CICS/ESA Version 3 Release 2
IBM says that CICS/ESA Version 3 Release 2, available June 28, 1991, provides substantial gains in capacity and reduces the costs of operating and managing CICS systems. The enhancements include virtual storage constraint relief, improvements to the definition, migration and management of CICS resources, and command-level application programming interface extensions for command-level only applications. Most of the CICS-associated storage above the 16Mb boundary has been moved and the performance of CICS multi-region environment has been improved by lowering the overhead for establishing multi-region environment connections. The range of command level applications has been increased because Common Programming Interface Communications are now available as an alternative to CICS command-level interface for LU6.2 services and Advanced Program to-Program Communications, and the customisation extensions include the ability to modify the application request. IBM says that it has simplified the management and operation of CICS systems by providing the ability to remove installed resource definitions from a running system, and providing a batch interface to the CICS system definition. Other simplifications include the ability to suppress or re-route messages and to enable multi-destination distribution of messages; the ability to use an external security manager as the sole repository of security-related data, and to hold CICS operator characteristics in the the external manager; LU6.2 session security is enhanced, and there are improved messages for short symptom strings and system dumps.
CICS External Diagnostic Feature
Application development has been enhanced through extensions to the External Diagnostic Feature by enableing a single terminal to perform External Diagnostic function when transactions are executing in a CICS multi-region operating environment. IBM says that better availability should result from the ability to make CICS and IMS/ESA DB independent of each other, and by the protection against VSAM backout failure.
Operating Environment and Security
CICS/ESA 3.2 runs on any ESA/390- or ESA/370-capable system that supports MVS/ESA and has enough proc-essor storage to meet the combined requirements of the host operating system, CICS itself, the access method and application programs. Overall virtual storage usage below the 16Mb line is cut and IBM says that virtual storage relief in the order of 600Kb per 1,000 VTAM terminals, and around 400Kb for the CICS nucleus modules can be expected. Security features include support for the external security management program, user exit authorisation, resource-level security, terminal operator identification, intersystem communication security, journaling, monitoring and trace facilities.
CICS/VSE Version 2 Release 1
The new version of of CICS/VSE is said to broaden the scope of CICS transaction processing for VSE users by its affinity with CICS/MVS and CICS/ESA through additional application programming language support. VS Cobol II for VSE provides an SAA-compliant Cobol compiler which improves the portability of CICS/VSE applications to and from other members of the CICS family. It will be available December 28, 1990
Extended Recovery in CICS/VSE
Enhanced functions mean that CICS/ESA and CICS/MVS extended recovery facilities are available in CICS/VSE, and it detects failures and automatically switches a workload to an alternative system which may be in the same or different complex. VS Cobol II for VSE is SAA compilant and enables programs to compiled and executed on CICS/VSE, CICS/MVS, CICS/ESA, CICS/OS2 and CICS/VM. With the exception of CICS/DOS/VS Cobol applications that need to exploit the new features of VS Cobol, upward compatibility is provided for both source and object programs as well as Basic Mapping Support maps and map sets. Dynamic transaction routing is a user-replaceable program that enables CICS to select transaction routing destinations dynamically in a multi-region operation or inter-system communication environ
ment. Other enhancements include transaction routing for LU6.2 devices or systems using Advanced Program-to-Program Communication and communication to and from CICS OS/2. A first failure data capture facility helps identify a problem when it first occurs and an offline dump analyser diagnoses faults.
C language support promised in CICS/VSE
IBM says that it intends CICS/VSE will provide C language support for both application development and runtime execution. Future CICS/VSE operating facilities will enable CICS applications written in Cobol II and C, at command level, to reside and execute in extended memory above the 16Mb level and to provide virtual storage constraint relief.
Operating and Programming Requirements
CICS/VSE Version 2 Release 1 runs on VSE/ESA Version 1 Release 1 supported processors, and the prerequisite software required by CICS/VSE 2.12 is in the VSE/ESA 1.1 package. It runs with either the SQL/DS Version 3 Release 1 database products or DL/DOS/VS 1.9 or later. It can be compiled with VS Cobol II Version 1 Release 3.2, DOS/VS Cobol Version 1 Release 3, DOS PL/1 and DOS/VS RPG II.
Security and Auditability
The security and auditability features of CICS/VSE Version 2 Release 1 include support for an external security program; user exit authorisation; resource level access security; terminal operator signon identification; transaction initiation security; and journal, trace and monitoring facilities.
