Reading a dump

Each abend category involves different methods of locating the BIB (BEX Interface Block), and the name and the compilation date of the failing CSECT.

The BIB is the central control block of the environment used by CICS® VR. The BIB and the trace table help you with error diagnosis.

If the abend occurs in a CICS VR exit, you can use the procedure outlined in the following topics if your exits follow standard linkage conventions. Difficulties might arise if you use different linkage conventions. For example, CICS VR has register 11 as its base register; if your exit uses another register as the base register, you must modify the problem determination procedure accordingly.

Using the BIB block

When you locate the BIB block, you can use it to help diagnose your problem.

The BIB contains pointers to several important data areas. The address of the GDTTBL, which is the top block of the application, is at offset X'1C'.

The BIB also contains the address of the internal trace table of CICS VR.