CICS Technology Update

CICS Transaction Server for z/OS

CICS Transaction Server has been enhanced with new web services capabilities including support for the new standards, interoperability profiles, and increased capability for sending large amounts of binary data efficiently.

CICS applications can be extended to SOA and also support the SSL security protocol. In addition to performance and system management updates, the CICSPlex System Manager Web User Interface has been extended.

SYS-ED's workshops explain and demonstrate:

• How to reuse applications and deploy web services into CICS using a wide range of programming languages and XML data types and attributes, with improvements to performance and diagnostics.
• Enhancements for traditional VSAM-based applications.
• Changes to the API: programming interface(s).
• Modifications to CICS which support open standards.
• Support for WSDL: Web Services Description Language and interoperation with other SOA tools and environments.
• Web services support for the SOAP MTOM: Message Transmission Optimization Mechanism and XOP: XML Optimized Packaging; binary objects can be included as attachments instead of embedded in the stream itself.
• Support for WS-Trust specification in WS-Security through the use of a STS: Security Token Service.
• Improved performance for DPLs: distributed program links over TCP/IP.
• Traditional CICS applications can utilize thread-safe file and journal commands.
• Use of shared data tables that can be larger than 2GB through the use of multiple data spaces up to the limit of 100 per CICS.
• Extended ESDS: entry sequenced datasets.
• Utilizes 64-bit storage for data held in containers, providing for improved scalability and performance.