CICS Trace Formatting

Selecting the CICS® Trace Formatting link provides you with a display that permits specific selection parameters to be entered for the CICS® trace, as the example shown in Sample CICS Trace Selection Parameters display.

Figure 1. Sample CICS Trace Selection Parameters display
  File  View  Services  Help
s ┌───────────── CICS Trace Selection Parameters ─────────────┐ ───────────────
C │                                                           │ ine 1 Col 1 80
C │ Specify CICS trace selection parameters and press Enter.  │ roll ===> CSR
T │                                                           │ 5/22  14:22:19
  │ Format . . . . . . A  (Abbrev/Short/Full)                 │
C │ Exception Only . . N  (Yes/No)                            │
A │ Sequence Start . . 000001                                 │
C │          End . . . 000375                                 │
C │ Highlight Interval 0.128          (0-99.9999999999 secs)  │
C │ Task IDs . . . . . 00027                                  │
C │ KE Task Numbers                                           │
  │ Terminal IDs . . .                            Caps Y      │
S │ Transaction IDs                               Caps Y      │
  │ Time Start . . . .         (HHMMSS)                       │
  │      End . . . . .         (HHMMSS)                       │
  │ Domain/Point IDs                                          │
  │      Exclude IDs                                          │
  │                                                           │
  │                                                           │
  └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
  7. CICS Levels, Commareas, and Channels

*** Bottom of data.

The following parameters can be specified:

Format
Specifies the level of trace formatting:
A
The abbreviated form of the trace, with one line per entry.
S
The short formatted display, consisting of the abbreviated entry plus fully formatted parameter list, return address, time, and interval.
F
The fully formatted display of all the data in each entry.
Exception Only
Specifies that only exception entries in the internal trace are to be displayed.
Sequence Start/End
Specifies which sequence numbers are to be selected (sequence numbers start at 1 and are up to 6 digits in length). You can specify Start, End or both.
Highlight Interval
Specifies the interval between internal trace entries after which entries are highlighted (with an asterisk).
Task IDs
Specifies up to five task identifiers whose trace entries are to be displayed. An ID value can be one of:
  • Any number up to 5 digits in length.
  • Any of JAS, J01 through J99.
  • III, TCP, or DST.
  • A two character domain ID of the attaching domain (for non-TCA tasks).
KE Task Numbers
Specifies up to 5 four hexadecimal digit kernel task numbers to be displayed.
Terminal IDs
Specifies the terminal identifiers of up to five terminals for which trace entries are to be displayed. If any terminal IDs contain lowercase, set Caps to N and enter all IDs as case-sensitive. When Caps is Y, all entries are translated to uppercase.
Transaction IDs
Specifies the transaction identifiers of up to five transactions for which trace entries are to be displayed. If any transaction IDs contain lowercase, set Caps to N and enter all IDs as case-sensitive. When Caps is Y, all entries are translated to uppercase.
Time Start/End
Specifies the time period for which trace entries are to be displayed. You can specify Start, End or both.
Domain/Point IDs
Specifies up to 5 two-character domain IDs, and optionally followed by a trace point ID within that domain. These IDs are included. Here are the domain IDs:

AP BA BR CC DD DE DH DM DP DS DU EJ EM EX GC IE II IS KE LC
LD LG LM ME ML MN NQ OT PA PG PI PT RL RM RS RX RZ SH SJ SM
SO ST TI TR TS US WB W2 XM XS
The trace point ID can be up to four hexadecimal digits in length (if fewer than 4 digits are entered, then it is treated as a generic value).

If no domain or trace point IDs are specified in this selection parameter field, then the default is to include all trace entries. The exception is any trace entries that are excluded by way of the Exclude IDs selection parameter. Otherwise, only trace records that match the specified IDs (which are not also excluded via the Exclude IDs selection parameter) are shown.

Exclude IDs
Specifies up to 5 two-character domain IDs (same values as for Domain/Point IDs), optionally followed by a trace point ID within that domain. These IDs are excluded. The trace point ID can be up to four hexadecimal digits in length (if fewer than 4 digits are entered, then it is treated as a generic value).

