruction
This record describes the object code generated for a source program statement. If a source program
statement causes machine instructions to be generated, then a Machine Instruction record is written
following the Source record.
Relocation Dictionary (RLD)
This record describes the relocation dictionary information that is included in the object module.
Symbol
This record describes a single symbol or literal defined in the program.
Ordinary symbol and literal cross-reference
This record describes references to a single symbol.
Macro and copy code source summary
This record describes the source of each macro and copy code member retrieved by the program.
Macro and copy code cross-reference
This record describes references to a single macro or copy code member.
USING map
This record describes all USING, DROP, PUSH USING, and POP USING statements in the program.
Statistics
This record describes the statistics about the assembly.
User-supplied information
This record contains data from the ADATA instruction.
Register cross-reference
This record describes references to a single General Purpose register.
Factors improving performance
Chapter 8. Factors improving performance
This chapter describes some of the methods used by High Level Assembler that improve assembler
execution performance relative to earlier assemblers. These improvements are gauged on the
performance of typical assemblies, and there might be cases where the particular circumstances of your
application or system configuration do not achieve them. The main factors that improve the performance
of High Level Assembler are:
• Logical text stream and tables that are a result of the internal assembly process remain resident in
virtual storage, whenever possible, throughout the assembly.
• High Level Assembler can be installed in shared virtual storage.
• High Level Assembler exploits 31-bit addressing.
• High Level Assembler runs entirely in storage: the utility files, SYSUT1 or IJSYS03, are no longer used.
• Two or more assemblies can be done with one invocation of the assembler.
• High Level Assembler edits only the macro definitions that it encounters during a given macro
generation or during conditional assembly of open code, as controlled by AIF and AGO statements.
• Source text assembly passes are consolidated. The edit and generation of macro statements are done
on a demand basis in one pass of the source text.
Resident tables and source text: Keeping intermediate text, macro definition text, dictionaries, and
symbol tables in main storage whenever possible improves performance. High Level Assembler writes
working storage blocks to the assembler work data set only if necessary, and then only if the WORKFILE
option is specified. Less input and output reduces system overhead and frees channels and input/output
devices for other uses.
The amount of working storage allocated to High Level Assembler is determined by the SIZE assembler
option, and is limited only by the amount available in the address space.
Shared virtual storage: High Level Assembler is a reentrant program that can be installed in shared
virtual storage, such as the z/OS Link Pack Area (LPA), a CMS logical saved segment or in a VSE
Shared Virtual Area (SVA). When High Level Assembler is installed in shared virtual storage, the demand
for system resources associated with loading the assembler load modules is reduced. In a multi-user
environment, multiple users are able to share one copy of the assembler load modules.
31-bit addressing: High Level Assembler takes advantage of the extended address space, available
in extended architecture operating systems, by allowing most of its data areas to reside above the
16-megabyte line. I/O areas and exit parameter lists remain in storage below the 16-megabyte line
to satisfy access method requirements and user exits using 24-bit addressing mode. The High Level
Assembler's modules can be loaded above the 16-megabyte line, except for some initialization routines.
31-bit addressing increases the assembler's available work area, which allows larger programs than
previously possible to be assembled in-storage. In-storage assemblies reduce the input and output
system overhead and free channels and input/output devices for other uses.
Multiple assembly: You can run multiple assemblies, known as batching, with one invocation of the
assembler. Source records are placed together, with no intervening ‘/*’ JCL statement.
Batch assembly improves performance by eliminating job and step overhead for each assembly. It is
especially useful for processing related assemblies such as a main program and its subroutines.
Macro-editing process: High Level Assembler edits only those macro definitions encountered during
a given macro generation or during conditional assembly or open code, as controlled by AIF and AGO
statements.
A good example of potential savings by this feature is the process of system generation. During system
generation, High Level Assembler edits only the set of library macro definitions that are expanded; as a
result, High Level Assembler may edit fewer library macro definitions than previous assemblers.

Factors improving performance
Unlike DOS/VSE Assembler, High Level Assembler requires that library macros be stored in source format.
This removes the necessity to edit library macros before they can be stored in the library.
Consolidating source text passes: Consolidating assembly source text passes and other new
organization procedures reduce the number of internal processor instructions used to handle source text
in High Level Assembler, which causes proportionate savings in processor time. The saving is independent
of the size or speed of the system processor involved; it is a measure of the relative efficiency of the
processor.
Assembler options
Appendix A. Assembler options
High Level Assembler provides you with many assembler options for controlling the operation and output
of the assembler. You can set default values at assembler installation time for most of these assembler
options. You can also fix a default option so the option cannot be overridden at assembly time. See
“IBM-supplied default assembler options” on page 15 for a list of the changes to the IBM-supplied
default assembler options from High Level Assembler Release 4.
You specify the options at assembly time on:
• An external file (z/OS and CMS) or library member (z/VSE)
• The JCL PARM parameter of the EXEC statement on z/OS and z/VSE, or the ASMAHL command on CMS.
• The JCL OPTION statement On z/VSE.
• The *PROCESS assembler statement.
The assembler options are:
ADATA | NOADATA
Produce the associated data file.
ALIGN | NOALIGN
Check alignment of addresses in machine instructions and whether DC, DS, DXD, and CXD are aligned
on correct boundaries.
ASA | NOASA
(z/OS and CMS) Produce the assembly listing using American National Standard printer-control
characters. If NOASA is specified the assembler uses machine printer-control characters.
BATCH | NOBATCH
Specify multiple assembler source programs are in the input data set.
CODEPAGE(X'047C')
Specify the code page module to be used to convert Unicode character constants
COMPAT(suboption) | NOCOMPAT
Direct the assembler to remain compatible with earlier assemblers in its handling of lowercase
characters in the source program, and its handling of sublists in SETC symbols, and its handling of
unquoted macro operands. The LITTYPE suboption instructs the assembler to return 'U' as the type
attribute for all literals.
DBCS | NODBCS
Specify that the source program contains double-byte characters.
DECK | NODECK
Produce an object module.
DXREF | NODXREF
Produce the DSECT Cross Reference section of the assembler listing.
ERASE | NOERASE
(CMS) Delete specified files before running the assembly.
ESD | NOESD
Produce the External Symbol Dictionary section of the assembler listing.
EXIT(suboption1,suboption2,…) | NOEXIT
Provide user exits to the assembler for input/output processing.
ADEXIT(name(string)) | NOADEXIT
Identify the name of a user-supplied ADATA exit module.
INEXIT(name(string)) | NOINEXIT
Identify the name of a user-supplied SOURCE exit module.

