READQ TS

The READQ TS command gets records back out of a temporary storage queue. You can fetch one exact record by its item number, or walk through the queue in order.

Syntax and options

• QUEUE or QNAME - the name of the TS queue that holds the data.
• INTO - the data area where CICS puts the record it reads.
• ITEM - the item number of the record to read, for random access. The item number can be a data name or a literal.
• NEXT - reads the next record in sequence instead of a numbered one.
• NUMITEMS - a field where CICS puts the number of records currently in the queue.

Reading randomly by item number

• Give the ITEM option with the item number, and CICS returns exactly that record.
• Random reads do not disturb the sequential position, so they are safe when other tasks use NEXT on the same queue.
• If the item number does not exist, CICS raises the ITEMERR condition.
• A scratch-pad pattern uses one item only: always read ITEM(1).

Reading sequentially with NEXT

• Omit ITEM and code NEXT to get the next record in sequence, starting from where the queue was last positioned.
• Reading a record does not remove it; the record stays in the queue and can be read again.
• The sequential position is shared across tasks, so any task can move it. If that matters, reserve the queue with ENQ.
• If the queue does not exist at all, CICS raises the QIDERR condition.

Example:-