Variable-Change Breakpoints

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Variable-Change Breakpoints

COBOL and Assembler users set a conditional breakpoint to take effect whenever the value of a variable changes. To do this, type x in the All Instructions field on the Conditional Locations screen.
COBOL users must then specify the variable name on the Conditional Breakpoint screen.
Assembler users must then specify the variable name on the Detailed Conditional Breakpoint screen, as discussed previously in The Detailed Conditional Breakpoint screen.

The value entered in the Operator field determines if the breakpoint occurs whenever the value of the variable changes (NE) or only when the value increases, decreases, or does not change. Whenever you re-execute the program, the initial value of the variable is reset to its value at the beginning of program execution.

Literal Formats

Specify four types of literals for the right side of the comparison:

Character	Specify character literals for comparisons with any field except a COBOL data name defined as COMP or COMP‑3. Enter the literal as C'character data', X'hexadecimal data', or a combination of both. For example, C'ABC', X'0102', or C'ABC'X'0102'.
Packed	Specify packed decimal literals for comparisons only with COBOL data names defined as COMP‑3. Enter the literal as P'number'. The number can be preceded by a minus sign. For example, P'123' or P'‑123'.
Halfword	Specify halfword literals for comparisons with COBOL data names defined as COMP with a length of four, as in S9(4) COMP. Enter the literal as H'number'. The number can be preceded by a minus sign. For example, H'12' or H'‑12'.
Fullword	Specify fullword literals for comparisons with COBOL data items defined as COMP with a length of eight, as in S9(8) COMP. Enter the literal as F'number'. The number can be preceded by a minus sign. For example, F'100' or F'‑100'.