1. What is the meaning for CICS?

Customer Information Control System. 2. What do we do by using CICS? CICS is normally used for Real-time or Online processing when that particular processing cannot wait for batch processing normally done at the end of the day for most installations. . What are the eight steps for a CICS program de!elopment? "et the complete specification "et related sourceboo#s and subprograms $esign the program %pdate the CICS &ables Code and compile the map definition Code the program Compile the program &est the program. '. In a CICS de!elopment( do you compile the map or program first?&he map needs to be compiled first. ). What is a transaction id or code?* transaction is mostly a four letter uni+ue predefined unit of wor#( a terminal wor# will use to in!o#e a specific map and the associated program. ,. What is a -C& and how it is used?* -C& is a short name for -rogram Control &able( which contains the trans-id and the associated program which will be in!o#ed when the trans-id is used. .. What is a --& and how it is used?* --& contains a !alid list of program names and it also indicates the storage address if the program has already been loaded. CICS uses --& to determine whether it will load a new copy of the program if the program is in!o#ed. /. 0a!e you e!er heard of S1& in CICS -rocessing?2es( it contains the names of all !alid users of the system. 3. What is the use of $40CO55*R6* and where it is located?It helps to transfer data between two transactions and it is located in the 7I18*"6 S6C&IO1. 9:. *re you familiar with C65& and CS5& functions? What does these transactions do for you? &hese are normally super!isory functions( where they can be used to cancel tas#s running at a different terminals. CS5& is used to update --&. ;ut I ne!er had much chance to use them. 99. What transaction will you use to debug a CICS -rogram?C6$4( which means CICS 6<ecution $iagnostic facility. 92. What =C&7 and 7I18 command is used for? =C&7 command transfers control to another program without setting up a return mechanism whereas the 7I18 command transfers control to ne<t logical lower le!el with a return mechanism 9 . Why the 6=6C CICS 0*1$76 command is used?It is used to specify what action the program needs to ta#e when certain e<ceptional conditions occur.

9'. Why the 6=6C CICS R6&%R1 command is used?It is used simply to return control to CICS with no option and the terminal session ends. 9). What are the parameters will you use to code a S61$ 5*- command?S61$ 5*->name of the map? 5*-S6&>name of the mapset which contains the specific map? 4RO5>specifies the symbolic map? 5*-O172>specifies dataonly needs to be sent? $*&*O172>specifies that only data from the symbolic map needs to be sent? 6R*S6@6R*S6%C%RSOR 9,. 0ow do you terminate each CICS commands?6=6C CICS intermediate commands 61$-6=6C. 9.. 0ow do you obtain the storage dump from CICS?CICS automatically adds the storage dump to a special file called dump data set. When the CICS is terminated( the dumps are automatically printed. &he $S1 can be found from the respecti!e installation personnel. 9/. What is the meaning for *6I3 CICS abend?5*-4*I7. 93. What are the following entities represent?6I;*I$ It is an one character field that indicates which attention #ey was used for the last R6C6IA6 command. 6I;&R5I$ &his field supplies the name of the terminal running the tas#. 6I;C*761 &his field represents the length of the communication area passed to my program. If no commarea is passed( it is set to Bero. 2:. 0ow do you logoff from a CICS transaction?;lan# the screen( then type CSS4 7O"O44.

1. What is trigger le!el in the conte<t of &$Cs?

4or intrapartition &$Cs specify the D records at which *&I happens. not applicable for e<tra partition &$Cs. 2.0ow do you fire a batch Eob from a CICS t<n ? $efine an e<trapartition &$C as an internal reader and write the FC7 to it. &erminate the FC7 with @G6O4. . What is *&I? What #ind of &$C can be used? *utomatic &as# Initiation. Intra partition &$C. '. $o you re+uire a table entry for a &SC? If reco!ery is needed. ). Is there any entry for &SCs in CICS tables? 2es in the $40&S&. ,. What is the use of $C&?

