There are three
levels of BMS support: minimum, standard, and full. Most installations use
full BMS. If yours does, you can use all the features we describe in this chapter and
not concern yourself with levels. If your installation uses minimum or standard
BMS, you should note the features that require levels beyond yours. They are
summarized here, and they are noted again whenever a facility that is not
in minimum BMS is covered.
Minimum BMS supports all
the basic functions for 3270 terminals, including everything described in
our example and in the discussion of simple mapped output and mapped input.
Note:
Minimum BMS has a substantially shorter path length than standard
or full BMS. It is included in the larger versions and invoked as a kind of "fast
path" on commands do not require function beyond what it provides. Specifically,
it is used for SEND MAP and SEND CONTROL commands without the ACCUM, PAGING,
SET, OUTPARTN, ACTPARTN, LDC, MSR, or REQID options, and for RECEIVE MAP commands,
when your principal facility is a 3270 display or printer whose definition
does not include outboard formatting. You can tell whether a particular BMS
request used the fast path by looking at the CICS® trace table. When fast path is used,
the trace table contains duplicate entries for the BMS entry and exit code.
Standard BMS adds:
- Support for terminals other than 3270s
- Text output commands
- Support for special hardware features: partitions, logical devices codes,
magnetic slot readers, outboard formatting, and so on
- Additional options on the SEND command: NLEOM and FMHPARM
Standard BMS supports these terminals:
- Sequential terminals (composed of card readers, line printers, tape or
disk)
- TCAM terminals (see Terminal access method support).
Note:
In CICS TS 3.1, local TCAM terminals are not supported. The only TCAM
terminals supported are remote terminals connected to a pre-CICS
TS 3.1 terminal-owning region by the DCB (not ACB) interface of TCAM.

- TWX Model 33/35
- 1050
- 2740-1 (no buffer receive), 2740-2, 2741
- 2770
- 2780
- 2980, models 1, 2 and 4
- 3270
- 3600 (3601) LU
- 3650 (3653 and 3270 host conversational LUs)
- 3650 interpreter LU
- 3767/3770 interactive LU
- 3770 batch LU
- 3780
- LU type 4
Full BMS is required for:
- Sending BMS output other than directly to your own terminal (the SET and
PAGING options, and BMS routing)
- Messages built cumulatively, with multiple BMS SEND commands (the ACCUM
and PAGING options)
Some CICS platforms do not support all the features of BMS. Table 37 shows
the approximate level of support in each, for general guidance. However, there
are differences among platforms even at the same level, usually imposed by
differences in execution environment. These are described in detail, by function,
in CICS Family: API Structure. If your application may eventually move to another
platform, or there is a chance that the end-user interface part of it may
get distributed to one, you should consult that manual.
Table 37. BMS support across IBM® platforms
Platform |
BMS support |
CICS OS/2 |
Minimum plus SEND TEXT of standard |
CICS/400 |
Minimum plus SEND TEXT of standard |
CICS/6000® |
Minimum plus SEND TEXT of standard |
CICS/VSE, CICS/DOS/VS |
Full |
CICS/ESA, CICS/MVS, CICS Transaction Server for OS/390®, CICS Transaction Server for z/OS® |
Full |
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