How build descriptor settings affect the EGL debugger

A build descriptor helps to determine some aspects of the debugging environment. For example, the system build descriptor option determines which mode the EGL debugger will run in. The debugger has three modes, JavaScript™ (for Rich UI), Java™, and COBOL; if you set the system type to DEBUG, then the mode is set to Java automatically. The mode controls how the debugger acts in situations where the EGL runtime behavior differs for JavaScript, Java, and COBOL output.

For details on Rich UI, see Debugging Rich UI. Otherwise, the EGL debugger selects the build descriptor in accordance with the following rules:

If you are debugging a program that you intend for use in a text or batch application in a Java environment, and if that program issues a transfer statement that switches control to a program that you also intend for use in a different run unit in a Java environment, the EGL debugger uses a build descriptor that is assigned to the receiving program. The choice of build descriptor is based on the rules described earlier.

If you are debugging a program that is called by another program, the EGL debugger uses the build descriptor that is assigned to the called program. The choice of build descriptor is based on the rules that are described earlier, except that if you do not specify a build descriptor, the debugger does not prompt you for a build descriptor when the called program is invoked; instead, the build descriptor for the calling program remains in use.

A build descriptor or resource association part that you use for debugging code might be different from the one that you use for generating code. For example, if you intend to access a VSAM file from a program that is written for a COBOL environment, you are likely to reference a resource association part in the build descriptor. The resource association part must refer to the runtime target system (for example, zOS) and must refer to a file type (for example, vsamrs) that is appropriate for the target system. The debug situation differs from the generation situation as follows:

System type used at debug time

In addition to the system build descriptor option, a value for system type can be set in sysVar.systemType.

The value in sysVar.systemType is the same as the value of the system build descriptor option, except that the value is DEBUG in either of two cases:
  • You select the preference Set systemType to DEBUG, as mentioned in Setting preferences for the EGL debugger; or
  • You specified NONE as the build descriptor to use during the debugging session, regardless of the value of that preference.

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