What's new in CICS® IA Version 6.3

CICS® IA Version 6.3 maintains broad functionality and provides full support for the new CICS Transaction Server 6.3. Building on previous releases, it includes updates for commands whose threadsafe status has been enhanced in CICS Transaction Server 6.3, enabling more applications to run without switching to QR TCB mode

CICS IA VS Code Extension

CICS® IA 6.3 enhances the existing VS Code extension that integrates with the Zowe Explorer. Most of the key features available in the Eclipse client are now supported in the VS Code extension and will be further enhanced in upcoming releases. Additionally, it now supports V3 profiles.

CICS IA Web Application

CICS® IA 6.3 enhances the existing web client, allowing users to access CICS IA features through a web interface. Currently, the client supports a limited set of key features, with further enhancements planned for upcoming releases. Users can download the CICS IA web application here.

Show the command EXEC CICS START with the ATTACH parameter

Update the Command Flow function to START ATTACH and set the function ID to FE39 for the EXEC CICS START command with the ATTACH parameter.

Show the command EXEC CICS START with the BREXIT parameter

Update the Command Flow function to START BREXIT and set the function ID to FE3A for the EXEC CICS START command with the BREXIT parameter.

Include the PTTRANSID and PTTASKID fields in the Command Flow Report

The new fields PTTRANSID and PTTASKID have been added to the command flow report, enhancing the efficiency of command flow data collection. The field descriptions are as follows:

  • PTTASKID(data-area): Retrieves the 4-byte packed decimal identifier from the previous or parent transaction data. If the specified task was started by another task within the same CICS region, PTTASKID contains the identifier of that task in the local CICS region. Otherwise, it contains a packed decimal zero.
  • PTTRANSID(data-area): Retrieves the 4-character transaction name from the previous or parent transaction data. If the specified task was started by another task within the same CICS region, PTTRANSID contains the transaction name of that task in the local CICS region. Otherwise, it contains spaces.

ADD HEADER TO COMMAND FLOW CSV FILES

In the command flow feature, CSV files can be generated from the command flow data stored in the CIU_CMDFLOW_DATA and CIU_CMDFLOW_INDEX DB2 tables. However, these CSV files currently do not include header information for the fields. Adding headers will help identify the meaning of each value. In the CIUUDB4 batch job, a new Header parameter has been introduced. By default, this parameter is set to 0, meaning no headers are included in the generated CSV files. When set to 1, the CSV files will include headers.

New or changed commands in CICS® IA 6.3 collector

CICS® IA 6.3 supports the following CICS Transaction Server for z/OS commands, listed in alphabetical order. For details, refer to the CICS Transaction Server for z/OS documentation.

DEFINE

  • TIMER

INVOKE

  • SERVICE

INQUIRE

  • OTEL
  • TRANSACTION

SET

  • OTEL
  • TRANSACTION

WEB

  • OPEN