1) What is the full form of the term CICS? Why is it used?
The term CICS is an acronym that stands for Customer Information Control System. This is a type of system control software that controls all the online transactions of the management of IBM and also monitors telecommunications from IBM. The mainframe operating systems of IBM are time-sharing and batch. CICS is a type of processing mainly initiated by using a single request that can also affect one or more objects. The CICS was founded in the year 1969.
2) What is the primary aspect of CICS?
CICS is mainly used to deal with the execution and development of online applications. The primary aspect of CICS is to provide great accessibility to the database along with the files within the database. It provides a communication channel through the terminal and makes the sending and receiving of formatted data easy.
3) What is PPT in the CICS? What does it contain?
PPT is an acronym that stands for Processing Programming Table. In the CICS, PPT contains important information like a program’s name, Mapset names, task use counter, language, size, the main storage address, map, etc.
4) What is the requirement of an Integrated CICS translator?
The Integrated CICS translator is mainly used for the following reasons:
If you have to work with a COBOL compiler, you will need it. It works with the Integrated CICS translator when we use it Fromcompiler option.
When the compiler faces CICS statements in the source program, it interfaces with the integrated CICS translator.
After that, the translator takes action on the CICS statements and goes back to the compiler to show what native language statements to generate.
In Integrated Translator, there is no restriction as compared to Separate Translator.
It can also handle native COBOL and embedded CICS statements in the Source Program.
5) What is the priority of CICS jobs in an operating system?
CICS is called a batch job itself and runs on high priority in the operating system.
6) Which CICS command is used to access the current date and time?
The ASKTIME CICS command is used to access the current date and time.
7) What is the difference between call and link in CICS?
The main difference between call and link in CICS is that in the case of a call, whenever we make changes to the called program, we also need to compile the calling program. In the case of a link, it is not required.
8) What do you understand by TCT and RCT in CICS?
The terms TCT and RCT are both used in CICS. TCT is an acronym that stands for Terminal Control Table. It is a compilation of all the respective terminals. On the other hand, RCT stands for Resource Control Table, and it is a compilation of plan names of DB2 along with the transaction identifiers.
9) What are the attribute values of Skipper and Stopper fields?
We can use ASKIP for the attribute value of the Skipper field, and for the stopper field, we can use PROT.
10) What is the difference between PCT and FCT?
In CICS, PCT is an acronym that stands for Program Control Table. It consists of a complete list of transaction identifiers paired to respective corresponding programs. On the other hand, FCT is also an acronym for File Control Table. It consists of a complete list of all the files that have been used by CICS, along with their status and record length.
11) Which command is used to release a record on which exclusive control is gained?
The EXEC CICS UNLOCK END-EXEC command is used to release a record on which exclusive control is gained.
12) What is the difference between START and XCTL?
START is a command used to start a new task. It is an interval control command. On the other hand, XCTL is a command used to pass control to a program within the same task. It is a program control command.
13) What are the BMS options used in CICS?
The BMS options used in CICS are: Minimum, Standard, and Full.
14) How can you set the MDT option to ‘ON’ status, even if data is not entered?
We can set the MDT option to ‘ON’ status, even if data is not entered, by mentioning the FSET option in DFHMDF or set it dynamically in the program using the FIELD+A attribute field.
15) What do you understand by a CICS task?
A CICS task is a process of one-time execution of a certain CICS transaction. This process starts when we enter a key into the transaction and press the enter key button. The execution process continues until the program returns the control to CICS.
16) What is the use of the EXEC CICS HANDLE CONDITION command?
The EXEC CICS HANDLE CONDITION command specifies the paragraph or program label to which the control is to be passed if the “handle condition” occurs.
17) What are the different important programs used in the CICS?
Following is a list of some important programs used in the CICS:
TCP
KCP
PCP
FCP
SCP
18) What do you understand by CEMT?
CEMT is an acronym that stands for CICS Execute Master Terminal. It is an ID for system transactions and is mainly used to inquire and update the status of CICS environments and other system operations. We can easily manage transactions, tasks, files, programs, etc., and can also change the status of the resources. We can see all possible options by typing CEMT and pressing ENTER.
19) What do you understand by the term BMS in CICS?
BMS is an acronym that stands for Basic Mapping Support. CICS provides BMS to define and format the screen. The screen defined by using the BMS is called the MAP. The collections of all the screens are called the Mapset.
20) What are the most important control programs in CICS?
They provide unique advantages and make the CICS system highly flexible and maintainable.
Following is the list of most important control programs of CICS:
TCP
TCP is an acronym that stands for the Terminal Control Program. It is used to receive all the terminals’ messages and request the CISC to initiate or start a specific task. It is also used to maintain the hardware communication requirements.
KCP
KCP is called Task Control Program. It is used to control the execution of tasks and their related properties simultaneously. It is also used to handle all the issues related to multi-tasking.
PCP
PCP is an acronym that stands for Program Control Program. It is used to locate and load programs for execution. It is also used to transfer the control between programs, and in the end, it returns the control to the CICS.
FCP
FCP is an acronym that stands for File Control Program. It provides application programs with services like reading, inserting, updating, or deleting records in a file. It also keeps exclusive control over the records to maintain data integrity during record updates.
SCP
SCP is an acronym that stands for Storage Control Program. It controls the allocation and de-allocation of storage within a CICS region.
21) What are some important control tables in CICS?
CICS has some IBM-supplied CICS control tables that need to be updated accordingly with the application information for the successful execution of CICS application programs.
Following is a list of some important control tables:
TCT
TCT is an acronym that stands for Terminal Control Table. When we log in to a CICS terminal, we have to enter the TCT table. This table contains the terminal IDs that are connected to the current CICS region. Terminal Control Table, along with Terminal Control Program, recognizes the incoming data from the terminal.
PCT
PCT stands for Program Control Table. It contains the Transaction IDs (TRANSID) and the corresponding program names or program IDs. Every PCT table has a unique Transaction ID or TRANSID.
PPT
PPT stands for Processing Program Table. It contains the program name or Mapset name, Task Use Counter, Language, Size, the Main storage address, Load library address, etc. Every PPT table has a unique Program or Mapset name.
FCT
FCT stands for File Control Table. It includes File names, File type, record length, etc. All the files used in a CICS program have to be declared in FCT, and they are opened and closed by CICS itself.
22) What is EIB in CICS? How can we use it?
In CICS, EIB is an acronym that stands for EXEC Interface Block. EIB is a control block that is loaded automatically by the CICS for every program. CICS automatically generates some system-related information and provides it to each task in the form of EIB. Every task has a unique EIB it exists for the duration of the task. It contains a set of system-related information corresponding to the task. Users can use all the fields of EIB in their application programs.
23) What is COMMAREA, and what are the benefits of using it?
COMMAREA is the short and the most commonly used name for communication area. It is the name of the data area in which the data or information is transferred from one program to another program. It is a temporary storage area and is mainly used as a passing medium for data amongst multiple programs loaded by a set of transactions or a particular transaction.
COMMAREA is generally used along with the TRANSID option to send data back to the program which executes the Transaction ID so that the user can use it while executing that transid.
COMMAREA allows the maximum length of the data to pass through to be 64K.
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