Other macro language extensions
High Level Assembler provides the following extensions to some earlier macro languages:
- You can insert blank lines in macro definitions provided they are not continuation lines. See also Blank lines.
- Macro names, variable symbols (including the ampersand), and sequence symbols (including the period), can be a maximum of 63 alphanumeric characters.
- You can insert comments (both ordinary and internal macro types) between the macro header and the prototype and, for library macros, before the macro header. These comments are not printed with the macro generation.
- You can use a macro definition to redefine any machine or assembler instruction. When you subsequently use the machine or assembler instruction the assembler interprets it as a macro call.
- You can include any instruction, except ICTL and *PROCESS statements, in a macro definition.
- You no longer need to precede the SET symbol name with an ampersand in LCLx and GBLx instructions, except for created SET symbols.
- The SETA and SETB instructions now allow you to use predefined absolute symbols in arithmetic expressions.