Space announcement This documentation space provides the same content as before, but the organization of the content has changed. The content is now organized based on logical branches instead of legacy book titles. We hope that the new structure will help you quickly find the content that you need.

Abend-AID for CICS Overview

Abend-AID for CICS provides dump navigation and diagnostic functions to help you identify the problems that cause CICS transaction abends and region outages. Some functions are always available; others are only available once a transaction or region dump is selected for analysis.

This space describes how to use Abend-AID for CICS to analyze CICS transaction and region dumps.

The information presented on the Abend-AID for CICS screens may vary for different releases of CICS Transaction Server (CTS) for z/OS. The illustrations in this space show the information presented for CTS version 5 release 6 unless otherwise noted. Some screens display the CTS release level. For version 5 release 6 these screens display 7.3.0.

Intended audience

This topic is intended for the following audience:

  • System programmers
  • Application programmers
  • Application managers
  • Technical support managers

A working knowledge of CICS is necessary to derive the most benefit from this documentation.

Notation rules

This space uses the following notation rules:

  • Bold highlighting is used for headings and for commands you are instructed to type in the COMMAND or OPTION fields. It is also used for referring to screen field names and field data and is used in examples of command syntax.
  • Italic highlighting is used for emphasizing important terms or phrases, for command variables, and for document titles.
  • Notes provide additional information about the current topic.

Related publications

User documentation is now provided in two online formats with Abend-AID for CICS: PDF and HTML. These formats are available on BMC Support.

Print complete documentation sets as needed from the PDF files supplied on the product documentation site.

The following documents comprise the documentation set that is supplied with Abend-AID:

  • Abend-AID Advanced Configuration Guide: Supplements the Abend-AID Installation and Configuration Guide , providing additional configuration instructions and information.

  • Abend-AID Installation and Configuration Guide: Provides instructions for installing and configuring Abend-AID, Abend-AID for CICS, and the Abend-AID Viewer. It includes information about setting up these products to fit the development and system configurations at your site.

  • Abend-AID Messages and Codes: Lists the informational and error messages and their explanations that you may encounter while using Abend-AID, Abend-AID for CICS or the Abend-AID Viewer. It also describes any recommended user response. These messages are also available for downloading from the FrontLine Web site to a Chicago-Soft, Ltd.’s MVS/QuickRef™ database.

  • Abend-AID Reference Summary: Provides a handy summary of the Abend-AID Viewer, Abend-AID for CICS, the Abend-AID Web Browser Interface, Abend-AID report sections, Abend-AID for CICS SNAP-AID, and Abend-AID DD statements.

  • Abend-AID Release Notes: Provides a summary of the enhancements for the current release and the supported environments.

  • Abend-AID User/Reference Guide: Provides guidelines and instructions for using Abend-AID basic language support, Extended Language Support (XLS), SNAP-AID, Abend-AID for Db2, Abend-AID for IMS, Abend-AID for IDMS, Abend-AID DD statements, and the Abend-AID Viewer.

  • Abend-AID for CICS User’s Guide: Describes the functions and features of Abend-AID for CICS. It also contains problem determination examples that illustrate the product’s use.

Online help

You can find online help information for most screens, fields, and commands by using the PF1 (HELP) key.

Online help is available for any Abend-AID for CICS screen, field, system message, or command.

Screen help

 Screen help explains the purpose of each screen. To display screen help, use either of the following methods:

  • Position the cursor off any data field or system message, and then press PF1. (PF1 is the default Help key.)
  • Type HELP in the COMMAND (or OPTION) field on any Abend-AID for CICS screen, including field-level help screens, and then press the Enter key. 

Field help

At a minimum, field help defines a field’s label; for example, “TCB is the task control block.” In many cases, field help also describes the purpose of the field and how to use the information it contains. To display field help, use either of the following methods:

  • Position the cursor on the field, and then press PF1.
  • Type HELP in the COMMAND field, move the cursor to the appropriate field, and then press the Enter key.

Message help

Abend-AID for CICS displays error, warning, and informational messages on the third line of each screen. To display help text that explains the meaning and significance of these messages, use one of the following methods:

  • Position the cursor on the message, and then press PF1.
  • Type HELP in the COMMAND (or OPTION) field, position the cursor on the message, and then press Enter.

  • Type MSGHELP messageid in the COMMAND (or OPTION) field, and then press Enter.To use this method, drop the first three characters and the last character of the message ID. For example, to display help text for message FDBSI0052E, type:

    MSGHELP SI0052

With the MSGHELP command, you can display the help text of any message — even messages not currently displayed.

Note

Depending on your site’s configuration and how you accessed a particular screen, the MSGHELP command may not be available for some messages.

