MainframeKit

U4038

Unhandled condition, run unit endedLANGUAGE ENVIRONMENT USER ABEND

Language Environment ended the program after an unhandled run-time error. The real cause is in the CEE and IGZ messages, not the code.

MOST LIKELY

A file OPEN, READ or WRITE failed and the program had no FILE STATUS check or declarative.

FIRST CHECK

Search the job output for CEE and IGZ and read the first severe message.

TRY IT ▸

Record decoder

What it means

Language Environment (LE) is the run-time layer COBOL, PL/I and C programs run under. When a serious condition is raised and nothing handles it, LE ends the program. U4038 is the abend it uses to say so; it is a wrapper, not a cause.

U4038 is used when Language Environment ends the enclave for a condition it raised itself, for example a failed file OPEN with no FILE STATUS, or an SSRANGE check. A hardware program check such as S0C7 or S0C4 normally ends the step with its own 0Cx code under the default ABTERMENC(ABEND). Whether the step ends with an abend or a return code depends on the ABTERMENC run-time option; TERMTHDACT controls how much traceback or dump is produced.

Typical causes

  • A file OPEN, READ or WRITE failed and the program had no FILE STATUS check or declarative.
  • A subscript out of range detected by SSRANGE.
  • A dynamically called program that could not be loaded.
  • Storage shortage or an invalid run-time option.

How to fix it

  1. Search the job output for CEE and IGZ and read the first severe message.
  2. Note the program, statement or offset and condition it names.
  3. If a CEEDUMP exists, use its traceback to see the call chain.
  4. If the condition was a program check, follow the matching page for that code.
  5. If no dump was produced and the failure repeats, add a CEEDUMP DD and rerun in test.
  6. Fix the underlying condition, not the U4038: add the missing dataset, correct the subscript, validate the data, or add FILE STATUS handling. Rerun once you know what earlier steps did. Changing LE options to suppress the abend is not a fix.

Example

Illustrative only; names and values are invented.

IGZ0035S There was an unsuccessful OPEN or CLOSE of file INFILE in program
         ACCTRD01 at relative location X'0526'. Neither FILE STATUS nor an
         ERROR declarative were specified. The status code was 35.
IEF450I ACCTJOB1 STEP010 - ABEND=S000 U4038 REASON=00000001