FILE resources

A FILE resource defines the physical and operational characteristics of a file.

The FILE definition includes attributes that provide information about record characteristics, the types of operations allowed on the file, recovery attributes, and the operations that are to be journaled. CICS files usually correspond to physical data sets that must have been defined to VSAM before they are used. Using CICS files, your applications can:

Access records in the data set directly
Access records in a data table that has been loaded from the data set
Access records in a coupling facility data table where there is no data set involved (because LOAD(NO) is specified on the CFDT file definition).

The following resources associated with CICS files can be managed using RDO:

VSAM files (this includes files that refer to CICS-maintained, user-maintained, and coupling facility data tables as well as files that refer to VSAM data sets)
Remote VSAM files
Remote BDAM files
VSAM local shared resource (LSR) pools, which are defined by LSRPOOL resource definitions

For the file to be used by an active CICS system, its definition must have been installed on to the system. CICS file control uses the installed definition to find the file when it needs to access it, to keep count of the number of tasks using the file, to capture processing statistics, and maintain other file control information.

FILE resources in CICS bundles

You can use a CICS® bundle to create, edit, and install a FILE resource definition. If you create a FILE resource in this way, you can use the CICS bundle to manage the lifecycle of that resource.

The following file types are supported for definition in CICS bundles:

VSAM files (including files that refer to CICS-maintained, user-maintained, and coupling facility data tables, as well as files that refer to VSAM data sets)
Remote VSAM files
Remote BDAM files

Start of change The initial status of a dynamically generated FILE resource is derived from the initial status of the bundle that defines the resource. As a result, it is not possible to define a FILE resource with a STATUS of UNENABLED to inhibit the implicit opening of files by applications. End of change

Start of change The PASSWORD attribute is not supported for dynamically generated FILE resources. End of change

You can inquire on a FILE resource that is dynamically generated by a CICS bundle, by using the EXEC CICS INQUIRE FILE or CEMT INQUIRE FILE command.

You cannot issue the DISCARD command against a FILE resource that is dynamically generated by a CICS bundle. You must discard the CICS bundle, and CICS applies the operation to the JVMSERVER resource.

To modify the attributes of a FILE resource that was defined and installed in a CICS bundle, use the resource editor in the CICS Explorer® to modify the definition in the CICS bundle, and install a new version of the CICS bundle or of the application with which it was deployed. You can use the SET FILE command to change the attributes of the dynamically generated resource, but these changes are not cataloged and are not recovered across a warm restart of CICS.

Start of change To change the status of a FILE resource that was defined and installed in a CICS bundle, change the status of the CICS bundle or the application with which it is deployed. If you are experiencing a problem with disabling a CICS bundle that defines a FILE resource, you may use the EXEC CICS SET FILE or CEMT SET FILE commands on the dynamically generated resource, if this action is required. Follow the troubleshooting procedure in Diagnosing application errors to diagnose the problem and take suitable action. End of change

For more information about defining resources in CICS bundles, see Defining CICS bundles.