$estination Control &able used to define &$Cs .. What is 61C( $6C ? &as# control commands to ma#e resources serially reusable. /. I ha!e &SC with 9) items. I want to delete the 9:th item. 0ow do I do that? 3. Can you issue SC7 CO55I& from a CICS program? H 2es. 9:. What is the other way of terminating a transaction? H 6=6C CICS S21C-OI1&. *ssuming it is a 7%W. &his will not end the =n. 99. What is an *SR* abend ? *ny data e<ception problem SOC.( SOC' etc. 92. What is an *623 abend ? $;2@I$5S not up. 9 . What are the situations under which 16WCO-2 is re+uired ? When a program has been used in CICS atleast once and then changed and recompiled. 9'. What is 2 phase commit? What is 6=6C CICS R6&RI6A6 ? %sed by S&*R&ed tas#s to get the parameters passed to them. 9). 1ame some important fields in the 6I; bloc# ? 6I;R6S-( 6I;C*761( 6I;RRC$6( 6I;&*S8( 6I;$*&6( 6I;&I56 9,. Can you use $21*5IC calls in CICS ? 2es( the called routine must be defined in --& and the calling program must use C*77 identifier.. 9.. 0ow do you handle errors in CICS pgms ? Chec# 6I;R6S- after the call or use the 0*1$76 condition. 9/. Suppose pgm * passes : bytes to pgm ; thru commarea and pgm ; has defined its $40CO55*R6* to be ): bytes . Is there a problem ? 2es( if ; tries to access bytes 9-):. 93.When an =C&7 is done( does the tranid change ? Is a new tas# created ? $oes it cause an implicit S21C-OI1& to be issued ? 1o( 1o( 2es. 2:. 0ow do you e<ecute a bac#ground CICS t<n ? With a S&*R& or *&I. 29. Can a CICS region be attached to more than one $;2 subsystem ?

22. What determines the $;2 subsystem to which a particular CICS region is attached ? 2 . What is the $S1C transaction used for ? 2'. 0ow do you handle error in a CICS program? 2). What is the difference between S&*R& and =C&7 ? S&*R& is used to start a new tas#. It is a inter!al control command. =C&7 is used to pass control to a program within the same tas#. It is a program control command. 2,. What is the usage of language in the --& entry? 7anguage interface and call parameters??? 2.. Can you ha!e CICS code in a copyboo#? If yes( what happens during compilation? 2es. 1eeds to be preprocessed. 2/. What is an *IC* abend? Runaway &as#. 23. 0ow would you resol!e an *SR* abend? In CO;O7 II start with C6;R( and get the offset@instruction. :. 0ow do I find the name of the CICS region inside my CO;O7 program? 9. When you do a S&*R&( what will the !alue of 6I;C*761? Iero. 2. 0ow are AS*5 files Read in CICS pgms? H 4ile Control Commands. Random( Se+uential( forward and bac#ward. . 0ow will you access a AS*5 file using an alternate inde<? &hru the path. $efine path as an 4C& and use normal 4ile control commands. '. 0ow do you rollbac# data written to an 6S$S file? $efine the file as reco!erable. in cases where records ha!e been inserted into the file( you may need to run a batch program to logically delete the inserted records. ). I ha!e done a S&*R& ;ROWS6 on a AS*5 dataset. Can I do another S&*R& ;ROWS6 without doing an 61$ ;ROWS6? 1o. ,. Can you access CS*5 >se+ ? files from CICS ? 1o. .. Can you access 6S$S files from CICS ? 2es. . . What is CICS ? CICS - Customer Information Control System CICS is a telecommunications monitor software product from I;5. &he I;5 mainframe operating systems are batch and time-sharing. CICS supports the de!elopment and

