Objectives

On successful completion of this course, attendees will be able to:

• write CICS programs
• use the required CICS programming facilities
• separate presentation from business and data logic
• use the commonly used CICS API options.

Who Should Attend

Experienced Applications Programmers who require CICS skills and trainees with at least six months of exposure to a high level language.

Prerequisites

Experience of COBOL, PL/I or Assembler. An understanding of CICS at the conceptual level is also highly advantageous. This can be obtained by attending the course 'CICS Transaction Server Concepts & Facilities'.

Duration

5 days

Fees

£1625 (ex. VAT)

Course Code

CAPW

Contents

Introduction

The CICS family; What is CICS?; What is a CICS transaction?; What is a CICS Task?; What is a CICS program?; Characteristics; CICS Transaction Server; Access to CICS; ISC / MRO; Accessing CICS from the Web; The IBM Client Family; The CICS universal clients Version 6.0; CICS/TS organisation; Principal Domains/Management modules; CICS resource definitions; RDO overview; RDO components. Terminology; components overview and resource tables are covered.

The Application Programming Interface

Command format & arguments; Translation; Program preparation; Integrated translator; Program preparation; Restrictions: COBOL/VS, COBOL2, PL/I, C; Explanation of command argument types; Explanation of CICS Value Data Areas; Explanation of syntax diagrams; EXEC Interface Block; Execution flow; Handling conditions; Coding examples; Conversational transactions; Pseudo-conversational transactions; COMMAREA. Program preparation; compiler restrictions; using the integrated compiler; EIB and execution flow.

Basic Mapping Support (BMS)

Native Terminal Control; Using Basic Mapping Support (BMS); Another view of BMS; Un-formatted data streams; Formatted data streams; Example 3270 data display; Control Indicator & Character; Read Modified Input; Basic Attributes; Extended attributes; Program Function keys; BMS (data mapping); BMS example; The macros used to create the screen; BMS output (COBOL); The suffixed fields; Attribute list; BMS output (PL/I); BMS output (C); BMS output (Assembler); Map generation; DFHMDI; DFHMDF; DFHMDF; Symbolic description; EXEC CICS SEND MAP; EXEC CICS RECEIVE MAP; COPYBOOKS. Mapset, map and field definitions as well as command formats.

Program control

Passing data to other tasks (COMMAREA); Passing data to the next task: COBOL; Passing data to the next task: PL/I; Passing data to the next task: PL/I; Program structure; EXEC CICS LINK; LINK options and arguments; EXEC CICS XCTL; Passing data to other programs: COBOL; Passing data to other programs: PL/1; Passing data to other programs: C; Passing data to other programs: Assembler; EXEC CICS RETURN; Channels and Containers; A Channel; A Container; API Changes; One Program/One Channel; One Program/Multiple Channels; CEDX Screens; Channel Scope. Logical levels, passing data via COMMAREA or Channels and containers; command formats.

Testing Kickstart

Interactive tools.

File control

Overview; VSAM exclusive lock and CICS record locks before RLS; RLS and LOCKING; EXEC CICS READ; EXEC CICS REWRITE; EXEC CICS DELETE; EXEC CICS UNLOCK; EXEC CICS WRITE; EXEC CICS STARTBR; EXEC CICS READNEXT; EXEC CICS READPREV; EXEC CICS ENDBR; EXEC CICS RESETBR. Access methods; VSAM file types, CICS implementation and command formats.

Temporary storage

Temporary storage; EXEC CICS WRITEQ TS; EXEC CICS READQ TS; EXEC CICS DELETEQ TS. Explanation of this popular CICS facility, its uses and command formats.

Transient data

Transient data queues; Automatic Transaction Initiation (ATI); EXEC CICS WRITEQ TD; EXEC CICS READQ TD; EXEC CICS DELETEQ TD. Explanation of intra- & extra-partition queues its common uses and command formats. Also introduces the concept of Automatic Transaction Initiation (ATI).

Interval control

Interval control; EXEC CICS ASKTIME; EXEC CICS FORMATTIME; EXEC CICS START; EXEC CICS RETRIEVE; EXEC CICS CANCEL. Date and time formatting; continuation of ATI and command formats.

Task Management

EXEC CICS SUSPEND; EXEC CICS ENQ; EXEC CICS DEQ. Overview of CICS quasi-re-entrancy and need for locking services as well as the command formats.

Storage management

EXEC CICS GETMAIN; EXEC CICS FREEMAIN; Storage violations; Transaction isolation.

Abnormal termination

EXEC CICS ABEND; EXEC CICS HANDLE ABEND; ABEND handling requirements.

Testing & debugging

Dumps; Tracing; EXEC CICS ENTER TRACENUM; PSW & Registers; Working out the Offset; Working out the Source Statement; Finding the contents of data variables; OTHER Abends; Translating Addresses to Source Code. Emergency Restart concepts; Syncpoint implications; handling ABENDs and discovering and recording key debugging information.

CICS transactions

CEMT; CMAC - on-line error messages; CECI - Command Interpreter; CEDF/X – debug; CEBR - Temp Storage Browse. The use of CEMT, CMAC, CECI, CEDF/X and CEBR.

Screen Definition Facility 2 (SDF2)

Introduction to SDF II.

BMS/GT

Introduction; Creating a map; Start BMS/GT; Select the maps option; Select the design option; Define the screen; Design the screen; Define the fields; Verify the screen; The symbolic map.

Case study

The main exercise is to write a “back-end” business /data logic program which is developed incrementally in order to ensure that a steady progress is achieved.