Assembler options
LIBEXIT(name(string)) | NOLIBEXIT
Identify the name of a user-supplied LIBRARY exit module.
OBJEXIT(name(string)) | NOOBJEXIT
Identify the name of a user-supplied OBJECT exit module.
PRTEXIT(name(string)) | NOPRTEXIT
Identify the name of a user-supplied LISTING exit module.
TRMEXIT(name(string)) | NOTRMEXIT
Identify the name of a user-supplied TERM exit module.
FAIL(suboption1,suboption2,…) | NOFAIL
MSG(msgval) | NOMSG
Specify the minimum severity messages which should have their severity raised.
MNOTE(mnoteval) | NOMNOTE
Specify the minimum severity MNOTEs which should have their severity raised.
MAXERRS(maxerrs) | NOMAXERRS
Specify the number of error message to be issued before assembly terminates.
FLAG(suboption1,suboption2,…)
Specify the level and type of error diagnostic messages to be written.
FOLD | NOFOLD
Convert lowercase characters to uppercase characters in the assembly listing.
GOFF | NOGOFF
(z/OS and CMS) Set generalized object format.
ILMA | NOILMA
Specifies that inline macros are accessible from all OPTABLE definitions.
INFO | NOINFO
Display service information selected by date.
LANGUAGE(EN | ES | DE | JP | UE)
Specify the language in which assembler diagnostic messages are presented. High Level Assembler
lets you select any of the following:
• English mixed case (EN)
• English uppercase (UE)
• German (DE)
• Japanese (JP)
• Spanish (ES)
When you select either of the English languages, the assembler listing headings are produced in the
same case as the diagnostic messages.
When you select either the German language or the Spanish language, the assembler listing headings
are produced in mixed case English.
When you select the Japanese language, the assembler listing headings are produced in uppercase
English.
The assembler uses the default language for messages produced on CMS by the High Level Assembler
command.
LIBMAC | NOLIBMAC
Instruct the assembler to imbed library macro definitions in the input source program.
LINECOUNT(integer)
Specify the number of lines to print in each page of the assembly listing.
Assembler options
LIST | LIST(121 | 133 | MAX) | NOLIST

(z/OS and CMS) Specify whether the assembler produces an assembly listing. The listing may be
produced in 121-character format or 133-character format.
LIST | NOLIST
(VSE only) Specify whether the assembler produces an assembly listing.
MACHINE(machine[, LIST | NOLIST])
Specify a machine name suboption as defined for the MACHINE assembler option. This selects the
corresponding OPTABLE option. For more details, see the table Equivalent suboptions for OPTABLE
and MACHINE options in the HLASM Programmer’s Guide.
MXREF | MXREF(FULL | SOURCE | XREF) | NOMXREF
Produce the Macro and Copy Code Source Summary, or the Macro and Copy Code Cross Reference, or
both, in the assembly listing.
OBJECT | NOOBJECT
Produce an object module.
OPTABLE([UNI | DOS | 370 | XA | ESA | ZOP | ZS1 | YOP | ZS2 | Z9 | ZS3 | Z10 | ZS4 | Z11 | ZS5 | Z12
| ZS6 | Z13 | ZS7 | Z14 | ZS8 | Z15 | ZS9| Z16 | ZSA][,LIST | NOLIST])
Specify the operation code table to use to process machine instructions in the source program.
PCONTROL(suboption1,suboption2,…) | NOPCONTROL
Specify whether the assembler should override certain PRINT statements in the source program.
PESTOP
Specify that the assembler should stop immediately if errors are detected in the invocation
parameters.
PRINT | DISK | NOPRINT
(CMS) Specify that the assembler should write the LISTING file on the virtual printer.
PROFILE | PROFILE(name) | NOPROFILE
Specify the name of a library member, containing assembler source statements, that is copied
immediately following an ICTL statement or *PROCESS statements, or both. The library member can
be specified as a default in the installation options macro ASMAOPT.
RA2 | NORA2
Specify whether the assembler is to suppress error diagnostic message ASMA066 when 2-byte
relocatable address constants are defined in the source program.
RENT | NORENT
Check for possible coding violations of program reenterability.
RLD | NORLD
Produce the Relocation Dictionary section of the assembler listing.
RXREF
Produce the Register Cross Reference section of the assembler listing.
SECTALGN(alignment)
Specify the desired alignment for all sections, expressed as a power of 2 with a range from 8
(doubleword) to 4096 (page).
SEG | NOSEG
(CMS) Specify that assembler modules are loaded from the Logical Saved Segment (LSEG).
SIZE(value)
Specify the amount of virtual storage that the assembler can use for working storage.
SUPRWARN(msgnum1,msgnum2,…) | NOSUPRWARN
Specify one or more message numbers, of warning (4) or less severity, to be suppressed.
SYSPARM(value)
Specify the character string that is to be used as the value of the &SYSPARM system variable.
TERM(WIDE | NARROW) | NOTERM
Specify whether error diagnostic messages are to be written to the terminal data set On z/OS and
CMS, or SYSLOG On z/VSE.
Appendix A. Assembler options 65

