I agree that the macros should be in the base, but even without them HLASM has features that, IMHO, justify the term high level.
-- Shmuel (Seymour J.) Metz http://mason.gmu.edu/~smetz3 עַם יִשְׂרָאֵל חַי נֵ֣צַח יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל לֹ֥א יְשַׁקֵּ֖ר ________________________________________ From: IBM Mainframe Assembler List <ASSEMBLER-LIST@LISTSERV.UGA.EDU> on behalf of Schmitt, Michael <michael.schm...@dxc.com> Sent: Friday, June 7, 2024 10:32 AM To: ASSEMBLER-LIST@LISTSERV.UGA.EDU Subject: Re: Toolkit support for compare and jump? My opinion is that the structured programming macros should be included with HLASM, at no extra cost. For four reasons: 1. How can you call it High Level assembler without the macros? 2. The macro library is already a prerequisite for other IBM products, such as IMS. 3. Having the macros part of HLASM would standardize them. As it is now, there's the IBM macros and there's other versions from other sources, which may not be consistent in syntax and implementation. 4. We can't code using the macros as it is now, because while perhaps we have a license *today*, we can't know that we'll always have the license. I've already had to rewrite a large assembler program to remove the macros, because they were licensed when I wrote it but then the license was dropped. So I learned my lesson: never use the macros. -----Original Message----- From: IBM Mainframe Assembler List <ASSEMBLER-LIST@LISTSERV.UGA.EDU> On Behalf Of Jonathan Scott Sent: Friday, June 7, 2024 8:23 AM To: ASSEMBLER-LIST@LISTSERV.UGA.EDU Subject: Re: Toolkit support for compare and jump? Pieter Wiid writes: > Found a bug in this implementation: > ... 1686 DOEXIT CIJ,R15,NE,0 > ... 1696+ CIJ R15,0 > ** ASMA175S Delimiter error, expected comma - This example appears to be simply due to using an old level of the HLASM Toolkit Structured Programming Macro macro library which does not include the Compare-and-Branch support. However, the example included with the case does show a problem when DOEXIT specifies a compare-and-branch instruction followed by a logical OR condition, which is that an undefined label is used for the branch. > I raised case TS016361097, but IBM are being obstructive on entitlement. Unlike HLASM, which is included as standard with z/OS, the HLASM Toolkit, which includes the Structured Programming Macros and ASMIDF, is an optional priced feature, which must be licensed separately. So an appropriate license needs to be located. Personally, I've always felt that we should encourage customers to report bugs and also that there should be no charge to report a problem if you do not actually need a fix. I would even like some way to reward customers who provide helpful information about problems. However, that's not how IBM works. In this case, the team are now aware of the problem, and are quite likely to look into fixing it anyway, but it is always easier for us to prioritise work on a fix if it is associated with a valid customer case. Jonathan Scott, HLASM IBM Hursley, UK
