Getting started

Introduction.

You can write a Hilmas source program with your favorite editor in CMS, TSO/ISPF, ROSCOE, ICCF, etc. (or also in your PC, if you next bring it in the right mainframe environment) following its syntax rules. Then, you must compile it using the proper JCL or the correct commands for your environment and for the environment in which the program must be run. Generally speaking, your source will be assembled using the standard IBM assembler available in every installation; with a little more caution, also an old assembler/370 available in VM/370 or in MVS/370 can compile an Hilmas program; in your "real" installation you will use HASM or HLASM assembler. If your program must be ran in CICS, you must assemble it using CICS precompiler first.

Your assembling procedure must be configured to fetch these assembler macros:

• Hilmas macros (i.e. Hilmas product itself)
• Operating system macros and other environmental macros like CICS macros if needed

where Hilmas macros must be fetched first.

If standard JCL cannot be modified to see Hilmas library, Hilmas can be included as a unique huge file directly in the source at compile time with COPY statement, for example.

Examples of JCL to assemble in various environment are provided in Appendixes.

 

How to obtain Hilmas.

Hilmas source itself is a collection of about 100 assembler macros; these can be obtained in various flavours browsing Piero Ronchi's site:

http://www.oocities.org/SiliconValley/Ridge/7322/hilmas.htm

or in short

http://www.oocities.org/pieroronchi/hilmas.htm

 

Installation.

Hilmas can be downloaded as a unique ascii file containing all the needed macros : in this case the file must be downloaded in your PC and then uploaded into mainframe as EBCDIC source file like a CMS file, a Copy book member or a PDS library member; then can be included directly in your source in compilation adding a COPY instruction (or /INCLUDE in ICCF) as showed in examples elsewhere.

Hilmas can be instead downloaded in a binary format already suitable for your environment: as a HILMAS MACLIB file suitable for VM/CMS or as a .XMI file, that is a PDS library dump in MVS/TSO SEND/RECEIVE format. In this case, COPY to include Hilmas macro source isn't necessary; it is always necessary the second COPY HILVAR to include the system Hilmas variables.

In VSE, a binary library is not available; unique ascii file must be used instead.

Then, prepare appropriate assembling JCL or procedure to compile Hilmas program; see Appendixes for some examples.