Designer | IBM |
---|---|
Bits | 64-bit |
Introduced | 2000 |
Version | ARCHLVL 2 and ARCHLVL 3 (2008) |
Design | CISC |
Type | Register–Register Register–Memory Memory–Memory |
Encoding | Variable (2, 4 or 6 bytes long) |
Branching | Condition code, indexing, counting |
Endianness | Big |
Predecessor | ESA/390 |
Registers | |
Access 16× 32, breaking-event-address register (BEAR) 64-bit, Control 16×64, Floating Point Control 32-bit, Prefix 64 bit, PSW 128-bit | |
General-purpose | 16× 64-bit |
Floating point | 16× 64-bit |
Vector | 32× 128-bit, VR0-VR15 contain FPR0-FPR15 |
History of IBM mainframes, 1952–present |
---|
Market name |
Architecture |
z/Architecture, initially and briefly called ESA Modal Extensions (ESAME), is IBM's 64-bit complex instruction set computer (CISC) instruction set architecture, implemented by its mainframe computers. IBM introduced its first z/Architecture-based system, the z900, in late 2000. [1] Later z/Architecture systems include the IBM z800, z990, z890, System z9, System z10, zEnterprise 196, zEnterprise 114, zEC12, zBC12, z13, z14, z15 and z16.
z/Architecture retains backward compatibility with previous 32-bit-data/31-bit-addressing architecture ESA/390 and its predecessors back to the 32-bit-data/24-bit-addressing System/360. The IBM z13 is the last z Systems server to support running an operating system in ESA/390 architecture mode. [2] However, all 24-bit and 31-bit problem-state application programs originally written to run on the ESA/390 architecture will be unaffected by this change.
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (June 2024) |
z/Architecture includes almost all [lower-alpha 1] of the features of ESA/390, and adds some new features. Among the features [lower-alpha 2] of z/Architecture are
For information on when each feature was introduced, consult Principles of operation. [3] [4]
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (July 2024) |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Each processor has these registers
Each CPU has 16 32-bit access registers. [5] [11] When a program running in AR mode specifies register 1-15 as a base register or as a register operand containing an address, the CPU uses the associated access register during address translation.
The 64-bit BEAR [6] [12] contains the address of the last instruction that broke the sequential execution of instructions; an interrupt stores the BEAR in the doubleword at real address 272 (11016). After an Execute of a branch, the BEAR contains the address of the execute, not that of the branch.
The 16 64-bit control registers provide controls over and the status of a CPU, except for information included in the PSW. They are an evolutionary enhancement to the control registers on the earlier ESA/390 on the IBM S/390 processors. For details on which fields are dependent on specific features, consult the Principles of Operation. [13] Because z/Architecture expands the control registers from 32 bits to 64, the bit numbering differs from that in ESA/390.
CR | bits | Field |
---|---|---|
0 | 8 | Transactional-execution control |
0 | 9 | Transactional-execution program-interruption filtering override |
0 | 10 | Clock-comparator sign control |
0 | 13 | Cryptography counter controll |
0 | 14 | Processor-activity-instrumentation-extension control |
0 | 15 | Measurement-counter-extraction-authorization control |
0 | 30 | Warning-track subclass mask |
0 | 32 | TRACE TOD-clock control |
0 | 33 | SSM-suppression |
0 | 34 | TOD-clock-sync control |
0 | 35 | Low-address-protection control |
0 | 36 | Extraction-authority control |
0 | 37 | Secondary-space control |
0 | 38 | Fetch-protection-override control |
0 | 39 | Storage-protection-override control |
0 | 40 | Enhanced-DAT-enablement control |
0 | 43 | Instruction-execution-protection-enablement control |
0 | 44 | ASN-and-LX-reuse control |
0 | 45 | AFP-register control |
0 | 46 | Vector enablement control |
