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From: scw@ucla-cs.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.followup
Subject: Re: Unix, Unixpeople, Usenix (really IBM Utilities)
Message-ID: <7715@ucla-cs.ARPA>
Date: Fri, 22-Nov-85 12:05:39 EST
Article-I.D.: ucla-cs.7715
Posted: Fri Nov 22 12:05:39 1985
Date-Received: Thu, 28-Nov-85 03:34:26 EST
References: <96@tekadg.UUCP> <9700101@uiucdcs> <150@mit-eddie.UUCP>
Reply-To: scw@ucla-cs.UUCP (Stephen C. Woods)
Organization: UCLA Computer Science Department
Lines: 67
Keywords: IBM, Error Messages, etc

In article <216@ur-tut.UUCP> scco@ur-tut.UUCP (Sean Colbath) writes:
>In article <7524@ucla-cs.ARPA> scw@ucla-cs.UUCP (Stephen C. Woods) writes:
>>Interestingly enough IEFBR14 had a bug in the first release.  System
>>360 (now called 370) had a calling sequence as follows:
>>(1) R15 -> entry
>>(2) R14 -> return
>>(3) [all kinds of [...] return
>>    values)
>>(2) Put the condition code (a number indicating the severity of any errors
>>    that occured durring execution 0=none, 2= very minor, 4=warning,
>>    ... 32 terminal errors (hardware failures etc).

OPPS, I dropped a line while reformatting
should have said
      ')into R15'
>>    then 
>>    br	14		branch to where r14 points
>>The problem with IEFBR14 was that it didn't clear R15 before it returned
>>	bad			good
>>	BR	14		XR	15,15
>>				BR	14
>
>AAAhhh, finally a discussion about a *real* operating system! (:-)...  The
>linkage conventions that are described above are standard linkage conventions,
>but I don't see any advantage the second 'good' implementation of IEFBR14 has
>over the first.  

You need to \*ALWAYS*/ have a 0 return code from IEFBR14!!!!!!
(Well, you need a predictable return code anyway, and on OS/360 the EPA [Entry
Point Address] was anything but predictable.)

>                 I have programmed on VM (one of the major operating systems
>that run on IBM's System/370 line) for several years, and the only thing that
>R15 is used for is a return code, in which case you wouldn't want to have 
>your return call zero it out.

My sympathies about your VM affliction. I use as little as I can to keep
my U**Xoid happy.

>
>Frankly, I don't see why many [...] error messages are documented in
>a large manual of 'system messages and errors', and follow a certain format:
   ^^^^^
That's part of the problem, most of us don't have the necessary desk space
for 20 linear feet of manuals.

>
>         sssmmmnnnt : message
>
>where mmm is the module [...] over Unix (in my opinion, no flames
>please) in its error handling.  All error messages are consistantly formatted,
>it is easy to tell [...] issue such a message.  Also, each help file for
>a command has *every error message that that command could issue* listed at

Which means that you need a 3380 ( ~~ .5 Giga Bytes ) to hold the help files.

>the bottom.  And, if I find a message I don't understand, I could say
> 
>         HELP DMS024E
>
>and get a short description of the error, what could cause it to occur,
>and how I could rectify the problem (of course, IBM's solution for many of
>the more serious error messages is 'contact your operations staff' or
>'contact your systems staff' which I'm sure they love..)..

Or contact your IBM Field Service Rep.  I must say however that IBM does
address hardware problems promptly and efficently.