After you make any optional changes to parameters, press Enter to view the CICS® trace. An example of the CICS® Trace display is shown in Sample CICS Trace display.

Figure 2. Sample CICS Trace display
  File  View  Services  Help
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
CICS Trace                                                    Entry 1 Col 1 80
Command ===> ________________________________________________ Scroll ===> CSR 
Abbrev Short Full - TRANID: CS65      IDISNAP CALL                  FAE2      2
00027 QR    SM 0D02 SMMF  EXIT  FREEMAIN/OK           CICS storage at 174E7748
00027 QR    SM 0C01 SMMG  ENTRY GETMAIN               2000,NO,00,CICS
00027 QR    SM 0C02 SMMG  EXIT  GETMAIN/OK            174CF028
00027 QR    SM 0D01 SMMF  ENTRY FREEMAIN              174CD018,CICS
00027 QR    SM 0D02 SMMF  EXIT  FREEMAIN/OK           CICS storage at 174CD018
00027 QR    SM 0C01 SMMG  ENTRY GETMAIN               2000,NO,00,CICS
00027 QR    SM 0C02 SMMG  EXIT  GETMAIN/OK            174D1038
00027 QR    SM 0D01 SMMF  ENTRY FREEMAIN              174CF028,CICS
00027 QR    SM 0D02 SMMF  EXIT  FREEMAIN/OK           CICS storage at 174CF028
00027 QR    SM 0C01 SMMG  ENTRY GETMAIN               2000,NO,00,CICS
00027 QR    SM 0C02 SMMG  EXIT  GETMAIN/OK            174CD018
00027 QR    SM 0D01 SMMF  ENTRY FREEMAIN              174D1038,CICS
00027 QR    SM 0D02 SMMF  EXIT  FREEMAIN/OK           CICS storage at 174D1038
00027 QR    SM 0C01 SMMG  ENTRY GETMAIN               2000,NO,00,CICS
00027 QR    SM 0C02 SMMG  EXIT  GETMAIN/OK            174CF028
00027 QR    SM 0D01 SMMF  ENTRY FREEMAIN              174CD018,CICS
00027 QR    SM 0D02 SMMF  EXIT  FREEMAIN/OK           CICS storage at 174CD018
00027 QR    SM 0C01 SMMG  ENTRY GETMAIN               2000,NO,00,CICS
00027 QR    SM 0C02 SMMG  EXIT  GETMAIN/OK            174E7748

Initially, the trace is formatted in accordance with the settings made on the CICS® Trace Selection Parameters display. However, at any time while the trace is displayed, the format can be changed by selecting one of the point-and-shoot fields provided at the top of the display. The top-most trace entry that is displayed remains at the top, regardless of the format selected.

Note: Fault Analyzer uses CICS® supplied trace formatting modules to format CICS® trace entries. These modules are named DFHTRnnn, where nnn is the CICS® version. If fault entries contain CICS® trace records from multiple versions of CICS®, you must ensure that all the necessary versions of DFHTRnnn are available to Fault Analyzer.

Internal CICS Trace Link Analysis (CICSLINK)

If you use the CICSLINK command when you view a formatted CICS® trace, a hierarchical representation of CICS® LINK entries and exits is provided. The CICSLINK command defaults to PF4 on CICS® formatted trace displays. For more information about the CICSLINK command, see CICSLINK.

You can also use this feature for the formatted CICS® traces that are provided by CICS® system dumps or auxiliary trace data sets. When you use the CICSLINK command for a formatted trace from one of these sources, you are prompted to provide the task number to be analyzed. When you place the cursor on a task number in the formatted trace and press PF4, the CICS® Trace Link Analysis for that task number is opened.

An example of the display is shown in the following figure.