Assembler options
TEST | NOTEST
Specify whether special symbol table data is to be generated as part of the object module.
THREAD | NOTHREAD
Specify whether or not the location counter is to be reset at the beginning of each CSECT.
TRANSLATE(AS | suffix) | NOTRANSLATE
Specify whether characters contained in character (C-type) data constants (DCs) and literals should
be translated using a user-supplied translation table. The suboption AS directs the assembler to use
the ASCII translation table provided with High Level Assembler.
TYPECHECK(suboption1,suboption2) | NOTYPECHECK
Control whether or not HLASM performs type checking of machine instruction operands.
USING(suboption1,suboption2,…) | NOUSING
Specify the level of monitoring of USING statements required, and whether the assembler is to
generate a USING map as part of the assembly listing.
WORKFILE | NOWORKFILE
If storage apart from central storage is required during assembly, use the utility file for temporary
storage.
XREF(SHORT | UNREFS | FULL) | NOXREF
Produce the Ordinary Symbol and Literal Cross Reference, or the Unreferenced Symbols Defined in
CSECTs, or both, in the assembly listing.
Appendix B. System variable symbols
System variable symbols are a special class of variable symbols, starting with the characters &SYS. The
values are set by the assembler according to specific rules. You cannot declare system variable symbols
in local SET symbols or global SET symbols, nor can you use them as symbolic parameters.
You can use these symbols as points of substitution in model statements and conditional assembly
instructions. You can use some system variable symbols both inside macro definitions and in open code,
and some system variable symbols only in macro definitions.
In High Level Assembler enhancements have been made to some system variable symbols and many new
system variable symbols have been introduced.
No new system variables are introduced in High Level Assembler Release 5.
No new system variables are introduced in High Level Assembler Release 4.
The system variable symbols introduced in High Level Assembler Release 3 are:
Variable
Description
&SYSCLOCK
A local-scope variable that holds the date and time at which a macro is generated.
&SYSMAC
A local-scope variable that can be subscripted, thus referring to the name of any of the macros
opened between open code and the current nesting level.
&SYSOPT_XOBJECT
A global-scope variable that indicates if the XOBJECT assembly option was specified.
&SYSM_HSEV
A global-scope variable that indicates the latest MNOTE severity so far for the assembly.
&SYSM_SEV
A global-scope variable that indicates the latest MNOTE severity for the macro most recently called
from this level.
The system variable symbols introduced in High Level Assembler Release 2 are:
Variable
Description
&SYSADATA_DSN
A local-scope variable containing the name of the data set where associated data (ADATA) records are
written.
&SYSADATA_MEMBER
A local-scope variable containing the name of the partitioned data set member where associated data
(ADATA) records are written.
&SYSADATA_VOLUME
A local-scope variable containing the volume identifier of the first volume containing the ADATA data
set.
&SYSLIN_DSN
A local-scope variable containing the name of the data set where object module records are written.
&SYSLIN_MEMBER
A local-scope variable containing the name of the partitioned data set member where object module
records are written.
&SYSLIN_VOLUME
A local-scope variable containing the volume identifier of the first volume containing the object
module data set.

&SYSPRINT_DSN
A local-scope variable containing the name of the data set where listing records are written.
&SYSPRINT_MEMBER
A local-scope variable containing the name of the partitioned data set member where listing records
are written.
&SYSPRINT_VOLUME
A local-scope variable containing the volume identifier of the first volume containing the listing data
set.
&SYSPUNCH_DSN
A local-scope variable containing the name of the data set where object module records are written.
&SYSPUNCH_MEMBER
A local-scope variable containing the name of the partitioned data set member where object module
records are written.
&SYSPUNCH_VOLUME
A local-scope variable containing the volume identifier of the first volume containing the object
module data set.
&SYSTERM_DSN
A local-scope variable containing the name of the data set where terminal messages are written.
&SYSTERM_MEMBER
A local-scope variable containing the name of the partitioned data set member where terminal
messages are written.
&SYSTERM_VOLUME
A local-scope variable containing the volume identifier of the first volume containing the terminal
messages data set.
System variable symbols introduced in High Level Assembler Release 1 are:
Variable
Description
&SYSASM
A global-scope variable containing the name of the assembler product being used.
&SYSDATC
A global-scope variable containing the date, with the century designation included, in the form
YYYYMMDD.
&SYSIN_DSN
A local-scope variable containing the name of the input data set.
&SYSIN_MEMBER
A local-scope variable containing the name of the current member in the input data set.
&SYSIN_VOLUME
A local-scope variable containing the volume identifier of the first volume containing the input data
set.
&SYSJOB
A global-scope variable containing the job name of the assembly job, if available, or '(NOJOB)'.
&SYSLIB_DSN
A local-scope variable containing the name of the library data set from which the current macro was
retrieved.
&SYSLIB_MEMBER
A local-scope variable containing the name of the current macro retrieved from the library data set.
&SYSLIB_VOLUME
A local-scope variable containing the volume identifier of the first volume containing the library data
set from which the current macro was retrieved.
&SYSNEST
A local-scope variable containing the current macro nesting level. &SYSNEST is set to 1 for a macro
called from open code.
&SYSOPT_CURR_OPTABLE
Use &SYSOPT_CURR_OPTABLE to obtain the optable that is in use.
&SYSOPT_DBCS
A global-scope Boolean variable containing the value 1 if the DBCS assembler option was specified, or
0 if NODBCS was specified.
&SYSOPT_OPTABLE
A global-scope variable containing the name of the operation code table specified in the OPTABLE
assembler option.
&SYSOPT_RENT
A global-scope Boolean variable containing the value 1 if the RENT assembler option was specified, or
0 if NORENT was specified.
&SYSSEQF
A local-scope variable containing the identification-sequence field information of the macro
instruction in open code that caused, directly or indirectly, the macro to be called.
&SYSSTEP
A global-scope variable containing the step-name, if available, or '(NOSTEP)'.
&SYSSTMT
A global-scope variable that contains the statement number of the next statement to be generated.
&SYSSTYP
A local-scope variable containing the current control section type (CSECT, DSECT, RSECT or COM) at
the time the macro is called.
&SYSTEM_ID
A global-scope variable containing the name and release level of the operating system under which
the assembly is run.
&SYSVER
A global-scope variable containing the maintenance version, release, and modification level of the
assembler.
In addition, High Level Assembler provides the following system variable symbols not provided by
DOS/VSE Assembler but provided by Assembler H Version 2:
Variable
Description
&SYSDATE
A global-scope variable containing the date in the form MM/DD/YY.
&SYSLOC
A local-scope variable containing the name of the location counter now in effect. &SYSLOC can only be
used in macro definitions.
&SYSNDX
A local-scope variable containing a number from 1 to 9999999. Each time a macro definition is called,
the number in &SYSNDX increases by 1.
&SYSTIME
A global-scope variable containing the time the assembly started, in the form HH.MM.
Appendix B. System variable symbols 69

