Version 5 buffers are first supported in z/OS® Version 1 Release 3 program management (PM4). VERSION=5 must be specified on the IEWBUFF macro to obtain buffers in this format. Most buffers have not changed, but VERSION=5 is supported by IEWBUFF for all buffers, whether or not there is a format change.

The PMAR is a buffer format added in version 5. It is the primary conduit of information from the binder to the program loader. The PMAR is mapped by the system mapping macro IEWPMAR. The PMAR buffer format provided by IEWBUFF only reserves the appropriate amount of storage without defining its layout. For additional information about IEWPMAR, see z/OS MVS™ Data Areas in z/OS Internet Library at http://www.ibm.com/systems/z/os/zos/bkserv/.

One additional flag byte, ESD_ATTRIBUTES, has been defined in the ESD buffer, using a previously reserved field. The version 5 layout is defined in ESD entry (version 5).