Events that can cause dumps to be taken

The following are the events that can cause dumps to be taken, if the dumping environment allows dumping under the circumstances:

On most occasions when dumps are requested, CICS references a dump code that is specified either implicitly or explicitly to determine what action should be taken. Dump codes are held in two dump tables, the transaction dump table and the system dump table.

The ways that you can request dumps

You can issue an explicit request for a dump by using the CEMT transaction, by using an EXEC CICS command, or by using an exit programming interface (XPI) call.

You might use these methods of taking dumps if, for example, you had a task in a wait state, or you suspected that a task was looping. However, these methods are not useful for getting information following a transaction abend or a CICS system abend. This is because the evidence you need is almost certain to disappear before your request for the dump has been processed.

Specifying the areas you want written to a transaction dump

When you use the EXEC CICS DUMP TRANSACTION command to get a transaction dump, you can specify which areas of storage are to be dumped. You cannot specify in the dump table which areas are to be written to the transaction dump for particular transaction dump codes. You always get a complete transaction dump whenever a transaction abend occurs, if the dump code requires a transaction dump to be taken.

The occasions when CICS requests a dump

In general, CICS requests a dump when a transaction or CICS system abend occurs. The dumping environment determines whether or not a dump is actually taken. CICS does not take a transaction dump if a HANDLE ABEND is active at the current logical level 2 . The NODUMP option on an EXECS CICS ABEND command, an internal call, or the transaction definition, prevents the taking of a transaction dump.

The following are the occasions when CICS requests a dump:

Related Concepts
The dump code options you can specify
The global trap/trace exit

Related Tasks
Dealing with transaction abend codes
Dealing with CICS system abends
Formatting and interpreting dumps

Related References
The transaction dump table
The system dump table

2.
To make PL/I on units work, PL/I library routines can issue HANDLE ABEND. This is called an implicit HANDLE ABEND and causes the suppression of transaction dumps.

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