Saturday, October 19, 2013

CICS Interview Questions 4

Q)  Mention the option (along with argument type) used in a CICS command to retrieve the response code after execution of the command.
A)  RESP( S9(8) COM.)

Q)  What’s the CICS command used to access current date and time?
A)  ASKTIME.

Q)  Into what fields will the date and time values be moved after execution of the above command?
A)  EIBDATE & EIBTIME.

Q)    How do you terminate an already issued DELAY command?
A)  EXEC CICS CANCEL
        REQID(id)
     END-EXEC

Q)    How do you dynamically set the CURSOR position to a specific field?
A)  MOVE –1 to FIELD+L field. Mention CURSOR option in the SEND command.

Q)    Which option of the PCT entry is used to specify the PF key to be pressed for initiating a transaction?
A)  TASKREQ=PF1

Q)    Specify the CICS command used to read a VSAM record starting with prefix “F”. Code all the relevant options.
A)  EXEC CICS READ
           DATASET(‘FILENAME’)
     INTO(data-area)
           RIDFLD(data-area)
     KEYLENGTH(1)
           GENERIC
     LENGTH(WK-LEN)
     END-EXEC.

Q)    Mention the option used in the CICS READ command to gain accessibility directly to the file I/O area. (AssumeCOBOL-II).
A)  SET(ADDRESS OF LINKAGE-AREA).

Q)    Which command is used to release a record on which exclusive control is gained?
A)  EXEC CICS UNLOCK END-EXEC.

Q)    How do you establish a starting position in a browse operation?
A)     EXEC CICS STARTBR---------- END-EXEC.

Q)    What is the option specified in the read operation to gain multiple concurrent operations on the same dataset?
A)     REQID(value).

Q)    What is the CICS command that gives the length of TWA area?
A)     EXEC CICS ASSIGN
TWALENG(data-value)
END-EXEC.

Wednesday, October 2, 2013

CICS Interview Questions 3

Q) What does “Pseudo Conversational” mean?
A) The programming technique in which the task will not wait for the end-user replies on the terminal. Terminating the task every time the application needs a response from the user and specifying the next transaction to be started when the end user press any attention key (Enter, PF1 through PF24, PA1,PA2 and Clear) is pseudo-conversational processing.

Q) What is the function of the CICS translator?
A) The CICS translator converts the EXEC CICS commands into call statements for a specific programming language.
   There are CICS translators for Assembler, COBOL, and PL/1.

Q) How can you start a CICS transaction other than by keying the Transaction ID at the terminal?
A) By coding an EXEC CICS START in the application program
1. By coding the trans id and a trigger level on the DCT table
2. By coding the trans id in the EXEC CICS RETURN command
3. By associating an attention key with the Program Control Table
4. By embedding the TRANSID in the first four positions of a screen sent to the terminal.
5. By using the Program List Table

Q) What is the purpose of the Program List Table?
A) The Program List Table records the set of applications programs that will be executed automatically at CICS start-up time.

Q) What are the differences between and EXEC CICS XCTL and an EXEC CICS START command?
A) The XCTL command transfer control to another application (having the same Transaction ID), while the START command initiates a new transaction ID (therefore a new task number). The XCTL continues task on the same terminal. START can initiate a task on another terminal.

Q) What are the differences between an EXEC CICS XCTL and an EXEC CICS LINK command?
A) The XCTL command transfer control to an application program at the same logical level (do not expect to control back), while the LINK command passes control to an application program at the next logical level and expects control back.

Q) What happens to resources supplied to a transaction when an XCTL command is executed?
A) With an XCTL, the working storage and the procedure division of the program issuing the XCTL are released. The I/O areas, the GETMAIN areas, and the chained Linkage Section areas (Commarea from a higher level) remain. All existing locks and queues also remain in effect. With a LINK, however, program storage is also saved, since the transaction expects to return and use it again.

Q) What CICS command do you need to obtain the user logon-id?
A) You must code EXEC CICS ASSIGN with the OPERID option.

Q) What is a resident program?
A) A program or map loaded into the CICS nucleus so that it is kept permanently in main storage and not deleted when CICS goes “Short On Storage”.

Q) What is EIB. How it can be used?
A) CICS automatically provides some system-related  information to  each  task  in  a  form  of  EXEC Interface Block (EIB), which is unique to the CICS command level. We can use  all  the fields  of EIB in  our application  programs  right  away.

Q) What does “Pseudo Conversational” mean?
A) The programming technique in which the task will not wait for the end-user replies on the terminal. Terminating the task every time the application needs a response from the user and specifying the next transaction to be started when the end user press any attention key (Enter, PF1 through PF24, PA1,PA2 and Clear) is pseudo-conversational processing.

Q) What is the function of the CICS translator?
A) The CICS translator converts the EXEC CICS commands into call statements for a specific programming language.
   There are CICS translators for Assembler, COBOL, and PL/1.

Q) How can you start a CICS transaction other than by keying the Transaction ID at the terminal?
A) By coding an EXEC CICS START in the application program
1. By coding the trans id and a trigger level on the DCT table
2. By coding the trans id in the EXEC CICS RETURN command
3. By associating an attention key with the Program Control Table
4. By embedding the TRANSID in the first four positions of a screen sent to the terminal.
5. By using the Program List Table

Q) What is the purpose of the Program List Table?
A) The Program List Table records the set of applications programs that will be executed automatically at CICS start-up time.

Q) What are the differences between and EXEC CICS XCTL and an EXEC CICS START command?
A) The XCTL command transfer control to another application (having the same Transaction ID), while the START command initiates a new transaction ID (therefore a new task number). The XCTL continues task on the same terminal. START can initiate a task on another terminal.

Q) What are the differences between an EXEC CICS XCTL and an EXEC CICS LINK command ?
A) The XCTL command transfer control to an application program at the same logical level (do not expect to control back), while the LINK command passes control to an application program at the next logical level and expects control back.

Q) What happens to resources supplied to a transaction when an XCTL command is executed?
A) With an XCTL, the working storage and the procedure division of the program issuing the XCTL are released. The I/O areas, the GETMAIN areas, and the chained Linkage Section areas (Commarea from a higher level) remain. All existing locks and queues also remain in effect. With a LINK, however, program storage is also saved, since the transaction expects to return and use it again.

Q) What CICS command do you need to obtain the user logon-id?
A) You must code EXEC CICS ASSIGN with the OPERID option.

Q) What is a resident program?
A) A program or map loaded into the CICS nucleus so that it is kept permanently in main storage and not deleted when CICS goes “Short On Storage”.

Q) What is EIB. How it can be used?
A) CICS automatically provides some system-related  information to  each  task  in  a  form  of  EXEC Interface Block (EIB), which is unique to the CICS command level. We can use  all  the fields  of EIB in  our application  programs  right  away.

Q) What is some of the information available in the EIB area?
A)
I. The cursor position in the map
II.Transaction ID
III.Terminal ID
IV. Task Number
V.  Length of  communication area
VI. Current date and time
VII.Attention identifier

Q) What information can be obtained from the EIBRCODE?
A) The EIBRCODE tells the application program if the last CICS command was executed successfully and, if not, why not.