Issuing a Message and Loading a Wait State (WTO and LOADWAIT Macros)

There are situations in which system operations cannot continue until the system operator takes some external action. An example might be an authorized application detecting a critical problem that warrants stopping the entire system to correct. Using the LOADWAIT macro and the WTO macro with the WSPARM parameter stops the system so the operator can correct a problem, if possible. By using LOADWAIT and WTO, you issue a message to the operator and place the system into a wait state. By placing the system into a wait state, all processor activity is stopped.

To place the system into a wait state: The WSPARM parameter contains the address of the parameter list that you previously built using the LOADWAIT macro. WTO issues one message to the operator and uses the parameter list from LOADWAIT to put the system into the wait state. The wait state code and operator message explain what action the operator is to take. For more information about wait state codes, see z/OS MVS System Codes.