linkageKey

Here is an example call statement that includes the linkageKey property:

call nextProgram (myVar) { linkageKey="CICS3" };

The default value of the linkageKey property is the name of the invoked program, but only if you specify the program name directly in the coded statement, as in the following example:

call "PROG3" (myVar);

You need the linkageKey property only if the following cases are both in effect:

• The default values for the call or transfer implementation are not appropriate; and
• EGL cannot identify which linkage part element applies to the call or transfer, as might be the case for either of two reasons:
  • You specified the runtime name of the program in quotation marks and the runtime name is not the same as the program part name. The difference might be because the called program has an alias or because the part name is truncated for a runtime environment that does not support long names.
  • Alternatively, you specified the program name in a variable, in which case the value is not known until run time. In the first example in this topic, the program name is in the variable nextProgram.

When coding multiple call or transfer statements, you can refer to the same linkage part element in the following ways:

• Specify the same value for the linkageKey properties; for example, use CICS3 in several calls.
• Alternatively, specify different but related values for the linkageKey properties. In this case, the different values (for example, CICS3 and CICS30) refer to a single attribute that includes a wild-card character, as in the following example of a pgm attribute in a callLink element: 

  pgm="CICS3*"