1) Is BRANCH=XM supported? Ans: Since it is not in the books, no. That is the stock answer for anything. If you need this function, then please submit an RFE. (In passing, the doc says that "Only SVC routines can use BRANCH=YES." Is that true?) Ans: I suppose "yes" if checking state and/or key but not if checking only APF authorization. The information about the caller's state and/or key applies only when this is an SVC routine because it is examining data in an identified RB (not in a linkage stack entry).
2) The description of TESTAUTH says it requires entry in Primary mode with PASN-HASN-SASN. Is *that* true? Ans: Yes. If BRANCH=XM were supported, the answer would be "except when BRANCH=XM". 3) What is the official way for a SS PC routine to find out if the issuer of the PC is running in an APF authorized environment? (I am aware that that caller could be in SRB mode or otherwise not be in a state conducive to answering the question, but presumably one would care only if the caller is in a user key and problem state.) Ans: Many PC routines choose not to accept APF authorization. You can probably get away with checking the JSCBAUTH bit. There is actually a complex definition of the APF state, and that's what MODESET checks. Perhaps someone knows the history behind it. It appears to have allowed for a lot of future extension that never happened. 4) Design-wise, is there a reason that APF authorization of the caller is not a criterion that can be applied when the PC routine is set up with ETDEF? Ans: Yes (for the most part). APF authorization is not a hardware state. PC's (and things identified by ETDEF, in general) have no way of looking at software-defined structures. The things in ETDEF related to ARRs are the exception, but there RTM goes through a lot of machinations to locate the information in order to figure out what has been specified. And it could not be "enforced" on the PC itself (which I think is what your question is getting at)/ Peter Relson z/OS Core Technology Design ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to [email protected] with the message: INFO IBM-MAIN
