The CICS bridge

The WebSphere MQ-CICS bridge is the component of WebSphere MQ for z/OS that allows direct access from WebSphere MQ applications to applications on your CICS system. In bridge applications there are no WebSphere MQ calls within the CICS application (the bridge enables implicit MQI support). This means that we can re-engineer legacy applications that were controlled by 3270-connected terminals to be controlled by WebSphere MQ messages, without having to rewrite, recompile, or re-link them.

WebSphere MQ applications use the CICS header (the MQCIH structure) in the message data to ensure that the applications can execute as they did when driven by nonprogrammable terminals.

The bridge enables an application that is not running in a CICS environment to run a program or transaction on CICS and get a response back. This non-CICS application can be run from any environment that has access to a WebSphere MQ network that encompasses WebSphere MQ for z/OS.

A program is a CICS program that can be invoked using the EXEC CICS LINK command. It must conform to the DPL subset of the CICS API, that is, it must not use CICS terminal or syncpoint facilities.

A transaction is a CICS transaction designed to run on a 3270 terminal. This transaction can use BMS or TC commands. It can be conversational or part of a pseudoconversation. It is permitted to issue syncpoints. For information about the transactions that can be run, see the CICS External Interfaces Guide.