Variables usage notes

When using the Variables option (7.3), you should be aware of:

Input errors

Correct any errors before leaving a display. If you cannot correct the errors, use the CANCEL command.

Length and format errors in variables defined with the VDEFINE service are detected when you enter the END command. If ISPF finds such an error, it prompts you to fix the variable value.

Test mode

Variable manipulations carried out under Dialog Test at a breakpoint are considered an extension of your dialog and, as such, are handled in user mode. Dialog variables, table data, and service return codes that you introduce, delete, or change are treated as though your dialog had made those changes.

Variable life

Profile variables that you create remain in your profile pool from one Dialog Test session to another. Shared and function variables exist only for the duration of Dialog Test.

Split-screen mode

In split-screen mode, two logical screens can share a profile variable pool. Since the Variables option (7.3) takes a snapshot of the variables, any change to a profile variable on one screen is not immediately reflected on the other screen. To get the latest changes, select the Variables option (7.3) again. Also, when one profile variable is changed on two logical screens using split-screen mode, the changed profile variable on the screen where the last END command was entered takes precedence.

Variable value

Variables defined with the VDEFINE service as non-character are displayed in converted form. Any changes made to the variable's value should conform to the defined format.

Do not change them using the hexadecimal representation. A format or length error causes a message to be displayed when you use the END command. When a VDEFINE error occurs, a panel identifies the data and its value and describes the error. You must then correct the error and press the Enter key. If you create a new variable by changing the pool indicator of an existing variable defined as non-character, the new variable has character (CHAR) format.

Hexadecimal data

Hexadecimal data that cannot be displayed is converted to displayable characters or typed using the form:

X'nnnnnnnn'

where:

n: An integer 0 through 9 or an alphabetic character A through F. There must be an even number of characters within the quotation marks.

DBCS data

A variable defined as DBCS by the VDEFINE service or displayed through the field with FORMAT(DBCS) specified in the test environment is displayed using the form:

'¬[DBDBDB]'

where:

[ and ]: Represent the SO (shift-out) and SI (shift-in) characters, respectively.

If you type a DBCS value in this format on the Variables panel, only the DBCS characters are stored.