Setting Addressing Mode and Residency Mode

Restriction: This topic applies to Windows environments only.

The memory requirements of an Assembler program are indicated by its AMODE and RMODE:

We support two AMODE values:
  • AMODE(24) - Tells the assembler runtime to set the addressing mode bit in the Processor Status Word (PSW) to 0 when the module is called from a COBOL program. This sets the initial addressing mode to 24-bit.
  • AMODE(31) - Tells the assembler runtime to set the addressing mode bit in the PSW to 1 when the module is called from a COBOL program. This sets the initial addressing mode to 31-bit.
Note:
  • When an assembler program loads and branches into another assembler module, Assembler ignores the AMODE setting of the called module and preserves the current setting of the address mode bit in the PSW.
  • You can use the DATA(24) COBOL compiler directive to ensure that the addresses assigned in the Working-Storage Section of the COBOL module are below the 16 MB threshold, irrespective of any AMODE setting.