Now the we have 4 digit addressing you could make it EEEE!
The use of virtual device address "123" for such a critical purpose
(access to the sysres) has always bothered me. It's just too easy for
something like what Stanley reports to happen: 123 doesn't "look
special". Also, various IBM and ISV products have been known to use MAINT
123 during product installation or even in production. I rather like the
idea of knowing what's using my sysres, and for what purpose.
So... one of the first things I do when installing a new VM release (even
before installing an External Security Manager) to edit the "USER DIRECT"
file and change MAINT 123 to MAINT EEE. I've never seen EEE used
anywhere else, and it sounds a bit like the sound one might emit after
accidentally formatting the sysres: EEEEEEEEeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!! ("Arrrghhh"
might have been a better virtual address, but hex addressing only goes so
far).
Were I to chose a new address today, maybe it would provide a better
warning, such as D1E. But EEE does catch the eye pretty well.
Mike Walter
Hewitt Associates
The opinions expressed herein are mine alone, not my employer's.