Hardware requirements
Appendix C. Hardware and software requirements
This appendix describes the environments in which High Level Assembler runs.
Hardware requirements
High Level Assembler, and its generated object programs, can run in any IBM Z processor supported
by the operating systems listed in the “ Software requirements” on page 71. However, you can only
run a generated object program that uses 370-XA machine instructions on a 370-XA mode processor
under an operating system that provides the necessary architecture support for the 370-XA instructions
used. Similarly, you can only run a generated object program that uses ESA/370, ESA/390, zSeries, or
zEnterprise® machine instructions on an associated processor under an operating system that provides
the necessary architecture support for the ESA/370, ESA/390, zSeries, and zEnterprise instructions used.
Software requirements
High Level Assembler runs under the operating systems listed below. Unless otherwise stated, the
assembler also operates under subsequent versions, releases, and modification levels of these systems:
• z/VM Version 5 Release 2
• z/VSE Version 3 Release 1 and Version 4
• z/OS Version 1 Release 2.0
• Linux for z Systems
In addition, installation of High Level Assembler requires one of the following:
z/OS
IBM System Modification Program/Extended (SMP/E). All load modules are reentrant, and you can
place them in the link pack area (LPA).
z/VM
IBM VM Serviceability Enhancements Staged/Extended (VMSES/E) and VMFPLC2. Most load modules
are reentrant, and you can place them in a logical saved segment.
z/VSE
Maintain System History Program (MSHP). Most phases are reentrant, and you can place them in the
shared virtual area (SVA).
Assembling under z/OS

The minimum amount of virtual storage required by High Level Assembler is 750K bytes. 550K bytes
of storage are required for High Level Assembler load modules. The rest of the storage allocated to the
assembler is used for assembler working storage.
At assembly time, and during subsequent link-editing, High Level Assembler requires associated devices
for the following types of input and output:
• Source program input
• Options file
• Printed listing
• Object module in relocatable card-image format, or the new object-file format
• Terminal output
• ADATA output
Table 6 on page 72 shows the DDNAME and allowed device types associated with a particular class of
assembler input or output:

Assembling under VM/CMS
Table 6. Assembler input/output devices (z/OS)

Function DDNAME Device type When required
Input SYSIN DASD Always 1
Magnetic tape
Card reader
Macro library SYSLIB DASD When a library macro is called or
a COPY statement used 1
Options file ASMAOPT DASD When assembler options are to
be provided via an external file
Print SYSPRINT DASD When the LIST assembler option
Magnetic tape is specified 1
Printer
Output to linkage editor SYSLIN DASD When the OBJECT assembler
Magnetic tape option or the XOBJECT assembler
option is specified 1
Output to linkage editor SYSPUNCH DASD When the DECK assembler option
(card deck) Magnetic tape is specified 1
Card punch
Display SYSTERM DASD When the TERM assembler option
Magnetic tape is specified 1
TerminalPrinter
Assembler language SYSADATA DASD When the ADATA assembler
program data Magnetic tape option is specified 1
Note:
1. You can specify a user-supplied exit in place of this device. For more information about the EXIT
option, see Appendix A, “Assembler options,” on page 63.
Assembling under VM/CMS

High Level Assembler runs under the Conversational Monitor System (CMS) component of z/VM, and,
depending upon system requirements, requires a virtual machine size of at least 1800K bytes.
A minimum of 750K bytes of storage is required by High Level Assembler. 550K bytes of storage are
required for High Level Assembler load modules. The rest of the storage allocated to the assembler is
used for assembler working storage.
At assembly time, and during subsequent object module processing, High Level Assembler requires
associated devices for the following types of input and output:
• Options file
• Printed listing
• Object module in relocatable card-image format
• Terminal output
• ADATA output
Table 7 on page 73 shows the characteristics of each device required at assembly time:
Assembling under VSE
Table 7. Assembler input/output devices (CMS)

Function DDNAME Default file type Device type When required
Input SYSIN ASSEMBLE DASD Always 1
Magnetic tape
Card reader
Macro library SYSLIB MACLIB DASD When a library macro is
called or a COPY statement
used 1
Options file ASMAOPT User defined DASD When assembler options
are to be provided via an
external file
Print SYSPRINT LISTING DASD When the LIST assembler
Magnetic tape option is specified
Printer
Object module SYSLIN TEXT DASD When the OBJECT
Magnetic tape assembler option is
Card punch specified 1
Text deck SYSPUNCH N/A DASD When the DECK assembler
Magnetic tape option is specified 1
Card punch
Display SYSTERM N/A DASD When the TERM assembler
Magnetic tape option is specified 1
TerminalPrinter
Assembler language SYSADATA SYSADATA DASD When the ADATA assembler
Note:
Assembling under z/VSE

The minimum amount of virtual storage required by High Level Assembler is 750K bytes. 550K bytes
of storage are required for High Level Assembler load modules. The rest of the storage allocated to the
assembler is used for assembler working storage.
At assembly time, and during subsequent link-editing, High Level Assembler requires appropriate devices
for the following types of input and output:
• Macro library input
• Printed listing
• Object module in relocatable card-image format
• Terminal output
• ADATA output
Table 8 on page 74 shows the file name and allowed device types associated with a particular class of
assembler input or output:
Appendix C. Hardware and software requirements 73

Assembling under VSE
Table 8. Assembler input/output devices (VSE)

