EXEC CICS Statements

EXEC CICS statements are the commands your COBOL program uses to ask CICS for services: terminal I/O, file I/O, program control and more. This page explains their format and the options you will use most.

Format of an EXEC CICS statement

• Every statement starts with EXEC CICS and ends with END-EXEC.
• Between them comes the command name (for example, SEND TEXT, READ, LINK) followed by its options.
• Options are written as keyword(value), for example LENGTH(15) or FILE('EMPFILE').
• Code EXEC CICS statements in the Procedure Division, starting in Area B (columns 12 to 72).
• A statement can continue over several lines. The period at the end closes the COBOL sentence, not the CICS command.
• The translator checks every EXEC CICS statement for correct syntax before the compiler runs.

How options work

• FROM(data-name) sends data out; INTO(data-name) brings data in; SET(pointer) returns an address.
• LENGTH must match the size of the data you are sending or receiving.
• RESP(data-name) captures the response code so you can check whether the command worked.
• Always check RESP after file and terminal commands instead of assuming success.

Common EXEC CICS commands you will see

• SEND TEXT / RECEIVE - simple terminal input and output (basic mapping support).
• SEND MAP / RECEIVE MAP - formatted screen I/O using BMS maps (covered in Module 5).
• READ / WRITE / REWRITE / DELETE - VSAM file access under CICS.
• LINK / XCTL / RETURN - pass control between programs.
• HANDLE CONDITION - tell CICS what to do when an error condition occurs.

Example: reading a file with response checking

• The program below reads one record from EMPFILE and checks the response code.
• DFHRESP(NORMAL) is a condition name the translator provides; you do not need to define it yourself.