Thisdocumentation describes the CICS® system programming interface (SPI) commands. These commands are for managing the CICS system and its resources, in contrast to the application programming interface (API) commands, with which you implement end-user applications. The API is described in a companion manual to this one, the CICS Application Programming Reference manual. A third manual, the CICS Application Programming Guide, contains general information that applies to both groups of commands.
SPI commands either retrieve information about the system and its resources, or modify them. They fall into three broad categories:
Together, these commands provide you with a command-level equivalent to the function of the master terminal transaction (CEMT)1 and the trace control transaction (CETR), and as an alternative to the CEDA transaction for defining resources. This means that you can write transactions for administering the running CICS system. You could, for example, provide some functions of the master terminal command for a group of users without giving them authority to use CEMT.
System programming commands are supported in the same way as application programming commands. They can be used in programs written in any CICS-supported language, and they are recognized by the command interpreter (CECI), the execution diagnostic facility (EDF), and the CICS translator.
However, there are some differences between SPI and API commands:
There are also special considerations that apply to certain groups of commands. These notes begin in topic Inquiry commands.
You cannot use DPL to link to the CICS master terminal program, DFHEMTA. The addresses passed as parameters to DFHEMTA are valid only in the region that issues the EXEC CICS LINK command, which means you cannot route a DFHEMTA request to a remote CICS system. The same restriction also applies to the programmable interface to the RDO transaction, CEDA, invoked through program DFHEDAP.