Artifacts that can be deployed in bundles

The artifacts that you can define and deploy in CICS® bundles include application and system events, Atom feeds, channel-based services, CICS policies, CICS programs, OSGi bundles, XML-based services, and transactions. Each of these artifacts is represented by one or more CICS resources and these resources are dynamically created as part of the bundle deployment.

The resource signature for dynamically created resources indicates that they were created during the bundle deployment, and contains the name of the BUNDLE resource.

When you create the definition for a LIBRARY, PACKAGESET, or PROGRAM resource in a CICS bundle, and deploy the CICS bundle as part of an application on a platform, the dynamically created LIBRARY, PACKAGESET, or PROGRAM resource is private to that version of that application. Private resources are not available to any other application or version installed on the platform, and they are not available to other tasks in the CICS region. The names of private resources therefore do not have to be unique in your installation. Applications that use the CICS resources that are supported as private resources, together with other resources such as policies and application entry points, are eligible for multi-versioning. For more information about private resources, see Private resources for application versions.

The following artifacts can be deployed using a CICS bundle:

Application event or system event

For CICS event processing, you can use CICS Explorer to define and deploy event bindings, capture specifications, and EP adapters in CICS bundles. When you install a BUNDLE resource for a business event, CICS dynamically creates suitable EVENTBINDING, CAPTURESPEC, and EPADAPTER resources in the CICS region. For instructions to define business events using the CICS event binding editor in CICS Explorer, and deploy them in CICS bundles, see Creating an event binding.

Atom feed

To serve an Atom feed from CICS, you can use CICS Explorer to create and deploy an Atom configuration file in a CICS bundle. When you install a BUNDLE resource for an Atom feed, CICS dynamically creates suitable ATOMSERVICE, XMLTRANSFORM, and URIMAP resources in the CICS region. For instructions to define Atom feeds using the Atom configuration wizard and the Atom configuration editor in CICS Explorer, and deploy them in CICS bundles, see Setting up CICS definitions for an Atom feed.

Channel-based service

Channel-based services are CICS applications that are described as components and assembled together using the Service Component Architecture (SCA) tooling in Rational® Developer for z System z®. The SCA tooling deploys the composite application to CICS as a CICS bundle. These services are available only to other CICS applications that use the INVOKE SERVICE API command and pass binary data in containers on a channel. For instructions to use Rational Developer for z Systems to create a channel-based service, see Creating a channel-based service.

File

You can create a definition for a FILE resource in a CICS bundle. 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

When you install a BUNDLE resource that contains a file definition, CICS dynamically creates the FILE resource in the CICS region. For instructions to create and edit file definitions in a CICS bundle using CICS Explorer, see Working with bundles in the CICS Explorer product documentation.

JSON transform

A JSON transform is used by an application with the linkable interface for transforming JSON. The JSON assistant uses a language structure or a JSON schema to generate the JSON binding, and also creates a bundle. When you install the BUNDLE resource, CICS dynamically creates an JSONTRANSFRM bundle part that defines where the JSON binding and schema are located.

JVM server

You can create a definition for a JVMSERVER resource in a CICS bundle. The JVM profile for the JVM server is packaged in the CICS bundle along with the resource definition, so that the JVM profile is available in any CICS region where you install the CICS bundle. You can create the JVM profile using sample templates for an OSGi JVM server, an Axis2 JVM server, or a Liberty JVM server, or import an existing JVM profile to the CICS bundle from elsewhere in the workspace or from the local file system. You can customize the JVM profile to fit your system’s requirements. When you install a BUNDLE resource that contains a JVM server definition, CICS dynamically creates the JVMSERVER resource in the CICS region. For instructions to create and edit JVM server definitions and JVM profiles in a CICS bundle using CICS Explorer, see Working with bundles in the CICS Explorer product documentation.

Library

You can create a definition for a LIBRARY resource in a CICS bundle. When you install a BUNDLE resource that contains a definition for a dynamic program LIBRARY concatenation, CICS dynamically creates the LIBRARY resource in the CICS region. For instructions to create and edit library definitions in a CICS bundle using CICS Explorer, see Working with bundles in the CICS Explorer product documentation.

OSGi bundle

Java™ applications that are packaged as OSGi bundles can be deployed in CICS bundles to run in a JVM server. When you install a BUNDLE resource that contains OSGi bundles and services, CICS dynamically creates the OSGIBUNDLE and OSGISERVICE resources that represent the OSGi bundles and services in the OSGi framework. CICS uses the resources to manage the life cycle of the OSGi bundles and OSGi services. For instructions to use the CICS Explorer Software Development Kit (SDK) to create CICS bundles that contains OSGi bundles, see Developing applications using the CICS Explorer SDK.

Package set

You can create a definition for a PACKAGESET resource in any CICS bundle that is deployed with a CICS platform, application, or application binding project. Use the PACKAGESET resource to define which DB2® collection to use to qualify any SQL requests made by application tasks running on a CICS platform.

When you install a BUNDLE resource that contains a PACKAGESET resource with a CICS application or application binding, it is private to the application. CICS defines that DB2 collection to be used by all the application tasks.