0 | 48 | Malfunction-alert subclass mask |
0 | 48 | Malfunction-alert subclass mask |
0 | 49 | Emergency-signal subclass mask |
0 | 50 | External-call subclass mask |
0 | 52 | Clock-comparator subclass mask |
0 | 53 | CPU-timer subclass mask |
0 | 54 | Service-signal subclass mask |
0 | 56 | Initialized to 1 |
0 | 57 | Interrupt-key subclass mask |
0 | 58 | Measurement-alert subclass mask |
0 | 59 | Timing-alert subclass mask |
0 | 61 | Crypto control |
1 | 0-51 | Primary Address-Space Control Element (ASCE) Primary region-table origin Primary segment-table origin Primary real-space token origin |
1 | 54 | Primary subspace-group control |
1 | 55 | Primary private-space control |
1 | 56 | Primary storage-alteration-event |
1 | 57 | Primary space-switch-event control |
1 | 58 | Primary real-space control |
1 | 60-61 | Primary designation-type control |
1 | 62-63 | Primary table length |
2 | 33-57 | Dispatchable-unit-control-table origin |
2 | 59 | Guarded-storage-facility enablement control |
2 | 61 | Transaction diagnostic scope |
2 | 62-63 | Transaction diagnostic control |
3 | 0-31 | Secondary ASN-second-table-entry instance number |
3 | 32-47 | PSW-key mask |
3 | 48-63 | Secondary ASN |
4 | 0-31 | Primary ASN-second-table-entry instance number |
4 | 32-47 | Authorization index |
4 | 48-63 | Primary ASN |
5 | 33-57 | Primary-ASN-second-table-entry origin |
6 | 32-39 | I/O-interruption subclass mask |
7 | 0-51 | Secondary Address-Space Control Element (ASCE) Secondary region-table origin Secondary segment-table origin Secondary real-space token origin |
7 | 54 | Secondary subspace-group control |
7 | 55 | Secondary private-space control |
7 | 56 | Secondary storage-alteration-event control |
7 | 58 | Secondary real-space control |
7 | 60-61 | Secondary designation-type control |
7 | 62-63 | Secondary table length |
8 | 16-31 | Enhanced-monitor masks |
8 | 32-47 | Extended authorization index |
8 | 48-63 | Monitor masks |
9 | 32 | Successful-branching-event mask |
9 | 33 | Instruction-fetching-event mask |
9 | 34 | Storage-alteration-event mask |
9 | 35 | Storage-key-alteration-event mask |
9 | 36 | Store-using-real-address-event mask |
9 | 37 | Zero-address-detection-event mask |
9 | 38 | Transaction-end event mask |
9 | 39 | Instruction-fetching-nullification-event mask |
9 | 40 | Branch-address control |
9 | 41 | PER-event-suppression control |
9 | 43 | Storage-alteration-space control |
10 | 0-63 | PER starting address |
11 | 0-63 | PER ending address |
12 | 0 | Branch-trace control |
12 | 1 | Mode-trace control |
12 | 2-61 | Trace-entry address |
12 | 62 | ASN-trace control |
12 | 63 | Explicit-trace control |
13 | 0-51 | Home Address-Space Control Element (ASCE) Home region-table origin Home segment-table origin Home real-space token origin |
13 | 55 | Home private-space control |
13 | 56 | Home storage-alteration-eventl |
13 | 57 | Home space-switch-event control |
13 | 58 | Secondary real-space control |
13 | 60-61 | Home designation-type control |
13 | 62-63 | Home table length |
14 | 32 | Set to 1 |
14 | 33 | Set to 1 |
14 | 34 | Extended save-area control (ESA/390-compatibility mode only) |
14 | 35 | Channel-report-pending subclass mask |
14 | 36 | Recovery subclass mask |
14 | 37 | Degradation subclass mask |
14 | 38 | External-damage subclass mask |
14 | 39 | Warning subclass mask |
14 | 42 | TOD-clock-control-override control |
14 | 44 | ASN-translation control |
14 | 45-63 | ASN-first-table origin |
15 | 0-60 | Linkage-stack-entry address |
The FPC register contains Interrupt Masks (IM), Status Flags (SF), Data Exception Code (DXC), Decimal Rounding Mode (DRM) and Binary Rounding Mode (BRM). An interruption only stores the DXC if the FPC register if the AFP-register (additional floating-point register) control bit, bit 13 of control register 0, is one. Also, while individual bits of the DXC usually have significance, programs should normally treat it as an 8-bit integer rather than querying individual bits.
