Message descriptions

Each message entry for assembly error diagnostic messages and assembly abnormal termination messages has the following five sections:

Each message entry for ASMAHL command error messages has up to five of the following sections:

Message Number and Text
Only the message number and the major fixed portion of the message text are included in the message description. Any abbreviations in actual message text are described under the message explanation section. Unused message numbers account for the gaps in the message number sequence. No messages are defined for numbers which are not included in this section (for example, ASMA222).
Explanation of Message
For some messages there is more than one explanation, as different sections of the assembler can generate the same message. Several assembler termination messages have identical explanations.
Supplemental Information
For ASMAHL command error messages, the supplemental information describes the possible contents of the variables in the message text.
System Action
This section describes how the assembler handles statements with errors. Some actions include:

For ASMAHL command error messages, this section describes the command return code and the status of the system after the error.

Programmer Response
Many errors have specific or probable causes. In such a case, the Programmer Response section gives specific steps for fixing the error. Most messages, however, have too many possible causes to list (from keying errors to wrong use of the statement). The Programmer Response section for these error messages does not give specific directions. The cause of most such errors can be determined from the message text and the explanation.
Severity Code
The level of severity code indicates how critical the error might be. The severity codes and their meanings are described in Message code format.

ASMAHL messages (those messages starting with ASMACMS) have a severity code letter of E. The associated return code is shown in the System Action for each message. An ASMAHL message that causes the assembly to terminate generates a return code greater than 20.

The severity code is used to determine the return code issued by the assembler when it returns control to the operating system. The IBM-supplied cataloged procedures (for z/OS) include a COND parameter on the linkage edit and run steps. The COND parameter prevents the running of these steps if the return code from the assembler is greater than 8. Thus errors with a severity code of S prevent the assembled program from linkage editing or running. Errors with a severity code of E, or lower, in the message do not prevent the assembled program from linkage editing or running.


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