Modifying the COBOL debug file name

When a COBOL program is compiled with the SEPARATE suboption of the TEST compiler option, the file name of the separate debug file created by the COBOL compiler is stored in the object deck. The file name can be one of the following:

A data set name
A data set name with a member name
Az/OS UNIX file name

At runtime, when a Language Environment-formatted dump is requested, the runtime gets the debug file name from the COBOL executable. If the debug file created at compile time is not available, the formatted dump does not format the local variables of the program.

If the COBOL debug files are kept in a file that is different from the file used at compile time, you can use the COBOL debug file user exit to provide a file name.

The COBOL debug file user exit also gets control when the debug tool is used to debug a COBOL program compiled with the SEPARATE suboption of the TEST compiler option.

The COBOL debug file user exit can be used in all environments. The user exit is called each time a new COBOL debug file is required. This gives the exit the opportunity to change the file name.