Create CICS API to provide access to the Unix System Services Filesystem (HFS/ZFS)

Due to processing by IBM, this request was reassigned to have the following updated attributes:
Brand - Servers and Systems Software
Product family - Transaction Processing
Product - CICS Transaction Server

For recording keeping, the previous attributes were:
Brand - WebSphere
Product family - Transaction Processing
Product - CICS Transaction Server

We have no plans to produce a CICS API for accessing zFS/HFS files. The Posix API can be used from a CICS transaction running on an open TCB.

Attachment (Description): CICS program to create a fully qualified zFS file named in container FileName and write contents of container FileContents.

Thankyou for the update.

A CICS program that uses UNIX/POSIX calls to write files to zFS from Assembler, COBOL, C/C++, or Java should not effect CICS integrity providing the program is defined as CONCURRENCY(THREADSAFE) API(OPENAPI) and therefore will run on its own TCB, and the file is closed once it is finished with. If an existing CICS program is not threadsafe, move the BPX calls to a new program and use LINK or START to call it from the existing program.

By way of example, I will attach a sample CICS program that writes the contents of a CICS container to the fully qualified zFS file named in another CICS container. The sample would need further work to handle error conditions, set appropriate file attribute bits, etc.

Yes, when we looking at things to try I thought Java would be able to probably do it but our Java knowledge here is next to nil. Until you pointed it out it didn't click that we could probably have written the HFS I/O routines in Java and just called them from COBOL. However, this entire process (in our case) is written in HLASM (the CICS Sysprog wrote it) and he wanted to only use standard CICS APIs (which there are none) to interface with the HFS. I don't know if calling Java from ASM is feasible or easy but I don't think I could have sold it. I did point out to him the BPX calls should work but he was concerned about CICS integrity. I don't know his code but its possible he may be doing something non-threadsafe which justified his concern of doing the BPX calls under the QR TCB. I just figured a pure CICS API implementation of HFS access would make it easier for any program to use - though I can see transactional integrity of file access would be a problem, which may be why it was never done.

Have you considered using a program defined as CONCURRENCY(THREADSAFE) API(OPENAPI) which means the program runs on its own open TCB meaning the use of "foreign apis" is not detrimental to the CICS system.

CICS programs defined as threadsafe and OPENAPI can read and write zFS files using the languages native APIs or UNIX/POSIX APIs, for COBOL see sample IGYTFL1 detailed in http://www-01.ibm.com/support/knowledgecenter/SS6SG3_5.1.0/com.ibm.cobol511.ent.doc/PGandLR/tasks/tpenv14.html?lang=en and the Java class java.io.FileInputStream. CICS programs accessing files using these APIs will need to manage data integrity, serialisation etc.

You should however note that use of the posix api is at the user's discretion and is not formally supported by the CICS service team.

See also this technote: http://www-01.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=swg21227671