e<ecution of online applications. It does this by - communicating with terminals - sending and recei!ing fomatted data - accessing files and database CICS itself is batch Eob running on the operating system with high priority. CICS does scheduling of programs that run under the CICS region. 0ow do you use e<tended attributes ? $efine 6=&*&&J26S and the correct terminal type. What are the wor#ing storage fields used for e!ery field on the map? H 7ength( attribute and input@output field. 0ow do you protect a field from being o!erlaid? What is the attribute byte? H $efines the display@transmission of field. most cases is an output field from the program. What is 5$&? What are 4S6&( 4RS6& ? 5odified $ata &ag. ;it in the attribute byte indicating modification of field on screen. 0appens on an input operation. 4S6&. Sets 5$& on to ensure field is transmitted. 0appens on an output operation. 4RS6&. Resets 5$&. %ntil this happens( field continues to be sent. What is the use of $S6C& parameter in ;5S? Is the parameter to generate a symbolic map. What is effect on R6C6IA6 5*- when -4 #ey is pressed? $ata transmission may happen( -* #ey is pressed? $ata transmission will not happen. $o you recei!e the attribute byte in the symbolic map? On 6O4 yes. 0ow do you ma#e your ;5S maps case sensiti!e? %se *SIS What are S61$ 5*- 5*-O172 K S61$ 5*- $*&*O172 ? 5*-O172 - to send the map alone( without any data. 6gL used for sending 5enu screens. $*&*O172 - to send data alone( without sending the screen layout again. 6gL used for refreshing the screen data. What is the difference between a -4 #ey K a -* #ey ? -4 #eys wa#e up the tas# and transmit modified data( -* #eys only wa#e up the tas#. 1ame the macros used to define the followingL 5*- 5*-S6& 4I67$ $405S$ $405$I $405$4

Can you use OCC%RS in a ;5S map? If you do( what are the issues related with its use? 2es. cannot use group by clause??? Can you define multiple maps in a ;5S mapset? 2es. 0ow is the storage determined in the symbolic map( if you ha!e multiple maps? Storage for maps redefine the first. &his means largest map has to be the first. What is the meaning of ;5S length of field J :? $ata was not entered in the field Can you simply chec# if length J : for chec#ing if a field was modified? 1o( not if 6R*S6 6O4 was used. What do you do if you do not want characters entered by the user to be folded to uppercase ? %se *SIS option on R6C6IA6. What does the ;%446R option in R6C6IA6 mean ? ;rings the entire datastream from the terminal buffer. What are the steps you go through to a create a ;5S e<ecutable? *ssemble to create CS6C& and 7in# When you compile a CICS program( the >pre?compiler puts an e<tra chun# of code. Where does it get included and that is it called? What is its length? $406I;78( $40CO55*R6*. 7ist all the CICS tables and e<plain their contents. H --& SI& -C& FC& 4C& S1& $C& SR& RC& &C& I ha!e written a CICS program. What tables should I setup to run this program? H --&( -C&( >4C&( $C&( RC& >if needed??. In which table would you ma#e an entry for a ;5S map? H --& What is the content of the --& entry? H 7ength( Source( %se count( 7ang( Res count $40R-7 number 4or a CICS-$;2 program( how is the plan referenced? H %ses a RC& table. 0ow is dynamic memory allocated within a CICS application program? H %se a "6&5*I1

What are the restrictions while using "6&5*I1 and 4R665*I1? H What is the use of a &$C( &SC? H &emporary data stores. 0ow do you read from a &SC? H &emp storage read command If I create a &SC from one transaction( can I read it from another transaction? H 2es. *s long as they run in the same region. What are e<tra partition K intra partition &$Cs? 6<tra partition &$Cs are datasets used for communication bMn CICS and other CICS@;atch regions. Intrapartition &$Cs are +ueues for communication within regn. What is trigger le!el in the conte<t of &$Cs? 4or intrapartition &$Cs specify the D records at which *&I happens. not applicable for e<tra partition &$Cs. 0ow do you fire a batch Eob from a CICS t<n ? $efine an e<trapartition &$C as an internal reader and write the FC7 to it. &erminate the FC7 with @G6O4. What is *&I? What #ind of &$C can be used? *utomatic &as# Initiation. Intra partition &$C. $o you re+uire a table entry for a &SC? If reco!ery is needed. Is there any entry for &SCs in CICS tables? 2es in the $40&S&. What is the use of $C&?$estination Control &able used to define &$Cs What is 61C( $6C ? &as# control commands to ma#e resources serially reusable. Can you issue SC7 CO55I& from a CICS program? H2es. What is the other way of terminating a transaction? H 6=6C CICS S21C-OI1&. *ssuming it is a 7%W. &his will not end the =n. What is an *SR* abend ?*ny data e<ception problem SOC.( SOC' etc. What is an *623 abend ? $;2@I$5S not up. What are the situations under which 16WCO-2 is re+uired ?When a program has been used in CICS atleast once and then changed and recompiled.

