CONVERSE (3270 logical)

Description

CONVERSE communicates on a 3270 logical unit.

Options

ASIS

This option indicates that output is to be sent in transparent mode (with no recognition of control characters and accepting any of the 256 possible combinations of eight bits as valid transmittable data).

Note: If you are using a Katakana terminal, you might see some messages that contain mixed English and Katakana characters. That is because Katakana terminals cannot display mixed-case output. Uppercase characters in the data stream appear as uppercase English characters, but lowercase characters appear as Katakana characters. If this happens, ask your system programmer to specify MSGCASE=UPPER in the system initialization parameters so that messages contain uppercase characters only. This note applies to any command that is used to receive Katakana characters, not just to CONVERSE commands.

CTLCHAR(data-value)

This option specifies a 1-byte write control character (WCC) that controls the CONVERSE command. A COBOL user must specify a data area containing this character.

If the option is omitted, all modified data tags are reset to zero, and the keyboard is restored.

DEFRESP

This option indicates that a definite response is required when the output operation is completed.

ERASE

This option specifies that the screen printer buffer or partition is to be erased and the cursor returned to the upper left corner of the screen. (This option applies only to the 3270, or 8775, and to the 3604 Keyboard Display).

The first output operation in any transaction, or in a series of pseudoconversational transactions, must always specify ERASE. For transactions attached to 3270 screens or printers, unless explicitly overridden by the DEFAULT or ALTERNATE option, this also ensures that the correct screen size is selected, as defined for the transaction by the SCRNSIZE option in the RDO PROFILE definition.

FROM(data-area)

This option specifies the data to be written to the terminal or logical unit, or sent to the partner transaction. This option can, when relevant, be omitted if ATTACHID is specified.

FROMFLENGTH(data-value)

This option is a fullword alternative to FROMLENGTH.

FROMLENGTH(data-value)

This option specifies the length, as a halfword binary value, of the data. For a description of a safe upper limit, see LENGTH options in CICS commands.

INTO(data-area)

This option specifies the receiving field for the data read from the terminal or logical unit, or the application target data area into which data is to be received from the application program that is connected to the other end of the current conversation.

MAXFLENGTH(data-value)

This option is a fullword alternative to MAXLENGTH.

MAXLENGTH(data-value)

This option specifies the maximum amount (halfword binary value) of data that CICS® is to recover in response to a CONVERSE (default) command. If INTO is specified, MAXLENGTH overrides the use of TOLENGTH as an input to CICS. If SET is specified, MAXLENGTH provides a way for the program to limit the amount of data it receives at one time.

If the value specified is less than zero, zero is assumed.

If the length of data exceeds the value that is specified and the NOTRUNCATE option is not present, the data is truncated to that value and the LENGERR condition occurs. The data area that is specified in the TOLENGTH option is set to the original length of data.

If the length of data exceeds the value that is specified and the NOTRUNCATE option is present, CICS retains the remaining data and uses it to satisfy subsequent RECEIVE commands. The data area that is specified in the TOLENGTH option is set to the length of data returned.

If no argument is coded for MAXLENGTH, CICS defaults to TOLENGTH.

NOTRUNCATE

This option specifies that, when the data available exceeds the length that is requested, the remaining data is not to be discarded but is to be retained for retrieval by subsequent RECEIVE commands.

SET(ptr-ref)

This option specifies the pointer reference to be set to the address of the data read from the terminal. pointer reference, unless changed by other commands or statements, is valid until the next CONVERSE (default) command or the end of task.

If DATALOCATION(ANY) is associated with the application program, the address of the data can be above or below the 16 MB line.

If DATALOCATION(BELOW) is associated with the application program, and the data resides above the 16 MB line, the data is copied below the 16 MB line, and the address of this copy is returned.

If TASKDATAKEY(USER) is specified for the running task, and storage protection is active, the data that is returned is in a user-key. If TASKDATAKEY(CICS) is specified and storage protection is active, the data that is returned is in a CICS-key.

STRFIELD

This option specifies that the data area FROM option contains structured fields. If this option is specified, the contents of all structured fields must be handled by the application program. The CONVERSE command must be used if the data area thein that is specified contains a read partition structured field. (Structured fields are described in the IBM 3270 Data Stream Programmers Reference).

CTLCHAR and ERASE are mutually exclusive with STRFIELD, and their use with STRFIELD generates an error message.

TOFLENGTH(data-area)

This option is a fullword alternative to TOLENGTH.

TOLENGTH(data-area)

This option specifies the length (halfword binary value) of the data to be received. If you specify INTO, but omit MAXLENGTH, “data-area” specifies the maximum length that the program accepts. If the value is less than zero, zero is assumed.

If the length of the data exceeds the value that is specified, but NOTRUNCATE is omitted, the data is truncated to that value, and the LENGERR condition occurs. When the data is received, the data area is set to the length of the data.

For a description of a safe upper limit, see LENGTH options in CICS commands.

Conditions

16 INVREQ

RESP2 values:

200

A distributed program link server application specified the function shipping session (its principal facility).

This condition also occurs (RESP2 not set) in any of the following situations:

• The command is used on a conversation that is in use by CPI Communications, or that is an APPC basic conversation. In the latter case, the application issues a GDS SEND INVITE followed by a GDS RECEIVE.

Default action: terminate the task abnormally.

22 LENGERR

This condition occurs in any of the following situations:

• Data that is received is discarded by CICS because its length exceeds the maximum that the program accepts (see TOLENGTH and MAXLENGTH options), and the NOTRUNCATE option is not specified.
• An out-of-range value is supplied in one of the options, FROMLENGTH, FROMFLENGTH, MAXLENGTH, MAXFLENGTH, TOLENGTH, or TOFLENGTH.

Default action: terminate the task abnormally.

81 TERMERR

This condition occurs for a terminal or session-related error. Any action on that conversation other than a FREE causes an ATCV abend.

A CANCEL TASK request by a user node error program (NEP) can cause this condition if the task has an outstanding terminal control request active when the node abnormal condition program handles the session error.

Default action: terminate the task abnormally with abend code ATNI.