Byte name | Bits | Field name | Use |
---|---|---|---|
masks | 0 | IMi | IEEE-invalid-operation mask |
masks | 1 | IMz | IEEE-division-by-zero mask |
masks | 2 | IMo | IEEE-overflow mask |
masks | 3 | IMu | IEEE-underflow mask |
masks | 4 | IMx | IEEE-inexact mask |
masks | 5 | IMq | Quantum-exception mask |
flags | 8 | SFi | IEEE-invalid-operation flag |
flags | 9 | SFz | IEEE-division-by-zero |
flags | 10 | SFo | IEEE-overflow flag |
flags | 11 | SFu | IEEE-underflow flag |
flags | 12 | SFx | IEEE-inexact flag |
flags | 13 | SFq | Quantum-exception flag |
DXC | 16-23 | DXC | Data-exception code |
DXC | 16 | i | IEEE-invalid-operation |
DXC | 17 | z | IEEE-division-by-zero |
DXC | 18 | o | IEEE-overflow |
DXC | 19 | u | IEEE-underflow mask |
DXC | 20 | x | IEEE-inexact mask |
DXC | 21 | y/q | Quantum-exception mask |
25-27 | DRM | DFP rounding mode | |
29-31 | BRM | BFP rounding mode | |
Each CPU had 16 64-bit floating point registers; FP0-15 occupy bits 0-63 of VR0-15.
Each CPU has 16 64-bit general registers, which serve as accumulators, base registers [lower-alpha 3] and index registers. [lower-alpha 3] Instructions designated as Grandé operate on all 64 bits; some instructions added by the Extended-Immediate Facility operate on any halfword or word in the register; most other instructions do not change or use bits 0-31.
The prefix register is used in translating a real address to an absolute address. In z/Architecture mode, the PSA is 2 pages (8 KiB). Bits 0-32 and 51-63 are always zero. If bits 0-50 of a real address are zero then they are replaced by bits 0-50 of the prefix register; if bits 0-50 of the real address are equal to bits 0-50 of the prefix register then they are replaced with zeros.
The PSW holds the instruction address and other fields reflecting the status of the program currently running on a CPU. The status of the program is also affected by the contents of the Control registers.
Each CPU has 32 128-bit vector registers.{{sfn|z|loc=Vector Registers|pp=2-5–2-6 bits 0-63 of VR0-15 are also FPR0-15. A vector register may contain 16 8-bit fields, 8 16-bit fields, 4 32-bit fields, 2 64-bit fields or 1 128-bit field.
IBM classifies memory in z/Architecture into Main Storage and Expanded Storage.
Main storage is addressed in 8-bit bytes (octets), with larger aligned [lower-alpha 4] groupings:
Although z/Architecture allows real and virtual addresses from 0 to 264-1, engineering constraints limit current and planned models to far less.
Expanded storage is address in 4 KiB blocks, with block numbers ranging fom 0 to 232.
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (June 2024) |
There are three types of main storage addresses in z/Architecture
z/Architecture uses the same truncated addressing as ESA, with some additional instruction formats. As with ESA, in AR mode each nonzero base register is associated with a base register specifying the address space. Depending on the instruction, an address may be provided in several different formats.
In addition to the two addressing modes supported by S/370-XA and ESA, a/Architecture has an extended addressing mode with 64-bit virtual addresses. The addressing mode is controlled by the EA (bit 31) and BA (bit 32) bits in the PSW. The valid combinations are
z/Architecture supports four virtual translation modes, controlled by [14] bit 5, the DAT-mode bit, and bits 16-17, the Address-Space Control (AS) bits, of the PSW.
