The LINK with Channel invoke type causes the specified nonterminal application to be invoked by means of a CICS LINK command with the Channel option, as in the command line EXEC CICS LINK PROGRAM('payr') CHANNEL(payroll).
Channels and containers provide an easy and flexible mechanism for exchanging large volumes of structured parameter data between CICS programs
A channel is a uniquely named reference to a collection of application parameter data held in containers (see the definition of container in the next paragraph). Like a COMMAREA, a channel is used to transfer information between two programs within a transaction or to transfer information between two transactions from the same terminal. However, unlike a COMMAREA, a channel is not limited to a maximum size of 32KB.
A container is a named reference to a CICS-managed storage area that can hold any form of application data. A container may be any size and can hold data in any format that the application requires.
The CICS EXEC API command associates a named channel with a collection of one or more containers. This is an easy way of grouping parameter data structures that can be passed to a called application.
Compare the capabilities the LINK with Channel invoke type with those of the LINK with COMMAREA invoke type (see Generation properties of the LINK with COMMAREA invoke type).
For more information about these generation properties see the CICS Service Flow Runtime User's Guide (see Supported runtime environments for each project type).
| NAME | DESCRIPTION | VALUE RANGE | DEFAULT VALUE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Invoke Type | Type of node used in the COBOL-based flow |
|
LINK with Channel |
| Activity Name | Name of the activity performed by the node. Note: When the runtime code is generated for the CICS Service Flow Runtime environment,
the runtime code generator uses the information in this node to create
a CICS Business Transaction
Services (BTS) activity. The name that you specify here is used as
the name of the new BTS activity.
|
String value: 1-32 characters | Node ID |
| Comment | Optional text associated with the node | N/A | N/A |
| Adapter name | The CICS Service Flow Runtime uses this name to uniquely identify the Link with Channel invocation. | String value: 1-8 characters | A prefix of AD followed by the first 6 characters of the Invoke name. |
| Adapter Transaction ID | The CICS TransID for the COBOL program that implements the LINK with Channel command. | String value: 1-4 characters | CMAS You can override the default transaction ID by typing another transaction ID into this field. An error message is displayed if the input field is blank or if the transaction ID begins with C and is something other than CMAS. (Transaction IDs beginning with C are reserved by CICS). |
| Link To Program Name | Server side program to which a LINK with Channel invocation links. | String value: 1-8 characters. Cannot be blank. | LINK with Channel invoke program name |
| System ID | Name of the CICS system where your user transactions (target CICS application transactions) are running | String | Blank |
| Link To Transaction ID | Server side Transaction ID parameter (TRANSID) to specify on the LINK with Channel command | N/A | Blank |
| Syncpoint On Return | Select to include the SYNCONRETURN parameter (indicating if the server region named in Sysid is to take a syncpoint on successful completion of the program) on the LINK command. | N/A | Not selected |
| Channel Name | The name of the channel being passed on the LINK command. | String value: 1-16 characters | Blank |
| Application Input Containers | Use this list to specify the input structures
that you want to pass on the LINK command. Each output structure in
the list will be treated as a container. Container name: The name of the container. You must specify a value here. Message: A data structure within the container. You cannot edit this field. |
The following container names are restricted:
|
N/A |
| Application Output Containers | Use this list to specify the output structures
that you want to pass on the LINK command. Each output structure in
the list will be treated as a container. Container name: The name of the container. You must specify a value here. Message: A data structure within the container. You cannot edit this field. Optional: (a) A value of true signifies that the invoked application need not return the container. (b) A value of false signifies that the invoked application must return the container. |
The following container names are restricted:
|
N/A |