- An EPS Seminar -

Dates and Location:

None scheduled at this time. Available for in-house instruction.

Hardcopy of Abstract and Outline:

EPSSeminarRileyAssemblerLanguagePart1.pdf

Additional Information:

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Seminar abstract and Outline

Audience:

This four-and-a-half-day seminar is the first of two ESA/390 and z/Architecture Assembler language seminars offered. It is intended for application and system programmers who need to read, write, modify or debug basic assembler language programs. It is also valuable for those individuals who need to refresh their basic assembler programming skills.

Seminar Instructor:

Phil Riley

Seminar Abstract:

The seminar introduces the student to basic assembler programming considerations such as assembler coding syntax, use of registers and the interpretation of an assembly listing. The various data formats are discussed, together with the assembler coding requirements, and a review of both binary and hexadecimal numbering systems is included.

Students will also become familiar with the concept of machine language, this being reinforced with studies of six of the more commonly used machine formats.

The seminar includes an overview of diagnostic techniques using a SYSUDUMP abend dump.

Lecture material is reinforced throughout the week with the use of lab exercises. These labs include SYSUDUMP analysis.

Prerequisites:

Students attending this seminar will benefit from a working knowledge of the TSO/ISPF editor and Job Control Language. In addition, programming experience in at least one high level language is recommended but not required.

Seminar Objectives:

In this seminar, students will learn how to:

• Code assembler language syntax
• Convert decimal, binary and hexadecimal numbers to and from each other
• Interpret machine code language for commonly used instruction formats
• Create arithmetic logic for both packed decimal and binary data formats
• Code for conditional branching, loop control and table lookup
• Locate a failing instruction within a SYSUDUMP abend dump
• Interpret several system completion codes such as 0C1 and 0C4
• Effectively use associated IBM documentation during error analysis
• Use move-mode techniques to perform Queued I/O operations in a program
• Use Boolean logic to manipulate binary data

Seminar Outline:

The following is a high level outline for this seminar:

• Numbering Systems
  • Decimal, binary and hexadecimal number conversion
  
  
• Storage
  • Layout and addressing rules
  • Halfword, fullword and doubleword boundary alignment
  
  
• Data Representation
  • Character, packed decimal, zoned decimal and binary data formats
  
  
• Storage and Constant Definition Statements
  • Syntax and coding rules
  • Length attributes
  • Multiplication factor
  
  
• Machine Instruction Formats
  • RR, RS, RX, SI and SS formats
  • Base-displacement addressing
  • Symbolic references
  
  
• Binary Instructions
  • LA, L, LR, LH, LM, ST, STH and STM instructions
  • A, AR, S, SR, M, MR, D and DR instructions
  
  
• Packed Decimal Instructions
  • PACK, UNPK, CVB and CVD instructions
  • ZAP, AP, SP, MP and DP instructions
  • Coding specification rules
  
  
• Character Manipulation Instructions
  • MVC, MVI, MVZ and MVN instructions
  
  
• Compare Instructions
  • C, CH, CR, CP, CLC, CLI, CL and CLR instructions
  
  
• Branching Control
  • Condition Code Testing
  • LTR, LPR, LNR and LCR instructions
  • BC, BCR, BCT and BCTR instructions
  • Use of conditional branch mask
  
  
• Array Processing
  • BXLE and BXH instructions
  
  
• Subroutines
  • Internal vs. external addressability rules
  • BAL, BALR, BAS and BASR linkage instructions
  • Program save area structure and usage
  • Program linkage and exit logic coding
  
  
• Logical Bit Control
  • Boolean logic - "OR", "AND" and "Exclusive OR"
  • O, OI, OC, OR, N, NI, NC, NR, X, XI, XC and XR instructions
  • TM, IC, STC, ICM, STCM instructions
  • Bit shifting in registers
  • SLA, SLL, SRA, SRL, SLDA, SLDL, SRDA and SRDL instructions
  
  
• Character Translation
  • TR and TRT instructions
  
  
• I/O Basics
  • QSAM related macros and usage
  
  
• Diagnostics
  • SNAP and associated macros and usage
  • Common program interrupt codes
  • SYSUDUMP contents and analysis methodology
  • IBM documentation review