z/OS Debugger variables

z/OS® Debugger reserves several variables for its own information. These z/OS Debugger variable names begin with a percent sign (%), to distinguish them from program variables. You can access z/OS Debugger variables while testing programs in any supported language.

You can use all z/OS Debugger variables in expressions. Additionally, the variables %EPRn., %FPRn., %GPRn., and %LPRn. (representing the types of registers) can be modified, as shown in the COBOL example below.
MOVE name_table TO %GPR5;
Note: Use caution when assigning new values to registers. Important program information can be lost. Do not modify the base register.
To display the value of a z/OS Debugger variable, use the LIST command, as shown in the example below.
LIST %GPR15

The table below summarizes the z/OS Debugger variables.

z/OS Debugger variable Value
%ADDRESS Address of the location where your program was interrupted
%AMODE Current® AMODE of the suspended program
%BLOCK Name of the current block
%CAAADDRESS Address of the CAA control block associated with the suspended program
%CC (assembler and disassembly only) (Assembler and disassembly only) Condition code from current PSW
%CONDITION Name or number of the condition when z/OS Debugger is entered because of an AT OCCURRENCE
%COUNTRY Current country code
%CU Name of the primary entry point of the current compile unit
%EPA Address of the primary entry point in the current compile unit
%EPRn or %EPRHn (%EPRHn assembler and disassembly only) (Assembler, disassembly, C and C++, and PL/I only) Extended-precision floating-point registers
%EPRBn (assembler and disassembly only) (Assembler and disassembly only) Extended-precision floating-point registers in binary format
%EPRDn (assembler and disassembly only) (Assembler and Disassembly only) Extended-precision floating-point registers in decimal format
%FPRn or %FPRHn (%FPRHn assembler and disassembly only) Single-precision floating-point registers in hexadecimal format
%FPRBn (assembler and disassembly only) (Assembler and Disassembly only) Single-precision floating-point registers in binary format
%FPRDn (assembler and disassembly only) (Assembler and Disassembly only) Single-precision floating-point registers in decimal format
%GPRn 32-bit base General Purpose Registers at the point of interruption in a program
%GPRGn 64-bit General Purpose Registers at the point of interruption in a program
%GPRHn 32-bit high General Purpose Registers at the point of interruption in a program
%HARDWARE Type of hardware where the application is running
%LINE or %STATEMENT Current source line number
%LOAD Name of the load module of the current program, or an asterisk (*)
%LPRn or %LPRHn (%LPRHn assembler and disassembly only) Double-precision floating-point registers in hexadecimal format
%LPRBn (assembler and disassembly) (Assembler and Disassembly only) Double-precision floating-point registers in binary format
%LPRDn (assembler and disassembly) (Assembler and Disassembly only) Double-precision floating-point registers in decimal format
%NLANGUAGE National language currently in use
%PATHCODE Integer identifying the type of change occurring when the program flow reaches a point of discontinuity, and the path condition is raised
%PLANGUAGE Current programming language
%PROGMASK (assembler and disassembly only) (Assembler and disassembly only) Program mask from current PSW
%PROGRAM Equivalent to %CU
%PSW (assembler and disassembly only) (Assembler and disassembly only) Current Program Status Word
%RC Return code from the most recent z/OS Debugger command
%RSTDSETS A value of 1 if user settings have been restored and 0 otherwise
%RUNMODE String identifying the presentation mode of z/OS Debugger
%Rn 32-bit base General Purpose Registers for the currently qualified assembler or disassembly CU
%STATEMENT Equivalent to %LINE
%SUBSYSTEM Name of the underlying subsystem, if any, where the program is running
%SYSTEM Name of the operating system supporting the program

You can access z/OS Debugger variables even when they have no intrinsic meaning in your operating system or language.

Refer to the following topics for more information related to the material discussed in this topic.