IBM's operating systems z/OS, z/VSE, z/TPF, and z/VM are versions of MVS, VSE, Transaction Processing Facility (TPF), and VM that support z/Architecture. Older versions of z/OS, z/VSE, and z/VM continued to support 32-bit systems; z/OS version 1.6 and later, z/VSE Version 4 and later, and z/VM Version 5 and later require z/Architecture.
Linux also supports z/Architecture with Linux on IBM Z.
z/Architecture supports running multiple concurrent operating systems and applications even if they use different address sizes. This allows software developers to choose the address size that is most advantageous for their applications and data structures.
On July 7, 2009, IBM on occasion of announcing a new version of one of its operating systems implicitly stated that Architecture Level Set 4 (ALS 4) exists, and is implemented on the System z10 and subsequent machines. [15] [16] The ALS 4 is also specified in LOADxx as ARCHLVL 3, whereas the earlier z900, z800, z990, z890, System z9 specified ARCHLVL 2. Earlier announcements of System z10 simply specified that it implements z/Architecture with some additions: 50+ new machine instructions, 1 MB page frames, and hardware decimal floating point unit (HDFU). [17] [18]
Most[ citation needed ] operating systems for the z/Architecture, including z/OS, generally restrict code execution to the first 2 GB (31 address bits, or 231 addressable bytes) of each virtual address space for reasons of efficiency and compatibility rather than because of architectural limits. Linux on IBM Z allows code to execute within 64-bit address ranges.
Each z/OS address space, called a 64-bit address space, is 16 exabytes in size.
The z/OS implementation of the Java programming language is an exception. The z/OS virtual memory implementation supports multiple 2 GB address spaces, permitting more than 2 GB of concurrently resident program code.
Data-only spaces are memory regions that can be read from and written to, but not used as executable code. (Similar to the NX bit on other modern processors.) By default, the z/Architecture memory space is indexed by 64-bit pointers, allowing up to 16 exabytes of memory to be visible to an executing program.
Applications that need more than a 16 exabyte data address space can employ extended addressability techniques, using additional address spaces or data-only spaces. The data-only spaces that are available for user programs are called:
These spaces are similar in that both are areas of virtual storage that a program can create, and can be up to 2 gigabytes. Unlike an address space, a dataspace or hiperspace contains only user data; it does not contain system control blocks or common areas. Program code cannot run in a dataspace or a hiperspace. [23]
A dataspace differs from a hiperspace in that dataspaces are byte-addressable, whereas hiperspaces are page-addressable.
Traditionally IBM Mainframe memory has been byte-addressable. This kind of memory is termed "Central Storage". IBM Mainframe processors through much of the 1980s and 1990s supported another kind of memory: Expanded Storage. It was first introduced with the IBM 3090 high-end mainframe series in 1985. [24]
Expanded Storage is 4KB-page addressable. When an application wants to access data in Expanded Storage it must first be moved into Central Storage. Similarly, data movement from Central Storage to Expanded Storage is done in multiples of 4KB pages. Initially page movement was performed using relatively expensive instructions, by paging subsystem code.
The overhead of moving single and groups of pages between Central and Expanded Storage was reduced with the introduction of the MVPG (Move Page) instruction and the ADMF (Asynchronous Data Mover Facility) capability.
The MVPG instruction and ADMF are explicitly invoked—generally by middleware in z/OS or z/VM (and ACP?)—to access data in expanded storage. Some uses are namely:
Until the mid-1990s Central and Expanded Storage were physically different areas of memory on the processor. Since the mid-1990s Central and Expanded Storage were merely assignment choices for the underlying processor memory. These choices were made based on specific expected uses: For example, Expanded Storage is required for the Hiperbatch function (which uses the MVPG instruction to access its hiperspaces).
In addition to the hiperspace and paging cases mentioned above there are other uses of expanded storage, including:
z/OS removed the support for Expanded Storage. All memory in z/OS is now Central Storage. z/VM 6.4 fulfills Statement of Direction to drop support for all use of Expanded Storage.
