Join the more than 150,000 programmers who have learned CICS using our CICS books alone. Now, our two-part CICS series has been completely updated to cover the latest versions of CICS (including CICS Transaction Server). And it's been revised into a single volume that meets today's need for FAST-paced training and reference.

If you're new to CICS, by the end of chapter 2, you'll see how a complete CICS program works, so you'll understand all the pieces involved. And by the end of section 2 (just 6 chapters), you'll be able to design, code, and test CICS programs on your own. No time-consuming courses needed!

But that's just the beginning. Whether you're a new or experienced programmer, the rest of the book covers features that enhance your skills and answer the questions that crop up on the job every day.

To be specific, section 3 presents additional commands and techniques you'll use regularly on the job. Section 4 presents a complete CICS application made up of 4 interrelated programs—great time-saving models for your own work. Section 5 shows you how to process files and DB2 databases (essential skills in any CICS shop). And section 6 gives you an overview of other CICS capabilities...including Web programming...that even the most experienced programmers in your shop may not know much about.

So get this book today. See for yourself why it's still the programmer's choice...just as it's been ever since the original edition was published 17 years ago.

Here are a few more highlights: A look at where CICS is headed

Learn how to design, code, and test modular programs in which CICS is used for what it does best: transaction processing on the mainframe (then, other languages like Java or Visual Basic can be used for the user interface).

Real-world introduction to Web programming

Preview what's involved in developing CICS applications for the Web. With each new version of CICS, IBM is providing and refining tools that enable CICS to be used for back-end transaction processing while other languages are used for the user interface in a Web browser. So you can be sure this will be part of your future as a CICS programmer.

Professional coding models

You need complete program examples to learn CICS, and that's what you get in the this book. Not snippets of code that leave you with questions, but 12 full programs, with specs, design, BMS mapsets, and COBOL code, that teach you how to handle real-world programming demands.

Paired pages for quick knowledge

All the information is presented in "paired pages," with the essential details and examples on the right and the perspective on the left. You read less and learn faster!

Flexible reference

The paired pages and the coding examples make this book easy to use for reference (in fact, the paired pages make so much difference that it's definitely worth getting a copy even if you have the previous edition). Find the answers you need, right when you need them.

Contents

Section 1 Introduction to CICS

Chapter 1 CICS concepts and terms

• An introduction to CICS 4
• How CICS manages multiple users 12
• CICS services 16

Chapter 2 Introduction to CICS programming

• How a CICS program works 26
• The specifications and BMS mapset for an inquiry program 38
• The design and COBOL code for the inquiry program 48
• The CICS commands used in the program 60
• How to develop a CICS program 66

Section 2 How to design, code, and test a CICS program

Chapter 3 How to design a CICS program

• The customer maintenance program 74
• How to create an event/response chart 78
• How to create a structure chart 82

Chapter 4 How to create a BMS mapset

• How to design user-friendly screens 92
• How attributes control the look and operation of a field 96
• How to code BMS macros 102
• The BMS mapset and symbolic map for the customer maintenance program 116
• How to assemble a BMS mapset 132

Chapter 5 How to code a CICS program

• How to control the execution of the programs within a task 136
• How to work with mapsets 148
• How to work with files 152
• Other coding essentials 164
• The customer maintenance program 172

Chapter 6 How to test a CICS program

• Introduction to CICS program testing 190
• How to test a program from the top down 196
• How to use the CICS service transactions for testing 204

Section 3 Other CICS programming essentials

Chapter 7 How to use temporary storage control

• Temporary storage queue concepts 220
• How to work with temporary storage queues 222
• A maintenance program that uses a temporary storage queue 228

Chapter 8 Additional CICS commands and programming techniques

• Terminal handling techniques 234
• How to handle unrecoverable errors 254
• How to access data using the Linkage Section 258
• How to format the date and time 262

Chapter 9 How to debug a CICS abend

• CICS abend codes 270
• How to use the Execution Diagnostics Facility 274

Section 4 A complete CICS application

Chapter 10 A systems overview

• The system design for the sample application 298
• Program control for the sample application 300
• Resources for the sample application 302
• Files for the sample application 304

Chapter 11 The menu program

• The specifications for the menu program 308
• The design for the menu program 310
• The BMS mapset and symbolic map for the menu program 312
• The COBOL code for the menu program 316

Chapter 12 The maintenance program

• The specifications for the maintenance program 324
• An event/response chart for the maintenance program 328
• The structure chart for the maintenance program 330
• The BMS mapset and symbolic map for the maintenance program 332
• The COBOL code for the maintenance program 340

Chapter 13 The order entry program

• The specifications for the order entry program 354
• An event/response chart for the order entry program 358
• The structure chart for the order entry program 360
• The BMS mapset for the order entry program 362
• The programmer-generated symbolic map for the order entry program 366
• The COBOL code for the order entry program 370
• The COBOL code for the GETINV subprogram 386

Section 5 CICS for file and database processing

Chapter 14 How to process files sequentially

• How to use the browse commands 392
• Two sample applications that do sequential processing 406

Chapter 15 How to use VSAM alternate indexes

• Alternate indexing concepts 438
• An enhanced customer inquiry program 444

Chapter 16 How to use other file processing features

• How to use generic keys 462
• How to use the MASSINSERT option of the WRITE command 468
• How to use the TOKEN option of the file control commands 470
• How to use shared data tables 472

Chapter 17 How to work with DB2 databases

• CICS/DB2 concepts 476
• The DB2 version of the customer inquiry program 480
• CICS/DB2 programming considerations 496

Section 6 Advanced CICS features and skills

Chapter 18 How to use other CICS control features

• How to use interval control 502
• How to use task control 512
• How to use storage control 514
• How to use recovery processing 518

Chapter 19 How to use CICS intercommunication features

• Intercommunication concepts 526
• How transaction routing works 532
• How function shipping works 534
• How to use Distributed Program Link 538
• Other intercommunication features 542

Chapter 20 How to design, code, and test a modular CICS program

• Program design considerations 550
• How to design a modular CICS program 556
• How to code and test a modular CICS program 566
• The customer maintenance program 572

Chapter 21 Introduction to CICS Web programming

• CICS and the Internet 594
• How to access CICS programs from a Web browser 596

Chapter 22 What else a maintenance programmer needs to know

• How to use the HANDLE AID command 606
• How to use the HANDLE CONDITION command 610
• How to access Linkage Section data using BLL cells 614
• How to use the LENGTH option