What is 2 phase commit? What is 6=6C CICS R6&RI6A6 ? %sed by S&*R&ed tas#s to get the parameters passed to them. 1ame some important fields in the 6I; bloc# ?6I;R6S-( 6I;C*761( 6I;RRC$6( 6I;&*S8( 6I;$*&6( 6I;&I56 Can you use $21*5IC calls in CICS ? 2es( the called routine must be defined in --& and the calling program must use C*77 identifier.. 0ow do you handle errors in CICS pgms ?Chec# 6I;R6S- after the call or use the 0*1$76 condition. Suppose pgm * passes : bytes to pgm ; thru commarea and pgm ; has defined its $40CO55*R6* to be ): bytes . Is there a problem ?2es( if ; tries to access bytes 9-):. When an =C&7 is done( does the tranid change ? Is a new tas# created ? $oes it cause an implicit S21C-OI1& to be issued ? 1o( 1o( 2es. 0ow do you e<ecute a bac#ground CICS t<n ?With a S&*R& or *&I. 0ow do you handle error in a CICS program?Same as ,. What is the difference between S&*R& and =C&7 ? S&*R& is used to start a new tas#. It is a inter!al control command. =C&7 is used to pass control to a program within the same tas#. It is a program control command. What is the usage of language in the --& entry?7anguage interface and call parameters??? Can you ha!e CICS code in a copyboo#? If yes( what happens during compilation?2es. 1eeds to be preprocessed. What is an *IC* abend?Runaway &as#. 0ow would you resol!e an *SR* abend?In CO;O7 II start with C6;R( and get the offset@instruction. I in!o#e a transaction from CICS. &he program has a codeL 5OA6 $40CO55*R6* &O WS-*R6*. What happens to this transaction? What happens to the other transactions?Fun# may get mo!ed in. Will cause Storage !iolation. When you do a S&*R&( what will the !alue of 6I;C*761?Iero. 0ow are AS*5 files Read in CICS pgms? H4ile Control Commands. Random( Se+uential( forward and bac#ward. 0ow will you access a AS*5 file using an alternate inde<?&hru the path. $efine path as an 4C& and use normal 4ile control commands.

0ow do you rollbac# data written to an 6S$S file?$efine the file as reco!erable. in cases where records ha!e been inserted into the file( you may need to run a batch program to logically delete the inserted records. I ha!e done a S&*R& ;ROWS6 on a AS*5 dataset. Can I do another S&*R& ;ROWS6 without doing an 61$ ;ROWS6?1o. Can you access CS*5 >se+ ? files from CICS ?1o. Can you access 6S$S files from CICS ?2es. What is CICS ?CICS - Customer Information Control System CICS is a telecommunications monitor software product from I;5. &he I;5 mainframe operating systems are batch and time-sharing. CICS supports the de!elopment and e<ecution of online applications. It does this by communicating with terminals and sending and recei!ing fomatted data.- accessing files and database CICS itself is batch Eob running on the operating system with high priority. CICS does scheduling of programs that run under the CICS region.

