This section lists the key changes made to Debug Tool for z/OS.
- C/C++ expression support has been enhanced.
In Debug Tool Reference and Messages, "Changes
in behavior of some commands has been added to describe these
changes.
An example from C and C++ expressions has
been removed.
- Debug Tool now supports using the STEP OVER command in
assembler compile units to step over subroutines within the same compile
unit. You can enable this support by entering the SET ASSEMBLER
STEPOVER EXTINT command.
A new command has
been added to the Debug Tool Reference and Messages and the title of "SET ASSEMBLER" was
changed to "SET ASSEMBLER ON/OFF".
- A new CICS transaction has been added (DTSC) that can make it
easier to assign a terminal to Debug Tool.
The following
topics have been updated:
- The LOADDEBUGDATA command has been enhanced so that
you can qualify the name of a compile unit with the name of the load
module.
The
description of the LOADDEBUGDATA command in the Debug Tool Reference and Messages has been updated.
- The SET INTERCEPT command can now be used in remote debug mode
while you debug COBOL programs.
The descriptions of the SET
INTERCEPT and SET REWRITE commands have been updated
in the Debug Tool Reference and Messages. SET INTERCEPT and SET
REWRITE commands have been added to "Appendix B. Debug Tool
commands supported in remote debug mode" in Debug Tool Reference and Messages.
- The SET IGNORELINK command can now be used in remote debug mode.
The description of the SET IGNORELINK command
has been updated in the Debug Tool Reference and Messages. SET IGNORELINK command
has been added to "Appendix
B. Debug Tool commands supported in remote debug mode" in Debug Tool Reference and Messages.
- A new sample, EQAWSVST, is available that you can use to set up
saving and restoring settings, breakpoints, and monitor specifications.
To learn more about how to use this sample, see Saving and restoring settings, breakpoints, and monitor specifications.
- Minor updates have been made to improve clarity.
The removal of references to Debug Tool Utilities and Advanced Functions are not marked with revision
bars so that they do not distract from the technical changes.
- The information in Preparing your program for debugging has been
reorganized.
Planning your debug session has been reorganized to more clearly
describe all the choices you must make before you can prepare a program
for debugging. Updating your processes so you can debug programs with Debug Tool has been created
to provide instructions on how to implement the choices you make in Planning your debug session.
- A new command, CALL %FM, has been added so that you
can start IBM® File Manager for z/OS® from
your CICS® debugging session.
See Debug Tool Reference and Messages for more
information.
- The SET AUTOMONITOR command has been enhanced so
you can display the value of variables on the statement Debug Tool is
about to run and the statement that it ran previously.
See Debug Tool Reference and Messages for more
information.
- Support for AMode(64) assembler and disassembly programs has
been added. You can now run debugging functions, like stopping at
breakpoints or stepping through a program, in AMode(64) programs,
program segments, or both. You can now include AMode(64) addressable
data in assembler and disassembly expressions, and display or alter
64-bit addressable storage by using the LIST STORAGE, STORAGE,
and MEMORY commands.
The Summary
of Changes in Debug Tool Reference and Messages has a list of topics that have
been updated to describe how you specify and how Debug Tool handles 64-bit
addresses.
- New parameters are now available on the LIST CONTAINER and LIST
STORAGE commands to format the contents of an XML document stored
in a container or storage.
Debug Tool uses the z/OS XML
parser to verify the syntax of the document. If the syntax is
valid, Debug Tool formats and writes the XML to the log file.
See Debug Tool Reference and Messages for
more information.
This feature is not available in remote debug mode.
- New prefix commands that can be entered through the prefix area
of the Source window have been added to make it easier to display
the value of a variable and add variables to the Monitor window.
The L prefix
command displays the value of a variable. The M prefix
command adds a variable to the Monitor window. These commands
are available when your program is compiled with the following compilers:
- Enterprise PL/I for z/OS, Version 3.6 or 3.7 with the
PTF for APAR PK70606, or later
- Enterprise COBOL
The following topics have been updated to
describe how to use these prefix commands:
- Debugging profiles created by DTCN can now be stored in a VSAM
file.