Function File name Device type When required
Input IJSYSIN DASD Always 1
(SYSIPT) Magnetic tape
Card reader
Macro Library LIBRARIAN DASD When a library macro is called,
sublibraries a COPY or an assembler option
member is to be supplied
Print IJSYSLS DASD When the LIST assembler option
(SYSLST) Magnetic tape is specified 1
Printer
Output to linkage editor IJSYSLN DASD When the OBJECT assembler
(SYSLNK) Magnetic tape option is specified
Output to LIBR utility IJSYSPH DASD When the DECK assembler option
(card deck) (SYSPCH) Magnetic tape is specified 1
Card punch
Display SYSLOG Terminal When the TERM assembler option
is specified 1
Assembler language SYSADAT DASD When the ADATA assembler
(SYSnnn)
Note:
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Bibliography
High Level Assembler Documents
HLASM General Information, GC26-4943
HLASM Installation and Customization Guide, SC26-3494
HLASM Language Reference, SC26-4940
HLASM Programmer's Guide, SC26-4941
Toolkit Feature document

HLASM Toolkit Feature User's Guide, GC26-8710
HLASM Toolkit Feature Interactive Debug Facility Reference Summary, GC26-8712
HLASM Toolkit Feature Interactive Debug Facility User's Guide, GC26-8709
HLASM Toolkit Feature Installation and Customization Guide, GC26-8711
Related documents (Architecture)

z/Architecture Principles of Operation, SA22-7832
Related documents for z/OS

z/OS
z/OS MVS Initialization and Tuning Guide, SA23-1379
z/OS MVS Initialization and Tuning Reference, SA23-1380
z/OS MVS JCL Reference, SA23-1385
z/OS MVS JCL User's Guide, SA23-1386
z/OS MVS Programming: Assembler Services Guide, SA23-1368
z/OS MVS Programming: Assembler Services Reference ABE-HSP, SA23-1369
z/OS MVS Programming: Assembler Services Reference IAR-XCT, SA23-1370
z/OS MVS Programming: Authorized Assembler Services Guide, SA23-1371
z/OS MVS Programming: Authorized Assembler Services Reference, Volumes 1 - 4, SA23-1372 -
SA23-1375
z/OS MVS Program Management: Advanced Facilities, SA23-1392
z/OS MVS Program Management: User's Guide and Reference, SA23-1393
z/OS MVS System Codes,SA38-0665
z/OS MVS System Commands, SA38-0666
z/OS MVS System Messages, Volumes 1 - 10, SA38-0668 - SA38-0677
z/OS Communications Server: SNA Programming, SC27-3674
UNIX System Services:
z/OS UNIX System Services User's Guide, SA23-2279
DFSMS/MVS:
z/OS DFSMSdfp Utilities, SC23-6864
TSO/E (z/OS):
z/OS TSO/E Command Reference, SA32-0975
SMP/E (z/OS):
SMP/E for z/OS Messages, Codes, and Diagnosis, GA32-0883
SMP/E for z/OS Commands, SA23-2275
SMP/E for z/OS Reference, SA23-2276
SMP/E for z/OS User's Guide, SA23-2277

Related documents for z/VM
z/VM: VMSES/E Introduction and Reference, GC24-6243
z/VM: Service Guide, GC24-6247
z/VM: CMS Commands and Utilities Reference, SC24-6166
z/VM: CMS File Pool Planning, Administration, and Operation, SC24-6167
z/VM: CP Planning and Administration, SC24-6178
z/VM: Saved Segments Planning and Administration, SC24-6229
z/VM: Other Components Messages and Codes, GC24-6207
z/VM: CMS and REXX/VM Messages and Codes, GC24-6161
z/VM: CP System Messages and Codes, GC24-6177
z/VM: CMS Application Development Guide, SC24-6257
z/VM: CMS User's Guide, SC24-6266
z/VM: XEDIT User's Guide, SC24-6338
z/VM: XEDIT Commands and Macros Reference, SC24-6337
z/VM: CP Commands and Utilities Reference, SC24-6268
Related documents for z/VSE

z/VSE: Guide to System Functions, SC33-8312
z/VSE: Administration, SC34-2692
z/VSE: Installation, SC34-2678
z/VSE: Planning, SC34-2681
z/VSE: System Control Statements, SC34-2679
z/VSE: Messages and Codes, Vol.1 , SC34-2632
z/VSE: Messages and Codes, Vol.2, SC34-2633
z/VSE: Messages and Codes, Vol.3, SC34-2684
REXX/VSE Reference, SC33-6642
REXX/VSE User's Guide, SC33-6641
Index
Special Characters ASPACE macro instruction 22

