IBM Mainframe Forum

I have a COBOL utility that CALLs a number of other modules, a few of which are rather old and run only in 24 mode. To CALL these modules, I need to pass them storage that is comperable, and thus below the line. I am currently using a little ALC program to obtain storage below the line, but as we have upgraded to LE, I thought that I should replace this with the built-in LE function of CEEGTST. Unfortunately, what one might think would be a farily simple thing to do is, in IBM's usual implimentation, extremely confusing. I want to be able to obtain some storage below the line, and other storage above the line. CEEGTST does not have a simple option for this, as my ALC routine does, and instead creates a HEAPID, for which the documentation I have found is truly arcane. Apparently, I have to create two HEAPIDs? And somehow one of them is specified as below the line and the other as above? I have not been able to find a good example of this. Has anyone else already done this? (I may have to end up just keeping my ALC routine.)

. . . oh, and PLEASE, no April Fool's Day jokes . . .

Any chance of re-compiling the old modules?

I looked at the manuals. It does not appear to be very complicated. See this link. The only thing that seems "complicated" is feeding the correct parameters to CEECRHP to define a heap below the line, but I'm convinced that anyone with enough smarts to use CEEGTST can figure out how to tell CEECRHP to assign a heap with below the line storage.

Well, if it does not seem very complicated to you, I must just have some kind of mental block on this. My COBOL program needs to obtain storage for two different reasons. For one set of GETMAINS I want storage Below the line (chiefly for those old modules which I am told cannot be modified) and for the other, I don't particularly want to be limited to the Below the line area (but I want some flexibility in the amount of storage required for a given execution rather than just assuming the worst case size for all runs). My ALC routine works perfectly for this, so until I get a more direct example, clearer explanation, a few more brains cells pinging at the same time, or more time to dig into it myself, I think I will stick with what currently works. Thanks for the replies.

You have a link to the sample program. The sample program has more than you need. About two of the modules you need to use (CEECRHP - Create user heap and CEEGTST obtain storage from user heap). You need the parameters for above/below the 16mb, they are in "the manual". You can allocate both from the same program (it seems, this is all new to me too).

The heap is just a lump of storage which you can use (all, part, in pieces). You can get other heaps if you need.

If you want to give an idea of what you don't understand, maybe we can help. Or an outline of your existing module, so we can see how well it would fit.

Or stay with yours, as you say. It works.