Developing Java applications for CICS

You can write Java™ application programs that use CICS® services and run under CICS control. Using the CICS Explorer® SDK or other Java IDEs, you can develop applications that use the JCICS class library to access CICS resources and interact with programs that are written in other languages. You can also connect to your Java programs by using various protocols and technologies, such as web services or z/OS® Connect Enterprise Edition.

CICS provides a JVM server runtime environment for Java application development. You can develop applications using the CICS Explorer SDK, Maven modules, or Gradle modules.

The CICS Explorer SDK installed in CICS Explorer SDK is an Eclipse-based tool that provides support for developing and deploying Java applications to CICS. It contains the JCICS class libraries to develop applications that access CICS resources and services; for example, you can access VSAM files, transient data queues, and temporary storage. You can also use JCICS to link to CICS applications that are written in other languages, such as COBOL, PL/I, and C.

The CICS Explorer SDK provides other features:

• You can configure a target environment to ensure that you use only the classes that are supported in a specific release of CICS. The SDK imports the correct libraries for your application development.
• You can package OSGi bundles, OSGi application projects (EBA files), web-enabled OSGi bundle projects (WAB files), and dynamic web projects (WAR files) in one or more CICS bundles for deployment. However, there is little benefit in packaging WAR files and OSGi bundles in the same CICS bundle, as the WAR files do not have access to the OSGi bundles. CICS provides a web container to run applications that include web components, such as servlets or JSP pages. The web container is built on the Liberty technology from WebSphere® Application Server.
• You can package CICS bundles into an application project for deployment on a platform.

The SDK includes a set of samples to help you get started if you are new to developing Java applications for CICS.

The artifacts for Java that are provided by CICS on Maven Central enable you to resolve Java dependencies easily and fast, by providing support for the JCICS library. You can declare the dependencies in a Maven or Gradle module using most Java IDEs, and develop the applications in the same way as you do for other platforms.