For structures allocated in a coupling facility with CFLEVEL=1 or higher, you can update the list authority value for a list associated with an entry. On a single-entry request, you can specify a new list authority value (NEWAUTH) which will be used to update the current list authority value. You must explicitly provide the list number as part of the request. The update to the list authority value only occurs if the request is successful.

By adhering to a protocol of updating the list authority value when you update a list entry's contents, you can avoid corrupting or deleting changes made to the entry by other users. For instance, you could establish the following procedure for updating list entries:

1. Read a list entry.
2. Update its contents.
3. Increment, decrement, or set the list authority value of the updated copy of the list entry.
4. Write the changes back to the list entry using the AUTHCOMP parameter to ensure that the list entry is updated only if its list authority value is still the same as when you read it.

If the list authority comparison fails, the write request is not performed and you must start the update process again after re-reading the current list entry.