Use Nested Blocks (-nb) to limit the maximum number of nested procedure blocks allowed.

n

The maximum number of nested blocks.

By default, the maximum number of nested blocks is 100. Nested block entries are allocated in memory; each requires 32 bytes. Therefore, decrease -nb only if memory is severely limited.

The -nb limit is a soft limit. If your application needs to exceed the limit, the AVM issues a WARNING message and automatically increases the number of nested procedure blocks allowed. The WARNING is written to the current output (if there is current output) and to the log file (LG).

You can force the AVM to adhere to the specified -nb limit by starting the session with the Hardlimit (-hardlimit) startup parameter. When you use the -hardlimit startup parameter, the AVM issues the WARNING message when you exceed the Nested Blocks (-nb) limit. It also issues a message that a resource limit was reached and raises an untrappable STOP condition. Note that -hardlimit also enforces the limits set by the Directory Size (-D), the Local Buffer Size (-l), and the Maximum Memory (-mmax) startup parameters, so the STOP condition is raised when any of the specified limits is reached.