Command help

Command help describes the function, syntax, and restrictions (if any) of primary and fast-path commands. If warranted, an example showing the use of the command is also provided.

  • In the COMMAND (or OPTION) field, type HELP followed by the name of the command. Then press the Enter key. For example, to display help text for the FIND command, type: HELP FIND
  • Type either CMDLIST or HELP COMMANDS in the COMMAND (or OPTION) field, and then press Enter to display the list of commands. Place the cursor on the desired command, and then press Enter.
  • Position the cursor on the line command or its descriptive text, and then press Enter.

To list the commands available from the currently displayed screen or field, use the ASSIST command or press PF24. (PF24 is the default ASSIST key.) For more information, see ASSIST. 

Notes

ASSIST is valid on only some screens at the screen level, but is available for all tab-selectable fields.

To display the current PF-key settings, type KEYS in the COMMAND (or OPTION) field, and then press Enter.

General features

Abend-AID for CICS has several features that enhance its analysis capabilities, including the following:

  • Tab-selectable fields that display control blocks in interpreted, hexadecimal, or DSECT format, or that display additional related information.
  • WHO, MATCH, and WHERE analysis commands for region dumps that enable you to determine the ownership of any piece of storage, the tasks having addressability to the storage, and the location and ownership of data that matches data having overlaid storage.
  • Extensive print capabilities that allow you to print individual screens, groups of screens, formatted DSECTs, and storage.
  • Screen attributes you can customize to change screen colors, to turn screen borders on or off, to turn reverse video on or off, and to show or hide line command and screen footer information.
  • A FIND command that is available on all scrollable screens, including storage displays.
  • A facility that allows you to define your own control blocks to the system, so that Abend-AID for CICS can display them in DSECT format.
  • A notepad facility that you can use to maintain notes (ISPF access only).
  • A REXX application program interface (API) that lets you process REXX EXECs against transaction and region dumps.

IBM documentation

You can find more information related to Abend-AID in the following IBM publications:

  • z/OS Language Environment Customization Guide: Discusses Language Environment for z/OS.
  • z/OS Initialization and Tuning Reference: Describes APF authorization and the use of (E)LPA.
  • z/OS MVS Programming: Authorized Assembler Services Guide: Describes APF authorization.

Online documentation

The Abend-AID for CICS Receive from Network (RFN) product installation package does not include the product documentation. Access the Abend-AID for CICS documentation from BMC Support in the following electronic formats:

  • Release Notes in HTML format
  • Product manuals in PDF format

The product documentation is available for viewing or downloading:

  • View PDF files with the free Adobe Reader, available at http://www.adobe.com.
  • View HTML files with any standard web browser.

BMC customer solutions

Visit BMC Support to find product documentation, knowledge articles, and other technical resources. You can open a case with the Customer Solutions team, order products, and much more.

Getting help

At BMC, we strive to make our products and documentation the best in the industry. Feedback from our customers helps us to maintain our quality standards.

If a problem arises while installing Abend-AID for CICS, consult the documentation or the Abend-AID for CICS technical representative at your site. If the problem persists, please obtain the following information before calling BMC Support. This information may be required to help determine the cause of the problem:

  • The Abend-AID for CICS release you are using. (To find the release level, enter the SERVINFO fast-path command on any Abend-AID for CICS screen. Position the cursor on the RELEASE field of the displayed screen and press Enter.)
  • The CICS release you are using.
  • The Db2 release you are using.
  • The error message, if any, that was displayed. Please note the entire message as some messages report specific information such as parameter values.
  • All Abend-AID for CICS output for the task you were trying to perform.
  • The MVS dump containing the Abend-AID for CICS failure.
  • A tape copy of the SVC, SLIP, or SYSMDUMP dump you were trying to import or view.
  • The CICS region JES job log.
  • The MVS SYSLOG for the involved time period.

  • Screen prints of the Dump Analysis Message Log that show the results of importing the region dump.

    Note

    To display the Dump Analysis Message Log, either select a region dump from the Directory with the G (Messages) line command, or type MLOG in the COMMAND (or OPTION) field on any Abend-AID for CICS screen and press Enter. For MLOG to function, however, you must first select a region dump from the Abend-AID Directory.

  • The contents of the viewing server, TDCAS, and CICS region JES output files.
  • Any relevant SMP/E output.
  • Any other relevant screen prints.


For the most current information regarding Abend-AID for CICS’s supported operating systems, programming languages, and databases, refer to the Abend-AID Installation and ConfigurationGuide. The latest version is available with the Abend-AID for CICS documentation set on BMC Support. For more information, see System-requirements.

 

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