XAbove/CICS - run 24 bit applications above the line
Running CICS Legacy 24-bit programs in 31-bit mode!
If you have CICS command level programs that currently run below the line in your CICS environment then you need Xabove/CICS.
Xabove/CICS allows CICS Cobol,Assembler and PL/1 command level programs to reside and execute above the 16MB line in CICS/MVS,CICS/ESA, CICS/TS and CICS/VSE environments. Xabove/CICS will also allocate and manage working storage and getmained storage above the line for these programs.
Xabove/CICS is easy to use and it does not require source programs to be changed or recompiled. Just tell Xabove/CICS which programs to handle and it will do the rest. Xabove/CICS is activated during CICS startup and it ensures that the selected CICS programs are loaded above the 16MB line and execute properly there.
Xabove/CICS is simple to install and implement. You just load the product library onto your system, add CICS entries for the product programs, transactions and dataset and away you go! A VSAM dataset must be built that contains the names of the CICS programs to be handled by Xabove/CICS. An Xabove/CICS transaction lets you modify this VSAM dataset online so you can add programs to be loaded above the line dynamically! Xabove/CICS contains a system inquiry transaction that shows how many programs are being handled by Xabove/CICS as well as detailed information on each program running above the line.
Xabove/CICS alsoy allows working storage and EXEC CICS GETMAIN storage to reside above the line. You may implement this feature for specific programs or for a set of programs.
No more short on storage
XAbove/CICS makes short-on-storage - SOS - conditions a thing of the past. With almost no effort on your part, all your 24 bit applications have become 31 bit applications without needing to be re-compiled: you don't even need to have the source code.
Retire applications without any rush
If you have applications you want to retire, XAbove will help you do that. It will let you run old applications under newer versions of CICS and reduce the maintenance effort needed to keep twilight applications running.
Automatic installation & tailoring
The Xabove CICS program scan utility automates the process of determining which user programs can be handled by Xabove. This utility will actually load and analyze the CICS user programs on your system and produce a report, detailing the types of programs analyzed and the programs that are eiligible to be handled by Xabove. A report total page will detail the total programs found by language type, the total amount of storage above the line these programs will require, and additional statistics on programs analyzed that cannot be handled by Xabove.
The scan utility also produces the XABOVEF dataset which contains the control statements that tell Xabove what programs to load above the line. This facility completely automates the task of determining which CICS programs are to be handled by Xabove and creating the XABOVEF dataset with the appropriate control statements required for loading this dataset.
Input to the Xabove CICS program scan utility can come from either the CICS System Definition file (DFHCSD) or the CICS processing program table (DFHPPTxx).