Use the SETCF instruction to call an external function to assign a character value to a SETC symbol. You can specify a many parameters—the exact number depending on factors such as the size of the program and of virtual storage—to pass to the external function routine.

>>-variable_symbol--SETCF--'function─name'---------------------->

>--+----------------------+------------------------------------><
   | .------------------. |   
   | V                  | |   
   '---,character_value-+-'   

variable symbol

Is a variable symbol.

A global variable symbol in the name field must have been previously declared as a SETC symbol in a GBLC instruction. Local SETC symbols need not be declared in an LCLC instruction. The assembler considers any undeclared variable symbol found in the name field of a SETC instruction as a local SET symbol. The variable symbol is assigned a type attribute value of U.

The character value assigned to the variable symbol can have a string length in the range 0 (for a null character string) through 1024.

function_name

The name of an external function load module. The name must be specified as a character expression, and must evaluate to a valid module name no longer than eight bytes.

See the chapter "Providing External Functions" in the HLASM Programmer's Guide for information about external function load modules.

character_value

Is a character value specified by:

• A type attribute reference
• An operation code attribute reference
• A character expression
• A substring notation
• A concatenation of one or more of the above

The character value can have a string length in the range 0 (for a null character string) through 1024.

When a SETA or SETB symbol is specified in a character expression, the unsigned decimal value of the symbol (with leading zeros removed) is the character value given to the symbol.

See SETC instruction for further information about setting SETC symbols, and ways to specify character expressions.