C9 - What is 5$& ? *ns - ;it in the attribute byte indicating modification of field on screen.If the user #eys in any data into the field( it turns the 5$& O1 indicating that the data is modified. &o sa!e transmission time ( 2.: terminal sends a field o!er the &C line only if the 5$& is on. Otherwise( the field !alue is not transmitted. C2 - What is $40CO55*R6* ? *ns - $40CO55*R6* in the 7in#age section is used to pass the data in wor#ing storage commarea from one to program to another program. It should be defined with as at least one byte long. *s the wor#ing storage section is freshly allocated for e!ery e<ecution. C - What is 6<ecution Interface ;loc# >6I;? ? *ns - 6I; is a CICS area that contains information related to the current tas#( which can be used for debugging the program. &he most widely used !ariables are 6I;$*&6( 6I;&I56( 6I;*I$( 6I;C*761( 6I;C-OS1( 6I;R6S-( 6I;RSRC6 >resource?( 6I;41 >recent CICS command code?( 6I;&R5I$ and 6I;&R1I$. C'- What are the important tables used in the CICS-$;2 en!ironment ? *ns - CICS manages itNs communication with $;2 with special interface modules called CICS@$;2 *ttachment 4acility. When a CICS program issues a SC7 statement( CICS re+uests the attachment facility to establish a connection with $;2 called a thread. &he information about the CICS transaction and $;2 is entered in Resource Control &able >RC&?. &he plan information is referenced through the RC& 6ntries. C)- What are the !arious commands used to browse through a dataset ? *ns - S&*R&;R( R6*$16=&( R6*$-R6A and R6S6&;R. &he options used are $*&*S6&( RI$47$( RR1@R;*( "616RIC( and 862761"&0 for the commands( and I1&O( 761"&0 for R6*$16=& and

R6*$-R6A command( and 6C%*7@"&6C for S&*R&;R only. R6S- can be used with any. 61$;R is used to end the browse operation C,- What is 2 phase commit ? *ns - It occurs when a programmer IssueNs an 6<ec CICS Syncpoint command. &his is called a two phase Commit because CICS will first commit changes to the resources under its control li#e AS*5 files( before $;2 changes are committed. %sually CICS signals $;2 to complete the ne<t phase and release all the loc#s. C.- What are *SR*(*IC*(*623 abend ? *ns - *SR* - *ny data e<ception problem SOC.( SOC' etc *IC* - Runaway &as#. *623 - $;2@I$5S $atabase is not up. C/ What are the differences between &SC and a &$C ? *ns H >9? In &emporary Storage Cueues $ata is read randomly( While in &ransient $ata Cueues data must be read se+uentially. >2? In a &SC data can be read any number of times as it remains in the +ueue until the entire Cueue is deleted. In &$C data item can be read once only. &o reuse the &$C it must be closed and reopened. > ? $ata can be changed in &SC( but not in &$C. >'? &SC can be written to *u<iliary or 5ain Storage( while &$C is written to $is#. &emporary storage is a holding place( while &ransient data is always associated with destination. &he >)? &SC name is defined dynamically( while a &$C name need to be defined in the $C&. 1oteL *n application uses &SC Ns to pass infoN from tas# to tas#( while a &$C to accumulate records before processing or send data for e<ternal use( such as a print operation or other. C3- What are 6<tra partition K Intra partition &$Cs ? *ns - 6<tra-partition &$CNs are datasets used for communication between CICS and other CICS@;atch regions. Intra-partition &$CNs are +ueues for communication within CICS region. CICS stores the Intrapartition &$C in a dataset N$401&R*N on the $is#. 6<tra-partition &$C doesnNt ha!e to be a dis# file( it can reside on any de!ice thatNs a !alid CS*5@AS*5. &he $C& entry contains the destination-Id( type of &$C( $estination( &rigger le!el if needed C9: 0ow is an *bend handled in a CICS program ? *ns - &he 0*1$76 *;61$ command is used to trap and 0andle errors. It has ' possible options and only one of them can be used with this command at a time. &he options are -rogram>...? to transfer control to the program( 7abel>...? to transfer control to the specified paragraph( Cancel option #eeps the earlier 0andle *bends from being e<ecuted. Reset option will reacti!ate the 0andle *bend commands( which were pre!iously cancelled. C99 What is Cuasi-reentrancy ? *ns - &here are times when many users are concurrently using the same program( this is what we call 5ulti-&hreading. 4or e<ample( ): users are using program *( CICS will pro!ide ): Wor#ing storage for that program but one -rocedure $i!ision. *nd this techni+ue is #nown as +uasi-reentrancy.