Examining Dumps › Execution Extents Table (Backtrace)

Execution Extents Table (Backtrace)

CA InterTest for CICS records the following information in the Execution Extents Table as it monitors a program:

• Pieces of the monitored program's code that were executed sequentially, without any branch instructions taken
• Number of times the loop was executed, if the code contains a loop
• Each CICS command and macro request
• Each CALL to a supported database management system

This information is on the breakpoint display as the backtrace. See the appendix, "Breakpoint Displays for Non‑Symbolic Programs" for a description of the breakpoint display and an explanation of the backtrace. Whenever possible, CA InterTest for CICS converts COBOL program displacements into COBOL statement and verb numbers before the display is shown.

There is one Extents Table per CA InterTest for CICS Diagnostic Area, pointed to by the address at displacement X'244' for Releases 4.x, and displacement X'0290' for Releases 5.x. The field name is XTENTABA. The table is a user‑class storage area. It can also be identified by the characters BKTR near the beginning of the storage area.

The table consists of six‑byte entries. You can find the oldest entry at the four‑byte address that immediately follows the BKTR identifier. Each entry contains three halfwords, described as follows:

• The first halfword contains the displacement of the first instruction in the extent.
• The second halfword contains the displacement of the last instruction in the extent of the token branch.
• The third halfword contains the binary number of times the extent was executed in a loop.

If the lower‑order bit (X'0001') is on in either of the first two halfwords, the table entry does not describe an Execution Extent. If execution is being traced outside the monitored program, or if the displacement s= is greater than or equal to 64 KB, the displacement is invalid.