The REPLACE statement can be used to delete an external symbol. The external symbol can be a named section, a named common area, an entry point, a strong or weak external reference, or a pseudoregister. The REPLACE statement must immediately precede either the module in the input data set that contains the external symbol to be deleted or the INCLUDE statement in the job stream that specifies the module. Only one symbol appears on the REPLACE statement; the appropriate deletion is made depending on how the symbol is defined in the module.

If the symbol is a section name, the entire section is deleted. The section name is deleted from the external symbol dictionary only if no address constants refer to the name from within the same input module. If an address constant does refer to it, the section name is changed to an external reference. Any CSECT identification data associated with that section is also deleted.

The preceding is also true of an entry name to be deleted. Any references to it from within the input module cause the entry name to be changed to an external reference.

For external references and pseudoregisters, the symbol is deleted only if no RLD contains references to the ESD entry to be deleted.

These editor-supplied external references, unless resolved with other input modules, cause the binder to attempt to resolve them from the automatic call library. Also, the deletion of an external symbol in an input module might cause external references from other input modules to be unresolved. Either condition can cause the output module to be marked not executable.

If you delete a section that contains any unresolved external references, those references are removed from the external symbol dictionary.

In the example shown in Figure 1, the section CODER is deleted. If no address constants refer to CODER from other sections in the module, the section name is also deleted. If address constants refer to CODER, the name is retained as an external reference.

See REPLACE statement for more information on using the REPLACE statement.

Figure 1. Deleting a section