IBM Glossary — Introduction to CICS Transaction

IBM ^ A § abend-AID – A set of fault-analysis software used in transaction processing to monitor and analyze system errors. § application program interface (API) – The method used by an operating system or by another application that enables programmers to make requests of the operating system or another application. § assembler language – A low-level programming language that allows a program to be read by an assembler, which translates it into machine language for execution. © 2004 IBM Corporation

IBM ^ B § basic mapping support (BMS) – A CICS facility used to define display formats and manipulate input and output display data in response to commands issued from an application program. § batch processing – A method of transaction processing in which transactions are saved and processed at a later time, according to a predefined schedule. § business application services – A CICSPlex component that allows you to define and manage business applications in terms of CICS resources and systems. © 2004 IBM Corporation

IBM ^ C § CICSPlex – A group of connected CICS regions that are distributed across several operating systems. § CICS system definition – A dataset that contains the resource definitions for a particular CICS region. § CICS Transaction Server (CICS TS) – A member of IBM’s CICS family of products that performs transaction processing services in an OS/390 environment. § CICS Web support (CWS) – A CICS software product that allows users to access CICS directly from a Web browser, without requiring an intermediate server or gateway. © 2004 IBM Corporation

IBM ^ C § Common Business Oriented Language (COBOL) – A verbose, English -like compiled programming language developed in the late 1950 s. It is still in widespread use today, usually with business applications that run on mainframes. § common system area (CSA) – A CICS control block that contains information about the CICS system as a whole. It has pointers to other control blocks, tables, management modules, and the currently dispatched task. § concurrent transaction processing – A processing technique that enables CICS to process and track the status of multiple tasks at the same time. © 2004 IBM Corporation

IBM ^ C § Customer Information Control System (CICS) – An IBM program that

IBM ^ D § Database Control (DBCTL)– A sub-region of a database system such as IMS that allows the database to be accessed by one or more transaction processing systems. § Data Language/I (DL/I) –The language used to access data in IBM’s IMS database. § direct access storage device (DASD) – A storage facility where data is accessed directly, instead of passing sequentially through all storage areas. § distributed program link (DPL) – A CICS intercommunication facility that allows a CICS program to call another program on a remote system or CICS region. © 2004 IBM Corporation

IBM ^ D § distributed transaction processing (DTP) – A method of programming that distributes transaction functions over several programs within a network of systems. § dynamic transaction backout (DBT) – The reversal of updates that precede a system error or failure, up to the last sync point. © 2004 IBM Corporation

IBM ^ E § execute interface block (EIB) – A data area in an application program in which CICS places various items of task-related data, such as the terminal ID and transaction ID associated with the task. § EXEC Interface Program (EIP) – The CICS system program that gets control first whenever an application program issues a CICS command. EIP interprets the command, and passes control to the appropriate CICS management modules to carry out the requested function. § external call interface (ECI) – An interface that allows non-CICS applications to call a CICS program in a CICS server. © 2004 IBM Corporation

IBM ^ F § file-AID — A group of software applications that assist in data management by creating test files for trouble-shooting and problem. resolution. § file control program (FCP) — The CICS management module that controls access to the application data files. § file control table (FCT) — The CICS table that contains an entry for each application data file a CICS program can access. Each entry specifies the file name, access method, type of access permitted and the maximum number of tasks that can access the file concurrently. © 2004 IBM Corporation

IBM ^ H § Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) – A technology that determines how a browser interacts with a server to present information where selected words or images have links to other information. © 2004 IBM Corporation

IBM ^ I § IBM Web. Sphere Application Server for OS/390 – A set of software products used to develop and manage e-business Web sites, and to assist in the transition from simple Web publishing to advanced ebusiness applications. § IMS Resource Locks Management (IRLM) – An interface that enables you to lock segments of an IMS database while they are being updated. § Information Management System (IMS) – A package of products that provides hierarchical database management services, data communications services, and transaction management services. © 2004 IBM Corporation

IBM ^ I § interregion communication (IRC) – Communication between CICS regions within the same system or CICSPlex. § inter-system communication (ISC) – A facility used for communication between separate systems. § I/O – The data transferred between a processor and a peripheral device. © 2004 IBM Corporation