Creating and storing a DTCN profile has been updated to describe
the differences between storing the debugging profile in a temporary
storage queue or a VSAM file, and how to save the debugging profile
in one or the other.
- The FIND command has been enhanced so that you
can specify the first and last columns to search through in the Source
window. The SET FIND BOUNDS and QUERY FIND BOUNDS commands
have been added.
Finding a string in a window has been
updated to describe how you can specify which columns in the Source
window to search by using the FIND command or the SET
FIND BOUNDS command.
- A new %IF command has been added that is
programming
language neutral. The %IF command can help you
write commands that can be used in programs written in different programming
languages.
Creating a commands file has been updated
to describe when you might want to use this command.
- The DTCN transaction has been updated to include another resource
that you can use to identify the program or transaction that you want
to debug.
See Creating and storing a DTCN profile for more information.
This topic has been updated to make it easier to follow the steps.
- Additional commands that were previously available only in full-screen
mode are now available in remote debug mode. A list of Debug Tool commands
supported in remote debug mode has been moved from Debug Tool User’s Guide to "Debug Tool commands
supported in remote debug mode" in Debug Tool Reference and Messages. This
topic has been updated to include instructions on how to enter these
commands in the remote debugger.
- New parameters, OLD and MOD, are now available
on the SET LOG ON FILE command to control whether the previous
contents of the file are overwritten or whether the new information
is appended.
See Debug Tool Reference and Messages for more
information.
- A new Debug Tool variable has been added: %RSTDSETS.
You
can use this variable in the condition of an IF or %IF statement
to determine if the SET values have been restored. See Debug Tool Reference and Messages for
a description of %RSTDSETS.
- The AT ENTRY and AT STATEMENT commands have
been enhanced with a WHEN conditional clause. You can
now indicate that you want Debug Tool to stop at an entry point or a specific
statement only after a condition is met.
The following sections have been updated:
- In Debug Tool Setup Utilities, support for specifying generation
data groups (GDG) where you specify data set names has been expanded
to include debug sessions that run in the foreground. This support
was available previously only for debug sessions that run in batch
mode. For more information about GDG, see z/OS DFSMS Using Data Sets.
- In CICS, you can now debug User Replaceable Modules
(URMs).
A user-replaceable program (or User Replaceable Module,
URM) is a CICS-supplied program that is always invoked at a particular
point in CICS processing, as if it were part of the CICS code.
Because it can be considered part of the CICS code,
you should think carefully before choosing to debug these programs.
For a description of user-replaceable programs, see CICS Transaction Server for z/OS Customization Guide.
If you are using CADP, you need
to specify the new environment variable INCLUDEURM. See Creating and storing debugging profiles with CADP.
If you are using DTCN, there is
a new field in the panels where you indicate whether you want to debug
URMs. See Creating and storing a DTCN profile.
- Saving and restoring of monitors now saves local monitors as well
as global monitors. In addition, when the compile unit for a local
monitor is deleted, any local monitors for that compile unit are suspended
and automatically restored if the compile unit reappears later in
the same debugging session. See Debug Tool Reference and Messages for more information.
- You can now use the EQAUEDAT user exit to specify the location
of the file generated by the DWARF suboption of the C/C++
compiler. See Debug Tool Customization Guide for instructions
on how to use the EQAUEDAT user exit.
The following
topics have been updated:
- With DTCN, you can now have Debug Tool start at a program boundary
for a CICS task that has already started.
See Debug Tool Customization Guide for more
information.
- A new utility has been added to Debug Tool Utilities, called JCL for Batch Debugging, which can help
you start a debugging session from your JCL.
See Debug Tool Customization Guide for more
information.
- SMP/E USERMODs are now available for some customizations.
The following topics have been updated to indicate that
a USERMOD is available:
- A new command called SET IGNORELINK has been added.
This command can help improve performance for CICS programs
that create many nested enclaves. See Debug Tool Reference and Messages for more information.