Developing applications

Related resources

• Redbooks: Application development for CICS web services
• CICS API commands

You can develop applications in COBOL, Java™, C, C++, PL/I, and Assembler languages. CICS® provides application programming interfaces (APIs) so that applications can access CICS services and data in other products, such as VSAM and DB2®.

For a list of the CICS application programming interface commands, see CICS API commands.

• Writing CICS applications
  An introduction to CICS applications and to the procedures for creating programs that run in CICS.
• Programming languages and Language Environment
  Language Environment®, supplied as an element of z/OS®, provides a common set of runtime libraries. Language Environment allows you to use only one runtime environment for your applications, regardless of the programming language or system resource needs, because most system dependencies have been removed.
• Developing COBOL applications
  Use this information to help you code, translate, and compile COBOL programs that you want to use as CICS application programs.
• Developing C and C++ applications
  You can write C and C++ application programs that use CICS services and run under CICS control. To develop a C++ application, use the supplied class library instead of the EXEC CICS interface. CICS supplies a set of sample programs that demonstrate how to access CICS services from a program that is written in the C or C++ language.
• Developing PL/I applications
  Use this information to help you code, translate, and compile PL/I programs that you want to use as CICS application programs.
• Developing Assembler language applications
  Use this information to help you code assembler language programs that you want to use as CICS application programs.
• 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, 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 CICS Transaction Gateway.
• Application design
  Use these basic concepts to help you design CICS applications
• CICS services for application programs
  CICS provides a number of services that enable you to construct business-critical applications.
• Mapping and transforming application data and XML
  You can write application programs to transform application binary data into XML and vice versa. CICS supports a number of high-level languages and provides an XML assistant to map how the data is transformed during runtime processing. CICS uses the same technology for mapping application data to XML in SOAP messages, as part of the web services support.
• Creating a web service
  You can expose existing CICS applications as web services and create new CICS applications to act as web service providers or requesters.
• Creating business services from CICS applications
  Applications that are business services can participate in a service-oriented architecture (SOA). A business service is a service that is aligned with business processes and models rather than a technical implementation. You can expose existing and new CICS applications as part of a business service using the support provided in CICS.
• Packaging applications for deployment
  After you develop a CICS application, you can use the CICS Explorer or the CICS Explorer SDK to package it for deployment on a platform. Using these tools, you can define the application dependencies and the CICS resources that comprise the application.
• Creating an event binding
  The process of specifying business events has a natural workflow, from business manager to application analyst, application programmer, and IT architect. You use the CICS event binding editor to create an event binding that specifies the business events. The event binding specifies the events you want CICS to produce.
• Developing distributed applications
  You can develop an application that runs across multiple CICS regions and access resources in multiple regions. CICS provides a number of facilities for applications, including function shipping, distributed transaction processing, and transaction routing.
• Developing for external interfaces
  CICS allows you to develop applications to communicate with external data and resources, such as DB2, WebSphere® MQ, IMS™ DBCTL, data tables, client programs running in an Open Systems Distributed Computing Environment (DCE), and ONC RPC applications.
• Developing web applications
  You can develop an application that uses the CICS API to interact with clients or a server over HTTP. CICS also provides a business logic interface to link to an application instead of calling it through the CICS HTTP listener.
• Developing for recovery
  When you are planning aspects of recovery, you must consider your applications, system definitions, internal documentation, and test plans.
• Translation and compilation
  Some older compilers (and assemblers) cannot process CICS commands directly. An additional step is needed to convert your program into executable code. This step is called translation, and consists of converting CICS commands into the language in which the rest of the program is coded, so that the compiler (or assembler) can understand them.

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developing.html | Last updated: Thursday, 27 June 2019