Figure 3. Sample CICS Trace Link Analysis Display
   File  View  Services  Help                                                   
 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── 
 Internal CICS Trace Link Analysis                              Line 1 Col 1 80
 Command ===>                                                  Scroll ===> CSR  
 TRANID: LNK1      CICS ABEND: ABC2              FAE1      2019/08/09  08:27:52 
                                                                                
 ┌───> START LINKPGM    
 │                                                                                                                                     
 │    ┌──> LINK LINKPGM2                                                        
 │    │                                                                         
 │    │    ┌──> LINK LINKPGM3                                                   
 │    │    │                                                                    
 │    │    │    ┌──> LINK LINKPGM4                                              
 │    │    │    │                                                               
 │    │    │    └──> RETURN LINKPGM4                                            
 │    │    │                                                                    
 │    │    └──> RETURN LINKPGM3                                                 
 │    │                                                                         
 │    └──> RETURN LINKPGM2                                                      
 │                                                                              
 │    ┌──> LINK LINKPGM5                                 

This diagram is generated by parsing the CICS® trace for EXEC CICS® LINK entries. The following headings appear in the hierarchy that is displayed.

START
This entry shows the start of the CICS® trace and always appears at the beginning of the Link Analysis where the first program begins execution.
LINK
This entry shows the point at which a LINK CICS® trace entry occurs, marking the start of a nested program execution in the CICS® transaction.
RETURN
This entry shows the point at which the current highest level linked module exits.
ABEND
This entry indicates the point at which an ABEND occurs in the transaction.

When you select one of the point-and-shoot program name fields in the hierarchy, further details on the selected program and events that occurred during its execution are displayed. See the following figure as an example.

Figure 4. Sample CICS Trace Link Analysis additional information display
   File  View  Services  Help                                                   
 ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 Internal CICS Trace Link Analysis                              Line 1 Col 1 80 
 Command ===>                                                  Scroll ===> CSR  
 TRANID: LNK1      CICS A ┌─────────────────────────────────────┐ /09  08:27:52 
                          │                                     │               
 ┌──> START LINKPGM       │ Module Name: LINKPGM2               │               
 │                        │ Address....: 1B1E4150               │               
 │    ┌──> LINK LINKPGM2  │ Size.......: 0000377C (14204)       │               
 │    │                   │ DDname.....: DFHRPL                 │               
 │    │    ┌──> LINK LINK │ DSN........: MIFROEN.TEST.LOAD      │               
 │    │    │              │                                     │               
 │    │    │    ┌──> LINK │ CICS EXEC Call List                 │               
 │    │    │    │         │                                     │               
 │    │    │    └──> RETU │ EXEC Command Name    #              │               
 │    │    │              │ GETMAIN              1              │               
 │    │    └──> RETURN LI │ SEND TEXT            1              │               
 │    │                   │ ASKTIME              1              │               
 │    └──> RETURN LINKPGM │ RETURN               1              │               
 │                        │ FREEMAIN             1              │               
 │    ┌──> LINK LINKPGM5  └─────────────────────────────────────┘               
                                                                                
Module Name
The name of the linked load module.
Address
The address of the program. The address is unavailable when a CICS® auxiliary trace data set or CICS® system dump is being analyzed.
Size
The size of the program. The size is unavailable when a CICS® auxiliary trace data set or CICS® system dump is being analyzed.
DDname
The load module origin DDname. The DDname is unavailable when a CICS® auxiliary trace data set or CICS® system dump is being analyzed.
DSN
The load module origin data set name. The DSN is unavailable when a CICS® auxiliary trace data set or CICS® system dump is being analyzed.
CICS® EXEC Call List
A list of all CICS® EXEC commands that are recorded in the CICS® Trace during the execution of this program. The list includes the EXEC command names and the number of individual command invocations. The list does not include EXEC commands that are called by nested programs.
Storage Violations Detected
A list of all CICS® storage violations that are detected from the SM trace entries in the CICS® Trace during the execution of this program. The list includes the type of violation and the number of individual violations. The list does not appear if no storage violations occurred and does not include storage violations that are caused by nested programs.