AFP

The AFP option controls the compiler usage of the Additional Floating Point (AFP) registers that are provided by z/Architecture® processors.

Syntax

Read syntax diagramSkip visual syntax diagramAFP=*NOVOLATILEVOLATILE
The Enterprise COBOL compiler generates code that uses the full complement of 16 floating point registers (FPR) provided by a z/Architecture processor. These FPRs are as follows:
  • Original FPRs, which are numbered 0, 2, 4, and 6
  • AFP registers, which are numbered 1, 3, 5, 7, and 8-15
Default
Start of changeAFP=NOVOLATILEEnd of change
VOLATILE
If you specify AFP=VOLATILE, the AFP registers 8-15 are considered volatile, which means that they might be changed by a called subprogram. Therefore, the COBOL compiler generates extra code to protect the values in these registers.
NOVOLATILE
If you specify AFP=NOVOLATILE, the AFP registers 8-15 are considered nonvolatile, which means that they are known to be unchanged or preserved by every called subprogram. Therefore, the compiler can generate more efficient code sequences for programs with floating point operations. It is the normal z/OS® architecture convention.