GET COUNTER and GET DCOUNTER

Description

These counter commands obtain, from the named counter server, the current number from the named counter in the specified pool, and updates the current number by the default, or by a specified, increment. The default increment is 1.

You can use the COMPAREMAX and COMPAREMIN options to obtain a number only if it falls within a specified range, or is above or below a specified value.

For information about specifying fullword and doubleword variables on these named counter commands, see CICS command argument values.

Options

COMPAREMAX(data-value)

Specifies, as a fullword signed binary value (or doubleword unsigned binary value for DCOUNTER), a value to compare with the current value of the named counter, and makes the result of the GET command conditional on the comparison:

• If the current value to assign is less than, or equal to, the value specified on the COMPAREMAX parameter, the current value is returned, and the response is normal.
• If the current value is greater than the specified value, CICS returns an exception condition.

Normally, the COMPAREMAX value is greater than the COMPAREMIN value and the current value must satisfy both comparisons (that is, it must be between the two values or equal to one of them).

You can specify a COMPAREMAX value that is less than the COMPAREMIN value. In this situation, the current value is considered to be in range if it satisfies either the COMPAREMIN or the COMPAREMAX comparison.

COMPAREMIN(data-value)

Specifies, as a fullword signed binary value (or doubleword unsigned binary value for DCOUNTER), a value to compare with the current value of the named counter, and makes the result of the GET command conditional on the comparison:

• If the current value to assign is equal to, or greater than, the value specified on the COMPAREMIN parameter, the current value is returned, and the response is normal.
• If the current value is less than the specified value, CICS returns an exception condition.

Note: You can specify a COMPAREMIN value that is greater than the COMPAREMAX value. See the COMPAREMAX parameter for the effect of this.

COUNTER(name)

Specifies the 16-byte name of the fullword counter name field. The name can contain upper case letters, digits or underscore characters including the symbols $, #, and @, padded to 16 bytes with trailing spaces. Note that the name cannot start with a number or an underscore. It is recommended that the name should start with a systematic prefix unique to the application.  Any counters used by CICS itself use the prefix DFH. 

DCOUNTER(name)

Specifies the 16-byte name of the doubleword counter name field. The name can contain upper case letters, digits or underscore characters including the symbols $, #, and @, padded to 16 bytes with trailing spaces. Note that the name cannot start with a number or an underscore. It is recommended that the name should start with a systematic prefix unique to the application. Any counters used by CICS itself use the prefix DFH.

INCREMENT(data-value)

Specifies, as a fullword signed binary value (or doubleword unsigned binary value for DCOUNTER), an increment by which the named counter is to be updated, instead of the default value of 1. The counter is incremented after the current number has been assigned.

Specifying an increment to override the default increment of 1 enables the application program to obtain exclusive use of more than one number for each call. For example, to obtain exclusive use of a block of 20 numbers, specify INCREMENT(20).

See the description of the REDUCE and WRAP options for the effect of specifying an increment when the counter is at, or near, the maximum value.

NOSUSPEND

Specifies an immediate return to the application program during a coupling facility structure rebuild. If you omit the NOSUSPEND parameter, the request is retried until it is successful. If you specify NOSUSPEND, the request fails immediately, and CICS returns BUSY, RESP2=500.

POOL(poolname)

Specifies an 8-character string to use as a pool selection parameter to select the pool in which the named counter resides. The string can be a logical pool name, or the actual pool name.

Valid characters for the pool selector string are A through Z, 0 through 9, $ @ # and _ (underscore). If name is a variable that contains a name that is less than 8 characters, the name must be padded with trailing blanks.

This parameter is optional. If you omit the name of the pool, a pool selector value of 8 blanks is assumed.

If there is no matching entry in the DFHNCOPT options table, CICS uses the name specified on the NCPLDFT system initialization parameter, which specifies the default named counter pool.

For information about generating a named counter options table using the DFHNCO macro, see Named counter servers.

REDUCE

Specifies that you want the named counter server to reduce the specified increment if the range of numbers remaining to be assigned is too small.

