COBOL Considerations

Identification Division.
 No differences
Environment Division
 MUST be EMPTY in CICS Program!
 No SELECT statements allowed!
Data Division
 No FILE SECTION – (No SELECTS)

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COBOL Considerations (More)
Data Division
 WORKING-STORAGE SECTION.
 Switches, Flags, Variables, Records, etc.
 You get ‘fresh’ copy each time program loaded!
 LINKAGE SECTION (New Item!!)
 DFHCOMMAREA defined or CICS will!
 Used to receive data from CICS.
 CICS also inserts EIB Block definition

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COBOL Considerations (More)
Procedure Division
 Uses most COBOL statements
 Also uses CICS Commands like:
 SEND MAP
 RECEIVE MAP
 READ DATASET
 WRITE DATASET
 RETURN
 XCTL

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Where are WE?
Program must be able to determine!
Always starts at beginning of Program
Starts with initialized Working-Storage
Can use several methods:
 EIBCALEN (First time program loaded)
 COMMAREA (Tran-ID, EIBAID)
 Hidden Data on Screen

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Where are We? (More)
Beginning of Program must determine!
Can use series of ‘IF’ statements
 Can be nested (or not if careful!)
 Usually each path ends with RETURN
Can use EVALUATE statement (Newer!)
 EVALUATE TRUE most common (New Dev)
 General WHEN OTHER for errors

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Sample CICS COBOL Program
WORKING-STORAGE SECTION.
 Switches, Flags, and Misc Variables
 COMMUNICATION-AREA (Your copy!)
 RESPONSE-CODE PIC S9(08) COMP.
 RECORD Descriptions
 COPY Library for MAP
 Other COPY Members as needed

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Sample CICS COBOL Program
LINKAGE SECTION.
 DFHCOMMAREA PIC X(nnn).
If you don’t code it, CICS Will!
The commarea (if any) placed here!
EIBCALEN gives length of commarea
0 (ZERO) means there is NO commarea

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Sample CICS COBOL Program
PROCEDURE DIVISION (Where are we?)
IF first-time
SEND Initial-Map
ELSE
IF <ENTER>
Process Screen
ELSE
Process Function-Key
END-IF
END-IF
SEND MAP

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Sample CICS COBOL Program
PROCEDURE DIVISION
EVALUATE TRUE
WHEN EIBCALEN = 0
Send Initial MAP
WHEN EIBAID = DFHENTER
Process Screen Data
WHEN EIBAID = DFHPF3 or DFHPF12
Exit Program
WHEN OTHER
Invalid key
END-EVALUATE
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Basic CICS Commands

General Structure:
EXEC CICS
CICS COMMAND
OPTION(value) …
(Parameters as needed)
END-EXEC

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Basic CICS Commands
EXEC CICS
SEND MAP(name)
[ MAPSET(name) ]
[ FROM(data-area) ]
[ MAPONLY | DATAONLY ]
[ ERASE | ERASEUP ]
[ CURSOR [ (value) ] ]
END-EXEC

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Basic CICS Commands
EXEC CICS
RECEIVE MAP(map-name)
[ MAPSET(mapset-name) ]
INTO(data-area)
END-EXEC

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Basic CICS Commands
EXEC CICS
RETURN [ TRANSID(name) ]
[ COMMAREA(data-area) ]
[ LENGTH(data-value) ]
END-EXEC
Length – PIC S9(4) COMP or Literal

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Program Control Commands
EXEC CICS
XCTL PROGRAM(name)
[ COMMAREA(data-area) ]
[ LENGTH(data-value) ]
END-EXEC
NOTE: Program name must be in PPT.
Works like COBOL ‘GO TO’ statement.
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Program Control Commands
EXEC CICS
LINK PROGRAM(name)
[ COMMAREA(data-area) ]
[ LENGTH(data-value) ]
END-EXEC
NOTE: Program name must be in PPT.
Works like COBOL ‘PERFORM’ statement.
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Basic CICS Commands
EXEC CICS
READ DATASET(filename)
INTO(data-area)
RIDFLD(data-area)
[ RRN | RBA ]
[ UPDATE ]
END-EXEC
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More CICS Commands
EXEC CICS
WRITE DATASET(filename)
FROM(data-area)
RIDFLD(data-area)
[ RRN | RBA ]
END-EXEC

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More CICS Commands
EXEC CICS
REWRITE DATASET(filename)
FROM(data-area)
END-EXEC
NOTES:
Record MUST be READ with UPDATE!
data-area - NOT have to match Read
CICS-Prg 18
More CICS Commands
EXEC CICS
DELETE DATASET(filename)
[ RIDFLD(data-area) ]
[ RRN | RBA ]
END-EXEC
NOTE: If no RIDFLD last READ is Deleted

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Basic CICS Commands
EXEC CICS
ABEND [ ABCODE(name) ]
END-EXEC

(ABCODE used to identify storage dump -

Usually omitted!)

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CICS Program Design
Event-driven design
Structure Chart - Consider All Functions
Identify Events and Context
 Any action that starts program
 List All (Valid) Possible User Actions
Design Appropriate Response
 Processing required for an event
 Managing user interaction

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CICS Program Design
COMMAREA usually stores ‘context’
 Get Key
 Add Customer
 Change Customer
 Delete Customer
Response to same key can be different
depending on ‘context’ (ENTER key)

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CICS Program Design
Event/Response Chart
 Helps with design or Program
 Serves as Documentation of Program
 Sometimes replaced with ‘Structure Chart’
Structure Chart ‘Evolves’ into Design
 Start with Major Functions
 Add Detail as Needed
 Assign Paragraph Numbering (If Used)

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More CICS Commands
EXEC CICS
UNLOCK DATASET(filename)
END-EXEC
NOTE: If READ/UPDATE command is
used and you determine that record
does not need to be updated. Usually
not needed as record is unlocked when
the task is terminated.

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Exception Conditions
Most Common Exceptions:
 DISABLED Dataset disabled
 DUPREC Record already exists
 FILENOTFND Dataset not in FCT
 INVREQ Invalid request
 IOERR File I/O error
 NOTAUTH User not authorized
 NOTFND Record not in file

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Checking for Exceptions
ALL CICS Commands allow RESP Parm
01 RESP-CODE PIC S9(8) COMP.
IF RESP-CODE = DFHRESP(NORMAL)
MOVE ‘Y’ TO OK-COMMAND
ELSE
IF RESP-CODE = DFHRESP(NOTFND)
MOVE ‘N’ TO REC-NOT-FOUND
ELSE
PERFORM DISPLAY-MISC-ERROR
END-IF
END-IF

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Preventing File Corruption
PREVENT
 Add ‘busy’ flag in record (Special Maint)
 All programs MUST follow procedure
 Extra I/O required (to Set/Reset flag)
DETECT
 Save copy and compare before updating
 OR – Add Maint-Timestamp and check it
 Notify User to get latest version of data

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Avoiding Deadlock
Sometimes called ‘Deadly Embrace’
Happens when records from multiple
files must be updated as a unit
 Withdraw from Savings – Deposit to Check
 Crash after withdraw? Where’s money?
Must both be done or neither! (Atomic)

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