Depending on the tasks your program is designed to accomplish,
you might not be able to synchronize it with dump processing. If
the environment in which your program runs does not allow you to use
an ECB or SRB to synchronize your program, you might lose data that
is subject to rapid and frequent change. For example, the data used
for communication with other address spaces can change before the
system processes a scheduled dump. To avoid this loss, your program
can place the data in footprint areas before issuing the SDUMPX macro.
Footprint areas include:
- The program's work areas
- The variable recording area (VRA) of the system diagnostic work
area (SDWA)
- Any areas you specify through the SUMLIST and SUMLISTA parameters
- Any areas you specify through the SUMLSTL parameter (SDUMPX only)
- The 4K buffer of SQA that is reserved for the caller of SDUMPX, only if no other program is using this buffer.
If your program uses footprint areas to save such data, you should
provide your installation's programmers with information that explains
how your program uses those areas. Otherwise, other programmers might
not be able to read the dump or the logrec data set records.