assembler instructions
*PROCESS statements additional 5
description 14 revised 5
new statement 5 assembler language extensions 5
&SYSNDX, MHELP control on 58 assembler options
*PROCESS statement 14
ADATA 59, 72–74
Numerics ALIGN 63
121-character format 42 ASA 63
133-character format 42 BATCH 63
31-bit addressing changing with ACONTROL 5
improved performance 61 CODEPAGE 63
LIST assembler option 65 COMPAT 30, 63
source and object listing 42 DBCS 63, 69
DECK 33, 63, 72–74
DXREF 63
A ERASE 63
ESD 63
abnormal termination of assembly 58
EXIT 34, 53, 63
absolute symbols, predefined 23
FAIL 64
ACONTROL instruction 5, 15
FLAG 9, 53, 64
ADATA
FOLD 46, 64
assembler option 59, 63
GOFF 5, 64
file 59
ILMA 64
instruction 5
INEXIT 63
records written by the assembler 59
INFO 64
ADATA assembler option 72–74
LANGUAGE 64
ADATA file
LIBEXIT 64
description of 59
LIBMAC 49, 55, 64
additional assembler instructions 5
LINECOUNT 64
addressing extensions 13
LIST 42, 54, 65, 72–74
ADEXIT, EXIT assembler suboption 63
MACHINE 65
AEJECT macro instruction 22
MNOTE 64
AGO instruction
MSG 64
alternate format 24
MXREF 48–50, 65
computed 23, 24
NODBCS 69
extended 24
NODXREF 50
AIF instruction
NOESD 42
alternate format 24
NOGOFF 64
extended 24
NOILMA 64
extended form 23
NOMXREF 49, 50
macro AIF dump 58
NORENT 69
AINSERT 18
NORLD 45
AINSERT macro instruction 22
NOSEG 57
ALIAS instruction 5
NOTHREAD 66
ALIGN assembler option 63
NOUSING 51
alternate format of continuation lines 9
NOXREF 47
AMODE instruction 10
OBJECT 33, 65, 72–74
AREAD
OBJEXIT 64
clock functions 21
OPTABLE 65
macro instruction 21
PCONTROL 65
punc h capability 21
precedence of 15
statement operands 31
PRINT 65
arithmetic expressions, using SETC variables 26
PROFILE 65
array processing with set symbols 25
PRTEXIT 64
ASA assembler option 63
RA2 65
ASCII translation table 8
Index 79
assembler options (continued) CMS (continued)
RENT 65, 69 interface command 57
RLD 65 use of saved segment by High Level Assembler 61
RXREF 48, 65 virtual storage requirements 72
SECTALGN 65 CNOP instruction 5
SEG 65 CNOP label, type attribute 28
SIZE 61, 65 code and data areas 12
SUPRWARN 53, 65 CODEPAGE assembler option 63
SYSPARM 65 comment statements 8, 22
TERM 56, 57, 65, 72–74 COMPAT assembler option 30, 63
TEST 66 COMPAT(SYSLIST) with multilevel sublists 20
THREAD 66 conditional assembly extensions
TRANSLATE 66 alternate format 9
TRMEXIT 64 attribute reference
TYPECHECK 66 defined attribute (D') 28
USING 51, 66 forward 29
WORKFILE 66 number attribute (N') for SET symbols 29
XOBJECT 10, 72 operation code attribute (O') 28
XREF 47, 66 with SETC symbols 28
assembling under CMS 72 created SET symbols 25
assembling under VSE extended AGO instruction 24
VSE requirements 73 extended AIF instruction 24
assembling under z/OS 71 extended continuation statements 24
assembling under z/VM 72 extended GBLx instruction 24
assembly extended LCLx instruction 24
abnormal termination of 58 extended SETx instruction 24, 25
processor time 53 system variable symbols
start time 53 &SYSLIST with multilevel sublists 19
stop time 53 &SYSNDX, MHELP control on 58
associated data file output 63 CONT, FLAG assembler option 9
attribute references continuation
CNOP label, type attribute 28 error warning messages 9
defined attribute (D') 28 extended indicator for double-byte data 9, 20
forward 29 extended line format 24
number attribute (N') for SET symbols 29 lines with double-byte data 9
operation code attribute (O') 28 number of lines 9
with literals 28 control sections, read-only 12
with SETC variables 28 COPY instruction 6
created SET symbols 25
Customization book xii
B
BATCH assembler option 63 D
batch assembly, improving performance 61
binary floating-point numbers DBCS assembler option 63, 69
changes to DC instruction 6 DC instruction 6
blank lines 8 DECK assembler option 33, 63, 72–74
books xii declaration of SET symbols
built-in functions, macro 3, 23 dimensioned SET symbols 24
implicit declaration 24
multiple declaration 24
C deferred loading 5
C-type defined attribute (D') 28
constant 8 dependent USING 14
self-defining term 8 diagnostic facilities
CATTR instruction 5 diagnostic cross reference and assembler summary
CCW0 instruction 11 listing 52
CEJECT instruction 5 error messages for library macros 55
channel command words 11 error messages for source macros 56
character set 7, 8 internal trace 58
character variables used in arithmetic expressions 26 dimension of SET symbol, maximum 24
clock functions 21 documents
CMS High Level Assembler xii, 77
assembli ng under 72 HLASM Toolkit 77
machine instructions 77
documents (continued) extended object support (continued)
z/OS 77 instructions 10
z/VM 78 NOGOFF assembler option 64
z/VSE 78 NOILMA assembler option 64
double-byte data NOTHREAD assembler option 66
C-type constant 8 THREAD assembler option 66
C-type self-defining term 8 extended source and object listing 65
concatenation of 20 extended symbol length 9
continuation of 9, 20 external
double-byte character set 8 symbols, length of 9
G-type constant 8 external dummy sections 12
G-type self-defining term 8, 20, 26 external function calls, macro 21, 23
in AREAD and REPRO 8 external symbol dictionary (ESD)
in MNOTE, PUNCH and TITLE 8, 20 listing 41
macro language support 20 restrictions on 12
MNOTE operand 8 external symbol dictionary listing 41
PUNCH operand 8 external symbols, number of 12
pure DBCS data 8, 20
SI/SO 8, 9, 20
TITLE operand 8
F
DROP instruction 6 factors improving performance 61
DS instruction FAIL assembler option 64
changes to DS instruction 6 FLAG assembler option 9, 53, 64
DSECT FOLD assembler option 46, 64
cross-reference listing 50 formatted dump, produced by abnormal termination 58
referenced in Q-type address constant 12 forward attribute-reference scan 29
dummy sections
aligning with DXD 6
DXD instruction 6 G
DXD, referenced in Q-type address constant 12
G-type
DXREF assembler option 63
constant 8
self-defining term 8, 20, 26
E General Information book xii
general purpose register cross-reference listing 47
E-Decks, reading 34 generated macro operation codes 19
edited macros 34 generated statement
editing inner macro definitions 19 attribute reference for 27
editing macro definitions 18 format of 54
EJECT instruction 53 sequence field of 54
ENTRY instruction 10 suppress alignment zeroes 54
EQU instruction 6 with PRINT NOGEN 54
ERASE assembler option 63 global SET symbol
error messages declaration 24
in library macros 55 suppression of dump (in MHELP options) 58
in source macros 56 GOFF assembler option 5, 64
ESD assembler option 63
ESD symbols, number of 12
ESDID H
in USING Map 51
hardware requirements 71
EXIT
High Level Assembler
communicating 34
documents xii
disabling 34
highlights 3
EXIT assembler option 34, 53, 63
machine requirements 71
EXITCTL instruction 5, 34
planning for 4
extended
required operating environments 71
AGO instruction 24
use of CMS saved segment 61
AIF instruction 24
use of VSE shared virtual area (SVA) 61
continuation indicator 9, 20
use of z/OS link pack area (LPA) 61
SETx instruction 24, 25
High Level Assembler option summary 38
extended addressing support 10
extended continuation statements 24
extended object support I
CODEPAGE assembler option 63
GOFF assembler option 64 I/O exits
Index 81
I/O exits (continued) macro (continued)
description 33 branch trace 58
usage statistics 34 buil t-in functions 23
ILMA assembler option 64 call trace 58
implicit declaration of SET symbols 24 calls by substitution 19
INEXIT assembler option 63 comment statements 8, 22
INFO assembler option 64 entry dump 58
inner macro definitions 19 exit dump 58
input/output capability of macros 21 general advantages 17
input/output enhancements 33, 56 hex dump 58
installation and customization input/output capability of 21
book information xii suppressing dumps 58
internal macro comment statements 8, 22 use of 17
ISEQ instruction 6 macro and copy code
cross-reference listing 49
source summary listing 48
L macro definition
labeled USING 13 bypassing 18
LANGUAGE assembler option 64 editing 18
language compatibility 3 inner macro definitions 19
Language Reference xiii instructions allowed in 22
LCLx and GBLx Instructions 23 listing control 22
