CICS Realtime (Scenario based) Interview Questions (31 - 40)
31. If DATAONLY option is specified in the SEND MAP command what will happen?
The DATAONLY option sends only the data, not the map format, reducing overhead when the screen layout doesn't need to change.
32. What is the difference between a physical BMS mapset and a logical BMS mapset?
EIB (Execute Interface Block) is a CICS-provided control block that supplies critical runtime information to an application program. Key Uses of EIB:
- EIBTRNID: Current Transaction ID (e.g., 'INQ1').
- EIBTRMID: Terminal ID of the user.
- EIBRESP: Response code after CICS commands (e.g., DFHRESP(NORMAL)).
- EIBRCODE: Additional error details.
- EIBCALEN: Length of COMMAREA (if passed between programs).
- EIBFN: Internal CICS function code (for debugging).
33. What does it mean when EIBCALEN is equal to zeros?
When EIBCALEN = 0, it means no data was passed in the COMMAREA to the program.
34. The DFHCOMMAREA is used to pass information from one application to another. What are some other ways that this function can be accomplished?
Besides DFHCOMMAREA, CICS programs can pass data using:
- Temporary Storage Queues (TSQ) – WRITEQ TS / READQ TS for persistent or temporary data.
- Transient Data Queues (TDQ) – Intra/Extra-partition queues via WRITEQ TD / READQ TD.
- Shared Storage (GETMAIN/FREEMAIN) – Allocate shared memory with EXEC CICS GETMAIN.
- File/DB Access – VSAM, DB2, or other databases as intermediate storage.
- Channel/Container (CICS TS 3.1+) – Modern alternative: EXEC CICS PUT CONTAINER / GET CONTAINER.
35. How do you access storage outside your CICS program?
You can access storage outside your CICS program using the EXEC CICS ADDRESS command.
36. Before issuing an ASKTIME command what will be the values in the EIBDATE and EIBTIME fields if the EIB?
Before issuing an ASKTIME command, EIBDATE contains the date when the task started and EIBTIME contains the time when the task started.
37. What will be the length of the eibcalen, if the transaction is used to cics first time?
When a transaction is used for the first time (initial execution) in CICS, the EIBCALEN (Communication Area Length) field in the EIB will be zero (0) because no COMMAREA has been passed to the program yet.
38. How many conditions can you include in a single HANDLE CONDITION command?
In a single HANDLE CONDITION command in CICS, you can include up to 12 condition names to handle multiple exceptions.
39. What is the difference between EXEC CICS HANDLE CONDTION and an EXEC CICS IGNORE command?
| Command | Purpose | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| HANDLE CONDITION | Defines custom error-handling routines for specific CICS conditions (e.g., NOTFND, ERROR) | Redirects control to a labeled paragraph if the specified condition occurs |
| IGNORE CONDITION | Disables (ignores) a previously defined HANDLE CONDITION for a specific condition | Restores default CICS behavior (abend/return) for that condition |
40. When a task suspends all the handle conditions via the PUSH command, how does the task reactivate all the handle conditions?
To reactivate handle conditions after a PUSH HANDLE command, use the POP HANDLE command. This restores the previous HANDLE CONDITION, HANDLE AID, and HANDLE ABEND settings that were saved during the PUSH.