SET EQUATE command

Equates a symbol to a string of characters. The equated symbol can be used anywhere a keyword, identifier, or punctuation is used in a z/OS® Debugger command. When an equated symbol is found in a z/OS Debugger command (other than the identifier operand in SET EQUATE and CLEAR EQUATE), the equated symbol is replaced by the specified string before parsing continues.

Read syntax diagramSkip visual syntax diagramSETEQUATEidentifier=string;
identifier
An identifier that is valid in the current programming language. The maximum length of the identifier is:
  • For C, 32 SBCS characters
  • For COBOL and LangX COBOL, 30 SBCS characters
  • For PL/I, 31 SBCS characters

The identifier can contain DBCS characters.

string
A string constant in the current programming language. The maximum length of the replacement string is 255 SBCS characters.

Usage notes

  • Operands of the following commands are for environments other than the standard z/OS Debugger environment (that is, TSO DS name, and so forth) and are not scanned for EQUATEd symbol substitution:
    • COMMENT
    • INPUT
    • SET DEFAULT LISTINGS
    • SET INTERCEPT ON/OFF FILE
    • SET LOG ON FILE
    • SET SOURCE (cu_spec)
    • SYSTEM/SYS
    • TSO
    • USE
  • To remove an EQUATE definition, use the CLEAR EQUATE command.
  • To remain accessible when the current programming language setting is changed, symbols that are equated when the current programming language setting is C must be entered in uppercase and must be valid in the other programming languages.
  • If an EQUATE identifier coincides with an existing keyword or keyword abbreviation, EQUATE takes precedence. If the EQUATE identifier is already defined, the new definition replaces the old.
  • The equate string is not scanned for, or substituted with, symbols previously set with a SET EQUATE command.

Examples

  • Specify that the symbol INFO is equated to "ABC, DEF (H+1)". The current programming language setting is either C or COBOL. 
    SET EQUATE INFO = "ABC, DEF (H+1)";
  • Specify that the symbol tstlen is equated to the equivalent of a #define for structure pointing. The current programming language setting is C. If the programming language changes, this lowercase symbol might not be accessible. 
    SET EQUATE tstlen = "struct1->member.b->c.len";
  • Specify that the symbol VARVALUE is equated to the command LIST x. 
    SET EQUATE VARVALUE = "LIST x";