An external dummy section is generated when you specify a DXD instruction, or when you specify a DSECT instruction whose name appears in a Q-type address constant.

When a DSECT name is used as an operand of a Q-type address constant, that name becomes an external symbol with type XD in the External Symbol Dictionary portion of the listing. The name must satisfy the name-length requirements of the object file format specified in the assembler options.

Use the Q-type address constant to reserve storage for the offset to the external dummy section whose name is specified in the operand. This offset is the distance in bytes from the beginning of the area allocated for all the external dummy sections to the beginning of the external dummy section specified. You can use this offset value to address the external dummy section.