Using the system console

Console support makes it possible for a terminal to be both an operating system console and a CICS® main terminal. If multiple console support (MCS) is in use, you can define each console to CICS as a separate terminal, and all consoles can communicate with CICS simultaneously.

You can use any operating system console as a CICS terminal, if it has been specified on the CONSOLE keyword of the CEDA DEFINE TYPETERM command. If this has not been done, you get the following message when you try to use the console, and your input is ignored.
DFHAC2015 This console has not been defined to CICS.

All consoles that have been defined as CICS terminals can use automatic transaction initiation (ATI), and can receive messages from other terminals and consoles, as well as from CICS transactions.

In a system that has consoles and SNA LUs, a console can remain active when CICS and the z/OS® Communications Server are disconnected from each other. You can use the console to make or break the CICS-z/OS Communications Server connection without CICS being terminated.

Use the MODIFY and REPLY commands to start the CICS-supplied transactions from an operating system console.

In addition to the MODIFY and REPLY commands, the system programmer should consider use of the CONTROL, DISPLAY, START, and VARY commands when preparing console operator procedures. For information on these commands and other system details, see z/OS MVS System Commands.

Rules for console entry

Commands typed at a console are translated to uppercase, except for characters enclosed within single quotation marks (' '), which remain unchanged. The occurrence of a literal single quotation mark must be indicated by a pair of single quotation marks (''), as in the following example.

Example:

'Please phone Mr O''Neill'

If UCTRAN=YES has been specified in the terminal definition, all lowercase characters, even those enclosed within single quotation marks, are translated to uppercase.

Starting a transaction by using the MODIFY command

You start a CICS transaction from a console by using the MODIFY command or its abbreviation F, as follows: 
MODIFY ident,datastring

F ident,datastring
ident can be any of the following:
  • The name of the job used to start CICS, when it is started by a job stream.
  • The name of the procedure used to start CICS, when it is started by a z/OS START command, for example: 
    START procedure_name
    where “procedure_name” is the ident value.
  • The task identifier that was used to qualify the procedure name, for example: 
    START procedure_name.taskid
    where “taskid” is the ident value. This is likely to be used where the same procedure is started more than once.

datastring is a string of data, starting with a CICS transaction identifier.

For example, to start transaction CEBT on the CICSA system from the console, type the following command: 
MODIFY CICSA,CEBT PERFORM TAKEOVER

You can type more than one MODIFY command at a console; each is processed in order of entry.

A CICS transaction can issue terminal control READ, WRITE, or CONVERSE commands to communicate with a console operator. WRITE and CONVERSE transmit application program messages, but READ produces a prompt, incorporating message DFH4200A, as follows:

@nn DFH4200A jjjjjjjj tttt

where:
  • nn is the number (generated by the operating system) that you must use in your reply to the prompt. Messages from a transaction that uses CONVERSE commands also contain this number.
  • jjjjjjjj is the job name of CICS in the operating system.
  • tttt is the transaction identifier of the CICS transaction that has issued the READ command.

Responding to prompts (REPLY command)

You (the console operator) must respond to each prompt by using the REPLY command, which you can type at either the prompted console or the main console: 
R[EPLY] nn,datastring

where nn is the number of the prompt to which you are replying, and datastring is your reply.

If a transaction is purged while it is awaiting a reply from the operator, the reply is canceled.

You should note that messages to the console can become interspersed with messages from the operating system and from other regions, making them difficult to read. In extreme cases, parts of lengthy messages can ‘scroll off' the console screen before they have been read.

Example of a conversation using CONVERSE

modify job002,serv  1
 
@17 FAULT TYPE?   2
 
r 17,elec   3
 
MESSAGE HAS BEEN SENT

1 MODIFY command specifying that transaction “serv” is to be started; this transaction sends messages to service groups supporting the installation.

2 The transaction response produced by a CONVERSE command and relayed by the operating system.

3 Your reply that the fault is an electrical one.

Example of a conversation using WRITE/READ

modify job002,usid   1
 
USER SIGNON ID=?   2
 
@25 DFH4200A JOB002 USID  3
 
r 25,accts1   4
 
USER'S NAME: J. SMITH   5
USER'S TEL. NO.: 88999   6

1 MODIFY command specifying that transaction “usid” is to be started. This transaction provides information about the user identified by “usid”.

2 Application-program message produced by a WRITE command.

3 System message produced by a READ command.

4 Your reply.

5 Transaction message, produced by a WRITE command, giving the requested information. No reply is needed.

6 Another transaction message, produced by a WRITE command, giving more requested information. Again, no reply is needed.