LIBEXIT assembler option 64 nesting 19
LIBMAC assembler option 49, 55, 64 placement 17
library macro, error messages for 55 redefinition of 18
license inquiry 75 macro editing
LINECOUNT assembler option 64 for inner macro definitions 19
link pack area (LPA) 61 improving performance 61
LIST assembler option 42, 54, 65, 72–74 in general 18
listing macro input/output capability 21
*PROCESS statements 38 macro instruction
121-character format 42 name entries 20
133-character format 42 nested 19
diagnostic cross-reference and assembler summary 52 macro instruction operation code, generated 19
DSECT cross-reference 50 macro language extensions
external symbol dictionary 41 declaration of SET symbols 24
general purpose register cross-reference 47 instructions permitted in body of macro definition 22
macro and copy code cross-reference 49 mnemonic operation codes redefined as macros 22
macro and copy code source summary 48 nesting definitions 19
option summary 38 overview 18
ordinary symbol and literal cross-reference 45 placement of definitions 17
page-break improvements 53 redefinition of macros 18
relocation dictionary 44 sequence symbol length 9
source and object 42, 43 source stream language input, AREAD 21
source and object, 121-character format 42 substitution, macro calls by 19
source and object, 133-character format 44 variable symbol length 9
unreferenced symbols defined in CSECTs 47 macro language overview 17
USING map 50 macro name, length of 22
literals, removal of restrictions 10 macro prototype 17
local SET symbol macro-generated statements 53
declaration 24 macro-generated text
location counters, multiple 12 format of 54
LOCTR instruction 12 sequence field of 54
with PRINT NOGEN 54
manuals xii
M MHELP instruction 57
migration considerations 3
MACHINE assembler option 65
mixed-case input, changes to 9
machine instructions
mnemonic operation codes used as macro operation codes
documents 77
22
machine requirements 71
MNOTE assembler option 64
macro
MNOTE operand, double-byte character set 8
AIF dump 58
model statements 53
assembly diagnostic messages 55
MSG assembler option 64
multilevel sublists 19 processor time (continued)
multiple assembly 61 reduced instruction path 62
multiple declaration of SET symbols 24 processor time for the assembly 53
multiple location counters 12 PROFILE assembler option 65
MXREF assembler option 48–50, 65 Programmer's Guide xiii
prototype, in macro definitions 17
PRTEXIT assembler option 64
N PSECT 12
nesting macro definitions 19 publications xii
NODBCS assembler option 69 PUNCH operand, double-byte character set 8
NODXREF assembler option 50 PUNCH output capability 21
NOESD assembler option 42 PUSH instruction 7
NOGOFF assembler option 64
NOILMA assembler option 64 R
NOMXREF assembler option 49, 50
NORENT assembler option 69 RA2 assembler option 65
NORLD assembler option 45 range, in USING Map 51
NOSEG assembler option 57 read-only control sections 12
NOTHREAD assembler option 66 reading edited macros 34
NOUSING assembler option 51 redefining conditional assembly instructions 29
NOXREF assembler option 47 redefining macro names 18
number attribute (N') for SET symbols 29 redefining standard operation codes as macro names 22
Release 6, what's new 1
relocatable address constants, 2-byte 7
O relocation dictionary listing 44
OBJECT assembler option 33, 65, 72–74 RENT assembler option 65, 69
object module output 64 requirements
object modules, extended format 10 hardware 71
OBJEXIT assembler option 64 software 71
operating systems for High Level Assembler 71 storage 73
operation code attribute (O') 28 resident macro definition text 61
operation codes, redefining conditional assembly 29 resident source text 61
OPSYN instruction resident tables 61
operation codes 6 revised assembler instructions 5
placement 6 RLD assembler option 65
to redefine conditional assembly instructions 29 RMODE instruction 11
to rename macro 18 RSECT instruction 5, 12
OPTABLE assembler option 65 RXREF assembler option 48, 65
option
MHELP 57 S
summary listing 38
option summary listing 38 sample I/O exits 35
ordinary symbol and literal cross-reference listing 45 sample interchange program using macros 21
ORG instruction 6 saved segment in CMS 61
organization of this manual xi SDB 57
SECTALGN assembler option 65
sectioning and linking extensions
P external dummy sections 12
page-break improvements 53 multiple location counters 12
parentheses 10 no restrictions on ESD items 12
PCONTROL assembler option 65 read-only control sections 12
performance SEG assembler option 65
improvement factors 61 sequence field in macro-generated statements 54
PESTOP assembler option 65 sequence symbol length 9, 22
planning for High Level Assembler 4 SET symbol
POP instruction 6 built-in macro functions 23
precedence of options 15 created 25
PRINT assembler option 65 declaration
PRINT instruction 7 implicit 24
printer control characters 63 multiple 24
process (*PROCESS) statements 14 defined as an array of values 24
processor time dimension 24
in assembly listing 53 global scope 24
Index 83
SET symbol (continued) T
local scope 24
SET symbol format and definition changes 24 TERM assembler option 56, 57, 65, 72–74
SETAF instruction 23 terminal output 56, 64
SETC symbol terms, number of, in expressions 10
attribute reference with 28 TEST assembler option 66
in arithmetic expressions 26 THREAD assembler option 66
SETCF instruction 23 time of assembly 31
SETx instruction TITLE instruction 53
built-in macro functions 23 TITLE operand, double-byte character set 8
extended 24, 25 Toolkit Customization book xiii
using ordinary symbols 26 Toolkit installation and customization
shared virtual area (SVA) 61 book information xiii
shared virtual storage 61 TRANSLATE assembler option 66
shift-in (SI) character (DBCS) 8 translation table 8
shift-out (SO) character (DBCS) 8 TRMEXIT assembler option 64
SI (shift-in) character (DBCS) 8 type attribute of a CNOP label 28
SIZE assembler option 61, 65 TYPECHECK assembler option 66
SO (shift-out) character (DBCS) 8
software requirements 71
source and object listing
U
121-character format 42 underscore, in symbol names 10
133-character format 44 Unicode support 8
description 42 unreferenced symbols defined in CSECTs 47
source macro, error messages for 56 USING assembler option 51, 66
source stream input (AREAD) 21 USING instruction
source stream insertion (AINSERT) 22 dependent USING 14
SPACE instruction 53 example of map listing 50
start time of assembly 53 labeled USING 13
statistics using map listing 50
I/O exit usage 34
in the listing 53
stop time of assembly 53 V
sublists, multilevel 19
variable symbol length 9
substitution in macro instruction operation code 19
virtual storage
substring length value 26
CMS requirements 72
suppress
performance improvements 61
alignment zeroes in generated text 54
VSE requirements 73
dumping of global SET symbols (in MHELP options) 58
z/OS requirements 71
suppressed messages listing 53
SUPRWARN assembler option 65
symbol and literal cross-reference listing 45 W
symbol name definition 9, 10
symbolic parameter what's new in High Level Assembler release 6 1
conflicting with created SET symbol 25 WORKFILE assembler option 66
syntax extensions
blank lines 8 X
character variables in arithmetic expressions 26
continuation lines, number of 9 XATTR instruction 5
levels of parentheses XOBJECT assembler option 10, 72
in macro instruction 19 XREF assembler option 47, 66
in ordinary assembler expressions 10
number of terms in expression 10
removal of restrictions for literals 10 Z
symbol length 9 z/OS
SYSLIST (&SYSLIST) with multilevel sublists 20 assembling under 71
SYSNDX (&SYSNDX), MHELP control on 58 use of link pack area by High Level Assembler 61
SYSPARM assembler option 65 virtual storage requirements 71
system determined blocksize 57 z/OS documents 77
system variable symbols z/VM
&SYSLIST with multilevel sublists 20 assembling under CMS 72
&SYSNDX, MHELP control on 58 CMS interface command 57
system-determined blocksize 57 CMS saved segment 61
SYSTERM output 56 z/VSE documents 78
zeroes, suppress alignment 54
Index 85
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High Level Assembler for z/OS & z/VM &

