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CICS MONITOR - Monitor

CICS MONITOR provides monitor management capabilities, enabling monitor processing and output processing in CICS environments. It provides efficient monitor capabilities for CICS applications.

What is CICS MONITOR?

CICS MONITOR provides monitor management capabilities, enabling monitor processing and output processing. It provides efficient monitor capabilities, allowing applications to manage monitor operations.

Command Syntax

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EXEC CICS MONITOR
    [RESP(response-code)]
    [RESP2(response-code-2)]
END-EXEC.

Parameters Explained

RESP Parameters

Response codes returned by the command:

  • RESP: Primary response code - indicates the success or failure of the monitor operation
  • RESP2: Secondary response code - provides additional error information when RESP indicates failure
  • Always check these codes for command success before proceeding with data processing
  • Handle command failures appropriately to prevent application errors

Monitor Types

1. Basic Monitors

  • Basic monitors: Standard monitor operations that handle simple monitoring without special formatting
  • Mapped monitors: Monitor operations that use predefined field mappings to structure monitor data
  • Unmapped monitors: Raw monitor operations that handle unstructured monitoring without predefined field mappings
  • Custom monitors: Specialized monitor operations designed for specific application requirements

2. Advanced Monitors

  • Advanced monitors: Complex monitor operations that handle sophisticated monitoring processing and validation
  • Secure monitors: Monitor operations that include encryption and security features for sensitive monitoring
  • Encrypted monitors: Monitor operations that automatically encrypt monitor data
  • Compressed monitors: Monitor operations that handle compressed monitoring streams and automatically compress monitor data

3. Specialized Monitors

  • Specialized monitors: Monitor operations tailored for specific protocols or communication methods
  • High-performance monitors: Optimized monitor operations designed for maximum throughput and efficiency
  • Low-latency monitors: Monitor operations optimized for minimal delay and real-time processing requirements
  • High-throughput monitors: Monitor operations designed to handle large volumes of monitoring efficiently

Implementation Example

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WORKING-STORAGE SECTION.
01 WS-RESPONSE            PIC S9(8) COMP.
01 WS-RESPONSE2           PIC S9(8) COMP.
 
PROCEDURE DIVISION.
    * Monitor operation
    EXEC CICS MONITOR
        RESP(WS-RESPONSE)
        RESP2(WS-RESPONSE2)
    END-EXEC.
    
    IF WS-RESPONSE NOT EQUAL DFHRESP(NORMAL)
        EXEC CICS WRITE OPERATOR
            TEXT('MONITOR command failed')
        END-EXEC
        EXEC CICS RETURN END-EXEC
    END-IF.
    
    * Monitor operation completed successfully
    * Continue processing

Monitor Processing

1. Monitor Preparation

Monitor preparation includes:

  • Monitor validation - ensuring the monitor operation is properly configured and authorized
  • Monitor formatting - preparing data structures and buffers for monitor data
  • Monitor encoding - setting up proper character encoding and data transformation
  • Monitor processing - initializing the monitor operation and preparing for monitoring

2. Monitor Transmission

Monitor transmission includes:

  • Monitor routing - directing monitor data to the appropriate processing location
  • Monitor delivery - ensuring monitor data reaches the correct destination within the application
  • Transmission confirmation - verifying that monitor was completed successfully
  • Error handling - managing transmission failures and implementing retry mechanisms

3. Output Management

Output management includes:

  • User management - handling user sessions and maintaining connection state
  • Output formatting - structuring monitor data for presentation or further processing
  • User experience - ensuring smooth data flow and responsive application behavior
  • Performance optimization - maximizing monitor efficiency and minimizing resource usage

Common Response Codes

Success Response Codes

  • NORMAL (0): Monitor operation completed successfully - monitoring was completed without errors
  • MONITOR (4): Monitor operation completed - operation completed with monitor-specific status

Error Response Codes

  • INVREQ (16): Invalid request - the monitor operation parameters are incorrect or unauthorized
  • NOTFND (20): Resource not found - the specified monitor resource does not exist
  • LENGERR (22): Length error - the monitor data length exceeds expected limits
  • MONITOR (24): Monitor error - a monitor-specific error occurred during the operation

Best Practices

1. Monitor Preparation

  • Prepare monitor appropriately - ensure all necessary resources and configurations are in place
  • Validate monitor content - verify that monitor data meets expected format and quality standards
  • Handle different monitor types - implement flexible processing to accommodate various monitoring formats
  • Ensure monitor integrity - maintain data consistency and prevent corruption during monitoring

2. Error Handling

  • Check all response codes - always examine both RESP and RESP2 for complete error information
  • Handle monitor failures - implement appropriate recovery mechanisms for failed monitor operations
  • Implement retry logic - provide automatic retry capabilities for transient failures
  • Log error conditions - maintain detailed logs for troubleshooting and monitoring purposes

3. Performance Optimization

  • Minimize monitor operations - reduce unnecessary monitor calls to improve overall performance
  • Use efficient monitor formats - choose appropriate data formats to minimize processing overhead
  • Optimize user updates - streamline user interface updates to reduce response time
  • Manage user resources - efficiently allocate and manage system resources for monitor operations

Explain It Like I'm 5 Years Old

Imagine you're watching a movie:

When you watch a movie, you look at the screen and see what's happening. If you watch the whole movie, you see everything. If you don't watch the whole movie, you miss some parts.

CICS MONITOR is like watching a movie. The computer program looks at the data and sees what's happening. If it looks at all the data, it sees everything. If it doesn't look at all the data, it misses some parts.

Just like you watch movies, the computer program watches data!

Exercises

Exercise 1: Monitor Operation

Write a CICS MONITOR command to perform a monitor operation.

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EXEC CICS MONITOR
    RESP(WS-RESPONSE)
    RESP2(WS-RESPONSE2)
END-EXEC.

Exercise 2: Monitor Processing

How would you implement comprehensive monitor processing that handles different monitor types and requirements?

Answer: Identify different monitor types and appropriate handling, implement monitor validation and encoding, handle different monitor types and capabilities, implement proper error handling for monitor failures, optimize monitor operations for performance, and maintain monitor integrity throughout the process.

Quiz

Question 1

What is the primary purpose of CICS MONITOR?

Answer: B) To provide monitor management capabilities

Question 2

Which parameter specifies the response code?

Answer: A) RESP

Related Concepts

CICS Monitor Processing

Monitor processing and output in CICS

CICS User Management

User management and user interaction in CICS

CICS Output Processing

Output processing and monitor display in CICS