Starting z/OS Debugger for programs that start outside of Language Environment

To debug an MVS batch or TSO program that has an initial program that does not run under the control of Language Environment®, including non-Language Environment COBOL programs, use the z/OS® Debugger program EQANMDBG to start z/OS Debugger.

If you need to debug a non-Language Environment program where EQANMDBG is used to start z/OS Debugger, and your program frees SUBPOOL 1 (which z/OS Debugger uses itself by default), you need to specify a new parm to EQANMDBG.

The parameter is NONLESP(nnn) where nnn is a SUBPOOL number from 2 - 127, that specifies the SUBPOOL for z/OS Debugger to use for its storage.

If the initial program does run under the control of Language Environment and subsequent programs run outside the control of Language Environment, you can use the methods described in Starting z/OS Debugger for programs that start in Language Environment to debug all the programs.

To start z/OS Debugger by using EQANMDBG, do one of the following options:
  • By using the IBM z/OS Debugger Utilities option 2, z/OS Debugger Setup File to run the programs either under TSO or in MVS batch.
  • By modifying the MVS JCL, TSO CLIST or REXX EXEC that you use to start your program, making the following changes:
    • Change the name of the program to be started to EQANMDBG or its alias EQAN0DBG. The two entry points differ in the way that they accept parameters:
      • EQANMDBG can take parameters from various combinations of a parm string and EQANMDBG DD.
      • EQAN0DBG accepts debugger parameters only from EQANMDBG DD and passes the address of the input parameter list unchanged to the application program. This entry point can take place of a program that receives a complex parameter list, for example in an IMS DL/I job.
    • Make one of the following updates:
Verify that the z/OS Debugger SEQAMOD and SEQABMOD libraries are in the load module search path. SEQAMOD must be placed before any other library in the load module search path that contains CEEEVDBG for z/OS Debugger to get control of a debug session.

Refer to the following topics for more information related to the material discussed in this topic.