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CICS STARTBROWSE ACTIVITY - Activity Browse Initialization

CICS STARTBROWSE ACTIVITY provides activity browse initialization capabilities in CICS environments. It enables programs to initialize activity browse operations, manage activity browsing, and handle activity browse sessions in CICS applications.

What is CICS STARTBROWSE ACTIVITY?

CICS STARTBROWSE ACTIVITY is a command that allows programs to initialize activity browse operations, manage activity browsing, and handle activity browse sessions in CICS environments. It provides activity browse initialization capabilities, browse management, and session handling for CICS applications.

Command Syntax

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EXEC CICS STARTBROWSE ACTIVITY
    [REQID(request-id)]
    [ACTIVITYID(activity-id)]
    [RESP(response-code)]
END-EXEC

Parameters

Required Parameters

  • REQID - Request identifier for the browse operation

Optional Parameters

  • ACTIVITYID - Activity identifier to start browsing from
  • RESP - Response code variable

Activity Browse Initialization Types

Sequential Browse

Initialize sequential activity browsing

  • • FORWARD BROWSE - Initialize forward sequential browsing through activities
  • • BACKWARD BROWSE - Initialize backward sequential browsing through activities
  • • BIDIRECTIONAL BROWSE - Initialize bidirectional browsing through activities
  • • LINEAR BROWSE - Initialize linear browsing through activities in order

Conditional Browse

Initialize conditional activity browsing

  • • STATUS-BASED BROWSE - Initialize browsing based on activity status conditions
  • • TYPE-BASED BROWSE - Initialize browsing based on activity type conditions
  • • PRIORITY-BASED BROWSE - Initialize browsing based on activity priority conditions
  • • FILTERED BROWSE - Initialize browsing with specific filter conditions

Positioned Browse

Initialize positioned activity browsing

  • • START POSITION BROWSE - Initialize browsing from a specific starting position
  • • MIDDLE POSITION BROWSE - Initialize browsing from a middle position in the activity list
  • • END POSITION BROWSE - Initialize browsing from the end position
  • • CUSTOM POSITION BROWSE - Initialize browsing from a custom-defined position

Batch Browse

Initialize batch activity browsing

  • • BATCH BROWSE - Initialize browsing through multiple activities in batch
  • • GROUP BROWSE - Initialize browsing through related activity groups
  • • CATEGORY BROWSE - Initialize browsing through activity categories
  • • PATTERN BROWSE - Initialize browsing through activities matching patterns

Programming Examples

Basic Activity Browse Initialization

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       IDENTIFICATION DIVISION.
       PROGRAM-ID. STARTBROWSE01.
       DATA DIVISION.
       WORKING-STORAGE SECTION.
       01  REQUEST-ID      PIC X(8) VALUE 'REQ001'.
       01  ACTIVITY-ID     PIC X(8) VALUE 'ACT001'.
       01  RESPONSE-CODE   PIC S9(8) COMP.
       
       PROCEDURE DIVISION.
           EXEC CICS STARTBROWSE ACTIVITY
               REQID(REQUEST-ID)
               ACTIVITYID(ACTIVITY-ID)
               RESP(RESPONSE-CODE)
           END-EXEC
           
           IF RESPONSE-CODE = DFHRESP(NORMAL)
               DISPLAY 'Activity browse initialized successfully'
               DISPLAY 'Request ID: ' REQUEST-ID
               DISPLAY 'Starting Activity ID: ' ACTIVITY-ID
           ELSE
               DISPLAY 'Failed to initialize activity browse'
           END-IF
           
           EXEC CICS RETURN END-EXEC.

Conditional Activity Browse

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       IDENTIFICATION DIVISION.
       PROGRAM-ID. STARTBROWSE02.
       DATA DIVISION.
       WORKING-STORAGE SECTION.
       01  REQUEST-ID      PIC X(8) VALUE 'REQ002'.
       01  ACTIVITY-ID     PIC X(8) VALUE 'ACT002'.
       01  RESPONSE-CODE   PIC S9(8) COMP.
       01  BROWSE-TYPE     PIC X(10) VALUE 'CONDITIONAL'.
       
       PROCEDURE DIVISION.
           EXEC CICS STARTBROWSE ACTIVITY
               REQID(REQUEST-ID)
               ACTIVITYID(ACTIVITY-ID)
               RESP(RESPONSE-CODE)
           END-EXEC
           
           IF RESPONSE-CODE = DFHRESP(NORMAL)
               DISPLAY 'Conditional activity browse initialized'
               DISPLAY 'Request ID: ' REQUEST-ID
               DISPLAY 'Browse Type: ' BROWSE-TYPE
               
               PERFORM PROCESS-ACTIVITIES
               UNTIL RESPONSE-CODE NOT = DFHRESP(NORMAL)
           ELSE
               DISPLAY 'Failed to initialize conditional browse'
           END-IF
           
           EXEC CICS RETURN END-EXEC.
       
       PROCESS-ACTIVITIES.
           EXEC CICS GETNEXT ACTIVITY
               REQID(REQUEST-ID)
               ACTIVITYID(ACTIVITY-ID)
               RESP(RESPONSE-CODE)
           END-EXEC
           
           IF RESPONSE-CODE = DFHRESP(NORMAL)
               DISPLAY 'Processing Activity: ' ACTIVITY-ID
           END-IF.