The range of numbers is too small if the difference between the current value and the maximum value plus 1 is less then the specified increment, in which case:

• If you specify REDUCE, the INCREMENT parameter value is reduced and the GET request succeeds. In this case, the GET command has reserved a range of numbers less than that specified by the INCREMENT parameter, and the current value is updated to the maximum value plus 1.
• If you do not specify the REDUCE option, the result depends on whether you specify the WRAP option. If the REDUCE and WRAP options are both omitted, the request fails with the counter-at-limit error (SUPPRESSED, RESP2=101), but the current number is not changed. For example, if a request specifies an INCREMENT parameter value of 15 when the current number is 199 990 and the counter maximum number is defined as 199 999, the GET command fails because updating the counter by the specified increment would cause the current number to exceed 200 000.

VALUE(data-area)

Specifies the data area (fullword signed data-area for COUNTER, and doubleword unsigned data-area for DCOUNTER) into which CICS returns the current number, obtained from the named counter server for the specified pool.

WRAP

Specifies that you want the named counter server to rewind the named counter automatically if it is in a counter-at-limit condition, thus avoiding the error condition that would otherwise result.

If the named counter is in the counter-at-limit condition, or the increment specified without the REDUCE option would cause the counter-at-limit condition, the counter server acts as follows:

• It resets the current value of the named counter equal to the minimum value defined for the counter.
• It returns the new current value to the application program, with DFHRESP(NORMAL).
• It updates the current value by the required increment ready for the next request.

If you omit the WRAP option, and the counter-at-limit condition is reached, CICS returns SUPPRESSED, RESP2=101.

Conditions

128 BUSY

RESP2 values:

500

The NOSUSPEND option was specified on the command, and the coupling facility structure is not currently available during a rebuild.

Default action: terminate the task abnormally.

16 INVREQ

RESP2 values:

201

Named counter not found.

301

The server has reported an error code that is not understood by the named counter interface. Generally, this is not possible unless the interface load module, DFHNCIF, is at a lower maintenance or release level than the server itself.

303

An unexpected error, such as structure failure or loss of connectivity, has occurred on a macro used to access the coupling facility. Further information is in message DFHNC0441 in the application job log.

304

The pool selection parameter specified in the program cannot be resolved to a valid server name using the current options table.

305

The interface cannot establish a connection to the server for the selected named counter pool. Further information is in an AXM services message (AXMSCnnnn) in the application job log.

306

An abend occurred during server processing of a request. Further information is in a message in the application job log and the server job log.

308

The DFHNCOPT options table module, required to resolve a pool name, cannot be loaded.

309

During processing of the options table, the named counter interface encountered an unknown entry format. Either the options table is not correctly generated, or the DFHNCIF interface load module is not at the same release level as the options table.

310

An options table entry that matches the given pool name specified a user exit program, but the user exit program is not link-edited with the options table and cannot be loaded.

311

A response from the named counter server to the client region interface module, DFHNCIF, indicates that a system-managed rebuild is in progress but the EXEC CICS interface does not recognize the condition. This means that the CICS region is at CICS TS 2.1 or earlier.

403

The POOL parameter contains invalid characters or embedded spaces.

404

The COUNTER parameter contains invalid characters or embedded spaces.

406

The INCREMENT value is invalid. The value specified cannot be greater than the total range of the counter ((maximum value - minimum value) + 1).

Default action: terminate the task abnormally.

22 LENGERR

LENGERR occurs for COUNTER commands only and does not apply to DCOUNTER requests. It occurs when a counter that was defined by a DCOUNTER command or by the CALL interface has a value that is too large to be correctly represented as a fullword signed binary value (that is, the counter uses more than 31 bits).

In each of the three cases of overflow, the named counter server completes the operation, and returns a warning response to CICS, which CICS returns to your application program as the RESP2 value. The data area contains the low-order 32 bits returned from the named counter server, which could be a negative number.

RESP2 values:

001

The current value that the server has attempted to return in the VALUE data area has overflowed into the high-order (sign) bit (that is, the value returned is negative).

002

The current value is too large for a fullword data area by only 1 bit. In this case, the overflow value is exactly 1.

003

The current value is too large for a fullword data area by a value greater than 1.

Default action: terminate the task abnormally.

72 SUPPRESSED

RESP2 values:

101

The maximum value for the named counter has already been assigned and the counter is in the 'counter-at-limit' condition. No more counter numbers can be assigned until the named counter has been reset, either by a REWIND command, or by specifying the WRAP option on the GET command.

103

One of the following:

• The current value of the named counter is not within the range specified by the COMPAREMAX and COMPAREMIN parameters, when both are specified
• The current value of the named counter is greater than the COMPAREMAX parameter or less than the COMPAREMIN parameter, when only one option is specified.

Default action: terminate the task abnormally.