When a program or procedure returns, its call stack entry is removed from the call stack. (If it is a program, the program entry procedure is removed as well.) A procedure ends abnormally when something outside the procedure ends its invocation. For example, this would occur if an ILE RPG procedure X calls another procedure (such as a CL procedure) that issues an escape message directly to the procedure calling X. This would also occur if the procedure gets an exception that is handled by an exception handler (a *PSSR or error indicator) of a procedure further up the call stack.
Because of the cycle code associated with main procedures, their return is also associated with certain termination routines. This section discusses the different ways that main procedures and subprocedures can return, and the actions that occur with each.