IBM described MVPG as "moves a single page and the central processor cannot execute any other instructions until the page move is completed." [25]
The MVPG mainframe instruction [26] (MoVe PaGe, opcode X'B254') has been compared to the MVCL (MoVe Character Long) instruction, both of which can move more than 256 bytes within main memory using a single instruction. These instructions do not comply with definitions for atomicity, although they can be used as a single instruction within documented timing and non-overlap restrictions. [27] : Note 8, page 7–27 [28]
The need to move more than 256 bytes within main memory had historically been addressed with software [29] (MVC loops), MVCL, [30] which was introduced with the 1970 announcement of the System/370, and MVPG, patented [31] and announced by IBM in 1989, each have advantages. [32]
ADMF (Asynchronous Data Mover Facility), which was introduced in 1992, goes beyond the capabilities of the MVPG (Move Page) instruction, which is limited to a single page, [33] and can move groups of pages between Central and Expanded Storage.
A macro instruction named IOSADMF, which has been described as an API that avoids "direct, low-level use of ADMF", [34] can be used to read [lower-alpha 6] or write data to or from a hiperspace. [35] Hiperspaces are created using DSPSERV CREATE.
To provide reentrancy, IOSADMF is used together with a "List form" and "Execute form." [36]
Platform Solutions Inc. (PSI) previously marketed Itanium-based servers which were compatible with z/Architecture. IBM bought PSI in July 2008, and the PSI systems are no longer available. [37] FLEX-ES, zPDT and the Hercules emulator also implement z/Architecture. Hitachi mainframes running newer releases of the VOS3 operating system implement ESA/390 plus Hitachi-unique CPU instructions, including a few 64-bit instructions. While Hitachi formally collaborated with IBM on the z900-G2/z800 CPUs introduced in 2002, Hitachi's machines are not z/Architecture-compatible.
IBM mainframes are large computer systems produced by IBM since 1952. During the 1960s and 1970s, IBM dominated the computer market with the 7000 series and the later System/360, followed by the System/370. Current mainframe computers in IBM's line of business computers are developments of the basic design of the System/360.
Multiple Virtual Storage, more commonly called MVS, is the most commonly used operating system on the System/370, System/390 and IBM Z IBM mainframe computers. IBM developed MVS, along with OS/VS1 and SVS, as a successor to OS/360. It is unrelated to IBM's other mainframe operating system lines, e.g., VSE, VM, TPF.
The IBM System/360 (S/360) is a family of mainframe computer systems announced by IBM on April 7, 1964, and delivered between 1965 and 1978. System/360 was the first family of computers designed to cover both commercial and scientific applications and a complete range of applications from small to large. The design distinguished between architecture and implementation, allowing IBM to release a suite of compatible designs at different prices. All but the only partially compatible Model 44 and the most expensive systems use microcode to implement the instruction set, featuring 8-bit byte addressing and fixed-point binary, fixed-point decimal and hexadecimal floating-point calculations.
The IBM System/370 (S/370) is a range of IBM mainframe computers announced as the successors to the System/360 family on June 30, 1970. The series mostly maintains backward compatibility with the S/360, allowing an easy migration path for customers; this, plus improved performance, were the dominant themes of the product announcement.
The Intel MCS-51 is a single chip microcontroller (MCU) series developed by Intel in 1980 for use in embedded systems. The architect of the Intel MCS-51 instruction set was John H. Wharton. Intel's original versions were popular in the 1980s and early 1990s, and enhanced binary compatible derivatives remain popular today. It is a complex instruction set computer with separate memory spaces for program instructions and data.
In computer architecture, 64-bit integers, memory addresses, or other data units are those that are 64 bits wide. Also, 64-bit central processing units (CPU) and arithmetic logic units (ALU) are those that are based on processor registers, address buses, or data buses of that size. A computer that uses such a processor is a 64-bit computer.
In computing, protected mode, also called protected virtual address mode, is an operational mode of x86-compatible central processing units (CPUs). It allows system software to use features such as segmentation, virtual memory, paging and safe multi-tasking designed to increase an operating system's control over application software.
VM is a family of IBM virtual machine operating systems used on IBM mainframes System/370, System/390, zSeries, System z and compatible systems, including the Hercules emulator for personal computers.
