The $ZJOBEXAM function returns the full specification of the file into which the function places a ZSHOW "*". The return value serves as a way to save, to notify others of the exact location of the output, or to open the file for further processing. GT.M reports each $ZJOBEXAM() to the operator log facility with its file specification.

The optional expression argument is a template output device specification. It can be a device, a file directory, or a file name. The template is an expression that is pre-processed to create a file specification as the target for the ZSHOW. The preprocessing is equivalent to $ZPARSE(), as illustrated by the following M code:

    Set deffn="GTM_JOBEXAMINE.ZSHOW_DMP_"_$JOB_"_"_<cntr>
    Set filespec=$ZPARSE(expr1,,deffn,,NO_CONCEAL)
    
    

The $ZJOBEXAM()does not trigger error processing except when there is a problem storing its return value, so no error is reported to the process until after any dump is complete. In the event of any error encountered during the $ZJOBEXAM(), GT.M sends an appropriate message to operator log facility and returns control to the caller. Note that this special error handling applies only to the $ZJOBEXAM(), and is not a property of the $ZINTERRUPT interrupt handler, which uses $ZJOBEXAM() by default.

$ZJOBEXAM() dump files contain the context of a process at the time the function executes. Placement and management of these files should consider their potential size and security implications.