Initializing a data structure for use in predicting table of contents pointer values

1. A computer program product for facilitating processing within a computing environment, the computer program product comprising:

a computer readable storage medium readable by a processing circuit and storing instructions for performing a method comprising:

obtaining, by a processor, a request to load a module;

determining, based on the module loaded, a pointer value for a reference data structure;

storing the pointer value in a reference data structure tracking structure, wherein the reference data structure tracking structure is a reference data structure pointer cache, and wherein the reference data structure pointer cache comprises an address field to include an address for which the pointer value is being set and a pointer value field to include the pointer value, the address field including the address of the module; and

using the pointer value to access a variable value for a variable of the module.

2. The computer program product of claim 1 , wherein the reference data structure pointer cache further includes another field to indicate one or more functions that do not initialize a pointer value register.

3. The computer program product of claim 1 , wherein the reference data structure pointer cache further includes a usage tracking field to be used in selecting an entry from the reference data structure pointer cache to be replaced.

4. The computer program product of claim 1 , wherein the reference data structure pointer cache comprises a plurality of address fields to specify a range of addresses for which the pointer value is associated.

5. The computer program product of claim 1 , wherein the reference data structure tracking structure is an in-memory table.

6. The computer program product of claim 1 , wherein the determining the pointer value comprises determining the pointer value from a relative offset of the module.

7. A computer system for facilitating processing within a computing environment, the computer system comprising:

a memory; and

a processor in communication with the memory, wherein the computer system is configured to perform a method, said method comprising:

obtaining, by a processor, a request to load a module;

determining, based on the module loaded, a pointer value for a reference data structure;

storing the pointer value in a reference data structure tracking structure, wherein the reference data structure tracking structure is a reference data structure pointer cache, and wherein the reference data structure pointer cache comprises an address field to include an address for which the pointer value is being set and a pointer value field to include the pointer value, the address field including the address of the module; and

using the pointer value to access a variable value for a variable of the module.

8. The computer system of claim 7 , wherein the reference data structure pointer cache further includes a usage tracking field to be used in selecting an entry from the reference data structure pointer cache to be replaced.

9. The computer system of claim 7 , wherein the reference data structure tracking structure is an in-memory table.

10. The computer system of claim 7 , wherein the reference data structure pointer cache further includes another field to indicate one or more functions that do not initialize a pointer value register.

11. The computer system of claim 7 , wherein the reference data structure pointer cache comprises a plurality of address fields to specify a range of addresses for which the pointer value is associated.

12. The computer system of claim 7 , wherein the determining the pointer value comprises determining the pointer value from a relative offset of the module.