In computing, a memory address is a reference to a specific memory location used at various levels by software and hardware. Memory addresses are fixed-length sequences of digits conventionally displayed and manipulated as unsigned integers. Such numerical semantic bases itself upon features of CPU, as well upon use of the memory like an array endorsed by various programming languages.
Disk Operating System/360, also DOS/360, or simply DOS, is the discontinued first member of a sequence of operating systems for IBM System/360, System/370 and later mainframes. It was announced by IBM on the last day of 1964, and it was first delivered in June 1966. In its time, DOS/360 was the most widely used operating system in the world.
Addressing modes are an aspect of the instruction set architecture in most central processing unit (CPU) designs. The various addressing modes that are defined in a given instruction set architecture define how the machine language instructions in that architecture identify the operand(s) of each instruction. An addressing mode specifies how to calculate the effective memory address of an operand by using information held in registers and/or constants contained within a machine instruction or elsewhere.
Memory segmentation is an operating system memory management technique of dividing a computer's primary memory into segments or sections. In a computer system using segmentation, a reference to a memory location includes a value that identifies a segment and an offset within that segment. Segments or sections are also used in object files of compiled programs when they are linked together into a program image and when the image is loaded into memory.
In computing, channel I/O is a high-performance input/output (I/O) architecture that is implemented in various forms on a number of computer architectures, especially on mainframe computers. In the past, channels were generally implemented with custom devices, variously named channel, I/O processor, I/O controller, I/O synchronizer, or DMA controller.
The program status word (PSW) is a register that performs the function of a status register and program counter, and sometimes more. The term is also applied to a copy of the PSW in storage. This article only discusses the PSW in the IBM System/360 and its successors, and follows the IBM convention of numbering bits starting with 0 as the leftmost bit.
Since the rise of the personal computer in the 1980s, IBM and other vendors have created PC-based IBM mainframe-compatible systems which are compatible with the larger IBM mainframe computers. For a period of time PC-based mainframe-compatible systems had a lower price and did not require as much electricity or floor space. However, they sacrificed performance and were not as dependable as mainframe-class hardware. These products have been popular with mainframe developers, in education and training settings, for very small companies with non-critical processing, and in certain disaster relief roles.
A control register is a processor register that changes or controls the general behavior of a CPU or other digital device. Common tasks performed by control registers include interrupt control, switching the addressing mode, paging control, and coprocessor control.
A Supervisor Call instruction (SVC) is a hardware instruction used by the System/360 family of IBM mainframe computers up to contemporary zSeries, the Amdahl 470V/5, 470V/6, 470V/7, 470V/8, 580, 5880, 5990M, and 5990A, and others; Univac 90/60, 90/70 and 90/80, and possibly others; the Fujitsu M180 (UP) and M200 (MP), and others; and is also used in the Hercules open source mainframe emulation software. It causes an interrupt to request a service from the operating system. The system routine providing the service is called an SVC routine. SVC is a system call.
OS/360, officially known as IBM System/360 Operating System, is a discontinued batch processing operating system developed by IBM for their then-new System/360 mainframe computer, announced in 1964; it was influenced by the earlier IBSYS/IBJOB and Input/Output Control System (IOCS) packages for the IBM 7090/7094 and even more so by the PR155 Operating System for the IBM 1410/7010 processors. It was one of the earliest operating systems to require the computer hardware to include at least one direct access storage device.
The IBM System/360 architecture is the model independent architecture for the entire S/360 line of mainframe computers, including but not limited to the instruction set architecture. The elements of the architecture are documented in the IBM System/360 Principles of Operation and the IBM System/360 I/O Interface Channel to Control Unit Original Equipment Manufacturers' Information manuals.
IBM Enterprise Systems Architecture is an instruction set architecture introduced by IBM as ESA/370 in 1988. It is based on the IBM System/370-XA architecture.
VM Data Spaces architecture is standard on all System/390 processors.
Computer Associates International is now providing data space technology to VSE/ESA or System/370 users.