Setup Phase

Breakpoints and Abends

The setup phase is the preliminary phase of the debugging process. During this stage, you can define modules to the debugger for two reasons:

To enable the setting of breakpoints
Breakpoints can be established as soon as the DEBUG command is used to define the load module to the debugger.
To gain control under the debugger when a program check or abend occurs
The setting of breakpoints is not mandatory; you can trap possible abends in a program during runtime and receive control under the debugger if:
- You have defined the program to the debugger (that is, issued a DEBUG command for the program during the setup phase)
- You have defined the current DC/UCF program to the debugger
  The last program to receive control through a #LINK or #XCTL is called the current DC/UCF program. When a program check occurs in a module unknown to the debugger, you will gain control under the debugger if the current DC/UCF program is defined to the debugger.

Note: For a detailed discussion of DC/UCF and debugger methods of assigning currency, see Program Currency.