This may be of particular interest when you’re trying to step execution through reentrant code, but your program is in problem state. The difficulty arises, of course, because the System has loaded the reentrant code into key-0 storage, and z/XDC, being in problem state, cannot set breakpoints into the code.
z/XDC has long had a mechanism by which you could tell the System to load reentrant programs into key-8 storage (see HELP DDNAMES RENT8), but there remained situations where using that process was arduous or even not possible. So now, another approach is available.
It has always been theoretically possible to use a 2nd, authorized debugging session to confer authority upon a non-authorized session, but you either had to know a lot about how the System manages authority, or you had to use a complex series of scripts that we provided called the MAKEAUTH scripts. But now, there’s a new pair of commands that make the process simpler.
- SET AUTH is a new command that can be used from an authorized debugging session to begin the process of conferring authority upon a non-authorized session.
- GO NOWHERE is a new command that can be used within the non-authorized session to complete the authorization process.
A security exposure is avoided by the requirement that you must start the process using an authorized debugging session. RACF rules are checked:
- When you attempt to start the authorized session,
- When you attempt to access the address space containing the non-authorized session,
- And when the non-authorized session attempts to complete the authorization process.
This new capability is available in z/XDC z2.2 starting with update DBC-1803F. The starting point for more information is HELP WHATSNEW Z22 THINGSFIXED MAINTENANCE.
Also the downloadable PDFs at www.colesoft.com have been brought up to date.
