CICS syntax notation
The syntax for each command is presented in the form of a diagram. The diagram tells you what you can put between the EXEC CICS that begins a command and the terminator that ends it. It summarizes what you can do with the particular command, and indicates relationships between different options and, sometimes, different values of an option.
The diagrams and some of the examples omit the initial EXEC CICS and the language-dependent terminator, even though you must use them in your code. The diagrams also omit options that you can use in any command:
- NOHANDLE
- RESP
- RESP2
- SYSEIB
These have the same meaning in SPI commands as in API commands. (See RESP and NOHANDLE options for basic information about these options, and Exception conditions for additional SPI details.)
You read the diagram by following the arrows from left to right, using these conventions:
| Symbol | Action |
|---|---|
| A set of alternatives - one of which you must code. | |
| A set of alternatives - one of which you must code. You can code more than one of them, in any sequence. | |
| A set of alternatives - one of which you might code. | |
| A set of alternatives - any number, including none, of which you might code once, in any sequence. | |
| Alternatives where A is the default. | |
| Use with the named section in place of its name. | |
| Punctuation and uppercase characters | Code exactly as shown. |
| Lowercase characters | Code your own text, as appropriate; for example, name. |
Below is an example. It indicates that INQUIRE STORAGE requires you to specify either the ADDRESS option or the NUMELEMENTS option (but not both). If, and only if, you choose ADDRESS, you can specify ELEMENT, FLENGTH, both, or neither. If you choose NUMELEMENTS, you can specify DSANAME, ELEMENTLIST, LENGTHLIST, or TASK in any combination (including none).
Conditions: NOTAUTH, TASKIDERR
A list of the exception conditions that can occur on the command appears at the bottom of the diagram. In this case, the possibilities are the NOTAUTH and TASKIDERR conditions.