TERMINAL resources

A TERMINAL resource defines the characteristics of a terminal device which communicates with CICS®. Terminal devices include visual display units, printers, operating system consoles, and more specialized devices such as facsimile (FAX) machines.

The unique and possibly dynamic properties of terminals are defined in the TERMINAL definition in the CSD file.

However, many of your terminals have identical properties, and you do not need to define each of them separately and fully to CICS. There are two ways you can reduce the time and effort needed to define each terminal. They are:
  1. TYPETERM definitions, with or without the QUERY function. Each TERMINAL definition must refer to a TYPETERM definition that defines the properties that are common, often more complex, and usually static. Together, information from the TERMINAL and TYPETERM definitions makes up a terminal entry in the TCT (a TCTTE).

    One TYPETERM can represent a lot of the properties of many terminals. Some of these properties can be undefined at the time of creating the TYPETERM definition. These properties can be determined at logon time for each terminal, from the QUERY structured field.

    There are, however, still more properties that many terminals have in common, to the extent that their TERMINAL definitions would all be identical. CICS provides a facility that avoids the need for each terminal to have its own resource definition installed in the TCT the whole time CICS is active.

  2. Autoinstall, using one TERMINAL definition to represent many terminals. You can let CICS create and install the resource dynamically when the terminal is needed, at logon time. To do this, CICS uses a model TERMINAL definition from the CSD file. This process is known as automatic installation, or autoinstall.

    Autoinstall reduces the virtual storage required for the terminal control table (TCT) if some of your terminals are not logged on when CICS is active.

    If you are involved in planning for and managing CICS communications resources such as terminals, read Autoinstalling VTAM terminals for further information.