When you install a BUNDLE resource that contains a PACKAGSET resource with a CICS platform, CICS defines the DB2 collection that will be used by all application tasks that run on the platform where no specific DB2 collection is defined for the CICS application.

For instructions to create and edit DB2 Package Set definitions in a CICS bundle using the CICS Explorer, see Working with bundles in the CICS Explorer product documentation.

Pipeline

You can create a definition for a PIPELINE resource in a CICS bundle. The pipeline configuration file for the pipeline is packaged in the CICS bundle along with the resource definition. You can create the pipeline configuration file using one of the CICS-supplied sample configuration files for service providers and service requesters, or import an existing configuration file from the local file system. When you install a BUNDLE resource that contains a pipeline definition, CICS dynamically creates the PIPELINE resource in the CICS region. PIPELINE resources that are defined in CICS bundles can only be used with WEBSERVICE resources that are defined in CICS bundles or created dynamically by a pipeline scan. For instructions to create and edit pipeline definitions in a CICS bundle using CICS Explorer, see Working with bundles in the CICS Explorer product documentation.

Policy

You can use the CICS Explorer to define and deploy policies in a CICS bundle. Policies can be deployed to manage the behavior of user tasks within CICS regions. When you install a BUNDLE resource for a policy, CICS dynamically adds the policy rules to the set of rules used to manage user tasks in the CICS region. For instructions to create and edit policy definitions in a CICS bundle using CICS Explorer, see Working with bundles in the CICS Explorer product documentation

Program

You can create a definition for a PROGRAM resource in a CICS bundle for any high-level programming language. When you install a BUNDLE resource that contains a program definition, CICS dynamically creates the PROGRAM resource in the CICS region. For instructions to create and edit program definitions in a CICS bundle using CICS Explorer, see Working with bundles in the CICS Explorer product documentation.

TCP/IP service

You can create a definition for a TCPIPSERVICE resource in a CICS bundle. When you install a BUNDLE resource that contains a TCP/IP service definition, CICS dynamically creates the TCPIPSERVICE resource in the CICS region. For instructions to create and edit TCP/IP service definitions in a CICS bundle using CICS Explorer, see Working with bundles in the CICS Explorer product documentation.

Transaction

You can create a definition for a TRANSACTION resource in a CICS bundle. When you install a BUNDLE resource that contains a transaction definition, CICS dynamically creates the TRANSACTION resource in the CICS region. For instructions to create and edit transaction definitions in a CICS bundle using CICS Explorer, see Working with bundles in the CICS Explorer product documentation.

URI map

You can create a definition for a URIMAP resource in a CICS bundle. When you install a BUNDLE resource that contains a URI map definition, CICS dynamically creates the URIMAP resource in the CICS region. For instructions to create and edit URI map definitions in a CICS bundle using CICS Explorer, see Working with bundles in the CICS Explorer product documentation.

Web application

Web applications that are packaged as WAR files, an EBA file, or EAR files can be deployed in a CICS bundle to run in a Liberty JVM server. When you install a BUNDLE resource that contains a web application, CICS dynamically creates suitable Liberty application definitions in the installedApps.xml file. The Liberty JVM server uses these definitions to dynamically create the web application, and the lifecycle of the web application can be controlled using the BUNDLE resource. For instructions to use the CICS Explorer SDK to create CICS bundles that contain web applications, see Deploying applications to a JVM server.

Web service

You can create a definition for a WEBSERVICE resource in a CICS bundle. When you install a BUNDLE resource that contains a web service definition, CICS dynamically creates the WEBSERVICE resource in the CICS region. Along with the WEBSERVICE resource definition, you can import a web service binding file and a WSDL document or WSDL archive file to be packaged in the bundle. You can also generate URIMAP resources and alias transactions to support the web service. For a web service provider, you can optionally include a PROGRAM resource definition in the bundle. The definition for the PROGRAM resource can be edited using the resource editor in the CICS Explorer. For instructions to create and edit web service definitions in a CICS bundle using CICS Explorer, see Working with bundles in the CICS Explorer product documentation.

XML-based service

XML-based services are typically web service provider or requester applications that use XML to interface with other applications and use a binding to transform the data. XML-based services are available to CICS applications that use the INVOKE SERVICE API command or to business services that are on an external network. If you create a web service using the SCA tooling in Rational Developer for z Systems, you can deploy the web service as a CICS bundle. When you install a BUNDLE resource that contains a web service, CICS dynamically creates a number of resources, including URIMAP and WEBSERVICE resources. For instructions to use Rational Developer for z Systems to create an XML-based service, see Creating an XML-based service.

An XML-based service can also be an application that uses the TRANSFORM API commands to map application data to and from XML. The XML assistant uses a language structure or an XML schema to generate the XML binding, and can also create a bundle. When you install the BUNDLE resource, CICS dynamically creates an XMLTRANSFORM resource that defines where the XML binding and schema are located.

You can extend the list of supported resource types by using the callback interface in the resource lifecycle manager domain. With this interface, vendors can create new user resource types and manage them in BUNDLE resources.