IBM ^ L § LINK – A CICS command that causes control to be

IBM ^ M § middleware – Software that serves as an intermediate layer between two or more types of software, mediating and translating between them. § Multiregion operation (MRO) — The connection of Ci. CS regions within the same system or CICSPlex for intercommunication. © 2004 IBM Corporation

IBM ^ N § Net. View — A network management product that can provide automated operations and rapid notification of events. § network control program (NCP) — Software that manages communication between the host system and other devices on the network. This network is usually, but not necessarily, an SNA network. © 2004 IBM Corporation

IBM ^ O § Online transaction processing (OLTP) – A class of programs that facilitates and manages transaction-oriented applications. § online processing – A method of transaction processing in which requests are submitted and processed individually as soon as the computer receives them. § OS/390 – The OS/390 Parallel Enterprise Server is an IBM mainframe that provides a robust, secure platform for hosting e-business, using the OS/390 operating system. © 2004 IBM Corporation

IBM ^ P § Parallel Sysplex – An IBM clustering technology that combines parallel processing with clustering, to process work more efficiently. It provides continuous computing in a highly scalable system to meet the transaction demands generated by network computing. § Processing Program Table (PPT) – The CICS table that Program Control consults when a task invokes an application and the program returns control to it. The PPT contains an entry for each application load module and physical BMS map set. © 2004 IBM Corporation

IBM ^ P § Program Control Table (PCT) – The CICS table that contains an entry for each TRANSID, associating it with the name of the first online application program to get control to process the transaction. § program manager (PG) – The management module responsible for locating and invoking application programs required for processing a transaction. § Programming Language I (PL/I) – A programming language that brings together the features of FORTRAN, COBOL, and ALGOL. © 2004 IBM Corporation

IBM ^ R § relational database management system (RDBMS) — A system that stores

IBM ^ S § Storage manager (SM) – The CICS domain responsible for allocating memory resources required for transaction processing. § Structured Query Language (SQL) – A standard interactive and programming language used to retrieve and update information in a database. Queries take the form of a command language. § Symmetric Multiprocessing (SMP) – Processing of programs by multiple processors that share an operating system and memory resources. © 2004 IBM Corporation

IBM ^ S § synchronous point (syncpoint) – The point in the processing of a transaction when changes are committed to a database. § Systems Network Architecture (SNA) – A network topology developed in the 1970 s by IBM to determine data communication between mainframes and their users by incorporating protocols and network interfaces. © 2004 IBM Corporation

IBM ^ T § task – The work performed by CICS to process a transaction. It begins when the TRANSID enters the system, and ends when the application program returns control to CICS. § Task Control Area (TCA) – A CICS control block that is created by Task Control for each instance of a TRANSID that enters a CICS system. The TCA contains pointers to the PCT entry for the TRANSID and the TCTTE of the terminal connected to the task. § teleprocessing – Using a terminal or computer to access remote computers or computer files. © 2004 IBM Corporation

IBM ^ T § terminal control table terminal entry (TCTTE) – A terminal resource definition containing information such as terminal identifier, terminal type, and a pointer to the buffer containing and pending I/O messages. § terminal input/output area (TIOA) – A control block that CICS creates to hold a message exchanged between a terminal and an application program. § transaction – A request for online processing as viewed by the user who initiates the request. One or more tasks may be involved in processing a single transaction. § transaction routing – When a terminal connected to one CICS system runs transactions in a remote CICS system or region. © 2004 IBM Corporation

IBM ^ V § virtual storage – Memory that appears to an application to be larger and more uniform than it is. Applications access memory through virtual addresses, which are translated (mapped) by special hardware and software onto physical addresses. § Virtual Storage Access Method (VSAM) – An IBM file access method in which records can be processed using one of three file organizations: KSDS, RRDS, and ESDS. § Virtual Telecommunications Access Method (VTAM) – A communication access method used with online terminals. © 2004 IBM Corporation

IBM ^ X § XCTL – A CICS command that causes control to be permanently transferred to another CICS application module. After the program that receives control is run, control does not return to the caller but to the application program at the next higher level in the calling hierarchy. § XM – Transaction manager is the domain responsible for receiving transaction requests, and creating and organizing tasks to process transaction requests. © 2004 IBM Corporation