About this manual................................................................................................ xi

Chapter 1. What's new in High Level Assembler release 6....................................... 1

Chapter 2. Introduction to High Level Assembler.................................................... 3

Chapter 3. Assembler language extensions............................................................ 5

Chapter 4. Macro and conditional assembly language extensions......................... 17

Chapter 5. Using exits to complement file processing ...........................................33

Chapter 6. Programming and diagnostic aids........................................................ 37

Chapter 7. Associated Data Architecture.............................................................. 59

Chapter 8. Factors improving performance........................................................... 61

Appendix B. System variable symbols.................................................................. 67

Appendix C. Hardware and software requirements............................................... 71

1. LOCTR instruction application.................................................................................................................... 12

2. Editing inner macro definitions................................................................................................................... 19

3. AREAD assembler operation.......................................................................................................................21

4. Option summary including options specified on *PROCESS statements.................................................. 40

5. External Symbol Dictionary.........................................................................................................................42

6. Source and object listing section—121 format...........................................................................................43

7. Source and object listing section—133 format...........................................................................................44

9. Ordinary symbol and literal cross-reference..............................................................................................46

10. Unreferenced symbols defined in CSECTS...............................................................................................47

11. General Purpose Register cross-reference.............................................................................................. 47

12. Macro and copy code source summary.................................................................................................... 48

13. Macro and copy code cross-reference..................................................................................................... 49

15. DSECT cross-reference............................................................................................................................. 50

16. USING map................................................................................................................................................50

17. Diagnostic cross-reference and assembler summary............................................................................. 52

18. Format of macro-generated statements.................................................................................................. 54

19. The effect of the PRINT NOGEN instruction.............................................................................................55

20. Macro definition with format error............................................................................................................55

21. Error messages for a library macro definition.......................................................................................... 56

22. Sample terminal output in the NARROW format......................................................................................56

23. Sample terminal output in the WIDE format............................................................................................56

2. Changes to High Level Assembler default options.....................................................................................15

5. Flags used in the option summary..............................................................................................................41

6. Assembler input/output devices (z/OS)..................................................................................................... 72

7. Assembler input/output devices (CMS)......................................................................................................73

8. Assembler input/output devices (VSE).......................................................................................................74

About this manual

Who should use this manual

Organization of this manual

© Copyright IBM Corp. 1992, 2021 xi

High Level Assembler documents

HLASM General Information

HLASM Language Reference

How to send your comments to IBM

If you have a technical problem

About this manual xiii

Chapter 1. What's new in High Level Assembler

© Copyright IBM Corp. 1992, 2021 1

Chapter 2. Introduction to High Level Assembler

Highlights of High Level Assembler

© Copyright IBM Corp. 1992, 2021 3

• A generalized object format data set

The Toolkit Feature

Planning for High Level Assembler

Chapter 3. Assembler language extensions