EIB
The EXEC Interface Block: a set of fields CICS fills in for every task, telling the program about the current transaction.
Also written EXEC Interface Block, DFHEIBLK, EIBAID, EIBTRNID, EIBRESP
The EIB, or EXEC Interface Block, is a block of information that CICS gives every program it runs. The program does not define it. CICS adds it automatically, and the fields can be used like any other data.
The fields tell the program about its situation. EIBTRNID is the transaction ID and EIBTRMID the terminal. EIBCALEN is the length of the COMMAREA passed in, where zero usually means a first entry. EIBAID says which key the user pressed, such as Enter, Clear or a PF key. EIBDATE and EIBTIME give the date and time the task started. EIBRESP holds the result of the most recent command.
EIBAID and EIBCALEN are the two most programs check first. Together they answer: is this the first time in, and if not, what did the user just do?
Some EIB fields change after each EXEC CICS command, so if a program needs a value later, it should copy it to its own storage first.
Where can I learn this hands-on?
Right here, at ZedBank. You take a junior job at a simulated bank and learn each part of the work by doing it, with Zed beside you. There's nothing to install.
Start at ZedBankRelated
- EXEC CICSThe way a program asks CICS to do something, such as read a record, send a screen or call another program.
- COMMAREAThe communication area: a block of data a CICS program passes to another program, or keeps for the next step of a conversation.
- Transaction IDA four-character code that tells CICS which program to run, typed on the screen or triggered by a key.
- PF keysThe function keys F1 to F24, which carry the main actions on a mainframe screen: help, exit, save, page up and down.
- CICS transactionOne unit of online work in CICS: the whole exchange of receiving a request, doing the work, and sending a response.