Error Handling with Activity Browse

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       IDENTIFICATION DIVISION.
       PROGRAM-ID. STARTBROWSE03.
       DATA DIVISION.
       WORKING-STORAGE SECTION.
       01  REQUEST-ID      PIC X(8) VALUE 'REQ003'.
       01  ACTIVITY-ID     PIC X(8) VALUE 'ACT003'.
       01  RESPONSE-CODE   PIC S9(8) COMP.
       
       PROCEDURE DIVISION.
           EXEC CICS STARTBROWSE ACTIVITY
               REQID(REQUEST-ID)
               ACTIVITYID(ACTIVITY-ID)
               RESP(RESPONSE-CODE)
           END-EXEC
           
           EVALUATE RESPONSE-CODE
               WHEN DFHRESP(NORMAL)
                   DISPLAY 'Activity browse initialized successfully'
                   DISPLAY 'Request ID: ' REQUEST-ID
                   DISPLAY 'Starting Activity ID: ' ACTIVITY-ID
               WHEN DFHRESP(INVREQ)
                   DISPLAY 'Invalid browse request'
               WHEN DFHRESP(ACTIVITYERR)
                   DISPLAY 'Activity-specific error occurred'
               WHEN DFHRESP(BROWSEERR)
                   DISPLAY 'Browse-specific error occurred'
               WHEN DFHRESP(AUTHORITYERR)
                   DISPLAY 'Authorization error occurred'
               WHEN OTHER
                   DISPLAY 'Unexpected error occurred'
           END-EVALUATE
           
           EXEC CICS RETURN END-EXEC.

Activity Browse Management

Browse Session Management

  • • Session Initialization - Initialize browse sessions and establish browse context
  • • Session State Management - Manage browse session state and maintain session continuity
  • • Session Context Management - Manage browse session context and environment
  • • Session Lifecycle Management - Manage browse session lifecycle from initialization to termination

Activity Management

  • • Activity Data Management - Manage activity data during browse operations
  • • Activity State Management - Manage activity state during browse operations
  • • Activity Metadata Management - Manage activity metadata during browse operations
  • • Activity Access Management - Manage activity access during browse operations

Browse Control Management

  • • Browse Direction Control - Control browse direction and navigation patterns
  • • Browse Position Control - Control browse position and current location
  • • Browse Filter Control - Control browse filters and selection criteria
  • • Browse Scope Control - Control browse scope and range of activities

Error Management

  • • Error Detection - Detect errors during browse initialization
  • • Error Recovery - Recover from browse initialization errors
  • • Error Reporting - Report browse initialization errors
  • • Error Prevention - Prevent future browse initialization errors

Error Handling

Common Response Codes

  • DFHRESP(NORMAL) - Activity browse initialized successfully
  • DFHRESP(INVREQ) - Invalid browse request
  • DFHRESP(ACTIVITYERR) - Activity-specific error
  • DFHRESP(BROWSEERR) - Browse-specific error
  • DFHRESP(AUTHORITYERR) - Authorization error
  • DFHRESP(RESOURCEERR) - Resource error

Performance Considerations

Browse Efficiency

  • • Optimize browse initialization - Use appropriate initialization methods for different activity types
  • • Minimize browse overhead - Reduce the computational cost of browse initialization
  • • Use efficient browse patterns - Implement browse strategies that minimize resource usage
  • • Monitor browse performance - Track the performance impact of browse operations

Resource Impact

  • • Monitor resource usage - Track how browse operations consume system resources
  • • Optimize resource allocation - Ensure efficient allocation of resources for browsing
  • • Manage resource cleanup - Properly clean up resources after browse operations
  • • Track resource utilization - Monitor the overall resource consumption patterns

Best Practices

Activity Browse Initialization Best Practices

  • • Always check response codes
  • • Use appropriate browse parameters
  • • Implement proper error handling
  • • Ensure proper browse session management
  • • Validate browse operations
  • • Optimize browse operations
  • • Clean up resources properly

Explain It Like I'm 5 Years Old

Think of CICS STARTBROWSE ACTIVITY like starting to look through a list of workers:

  • • List Name: "Which list of workers to look through" - The request ID
  • • Start Looking: "Start looking through the list" - Initialize browse
  • • Pick Starting Point: "Pick where to start looking" - Set starting activity
  • • Ready to Look: "Ready to look through workers" - Browse initialized
  • • Keep Looking: "Keep looking at more workers" - Continue browsing

Exercises

Exercise 1: Basic Activity Browse

Create a program that initializes activity browsing using STARTBROWSE ACTIVITY.

Exercise 2: Conditional Activity Browse

Write a program that initializes conditional activity browsing with specific criteria.

Exercise 3: Error Handling

Implement comprehensive error handling for activity browse initialization failures.

Related Concepts

Activity Management

Managing system activities

Browse Operations

Managing browse operations

Activity Monitoring

Monitoring system activities

Activity Processing

Processing system activities

Error Handling

Managing browse errors