Pointer parameters

All pointer parameters to the SCLM services provide a fullword address to a predefined array or record structure.

The SCLM services use four pointer parameters:

$msg_array: (message array)
$acct_info: (accounting information)
$stats_info: (statistical information)
$list_info: (list information array)

For Pascal declarations of the services program invocations, see Sample programs using SCLM services.

Note: When creating programs that use SCLM services, the developer must be careful to manipulate the memory for pointer parameters correctly.

Input Parameters: The program calling the SCLM service must allocate the memory for the pointer parameter (one word) and the memory for the structure.
Output Parameters: The program calling the SCLM service must allocate the memory for only the pointer parameter (one word). If the information in the output structure will be referenced later in the program then the information in the structure must be copied to the program's local storage before the next call to an SCLM service. SCLM allocates and deallocates the memory where the output structure is stored.

For example, if you want to pass the $list_info array from the PARSE service to the STORE service, you must first copy the $list_info array to a local memory buffer. Then you must pass the local buffer pointer to the STORE service.

For examples of copying the $list_info array and the $stats_info record, see Sample programs using SCLM services.