Pointer data items with AMODE 64 programs

To access the larger addressing space, data items with USAGE POINTER, USAGE FUNCTION-POINTER, and USAGE INDEX are 8 bytes when LP(64) is in effect, and 4 bytes when LP(32) is in effect; data items with USAGE PROCEDURE-POINTER are 8-byte elementary items regardless of the LP compiler option setting.

LENGTH OF special register

PICTURE 9(18) USAGE IS BINARY.

PICTURE 9(9) USAGE IS BINARY.

This can affect the size of group items that contain these data items. If the group item is defined in a COBOL copybook, and if the copybook is used in both LP(64) and LP(32) compilations, you should be aware that the difference in size might affect the program logic.

USAGE POINTER-32 data item

A new data item with USAGE POINTER-32 is added to the compiler when introducing AMODE 64 support. This can be used with the LP(64) or LP(32) compiler option, and can be used to define the pointer data item that contains below the bar address regardless of whether the data item is used in an AMODE 64 or AMODE 31 program. The same copybook can then be shared between LP(64) and LP(32) programs.