Prerequisites for triggering

Use this information to learn about the steps to take before using triggering.

Before your application can take advantage of triggering, complete the following steps:

Either:
1. Create an initiation queue for your application queue. For example:
```
   DEFINE QLOCAL (initiation.queue) REPLACE      +
          LIKE (SYSTEM.DEFAULT.INITIATION.QUEUE)      +
          DESCR ('initiation queue description')
```
  or
2. Determine the name of a local queue that exists and can be used by your application (typically, this name is SYSTEM.DEFAULT.INITIATION.QUEUE or, if you are starting channels with triggers, SYSTEM.CHANNEL.INITQ), and specify its name in the InitiationQName field of the application queue.
Associate the initiation queue with the application queue. A queue manager can own more than one initiation queue. You might want some of your application queues to be served by different programs, in which case, you can use one initiation queue for each serving program, although you do not have to. Here is an example of how to create an application queue:
```
   DEFINE QLOCAL (application.queue) REPLACE   +
   LIKE (SYSTEM.DEFAULT.LOCAL.QUEUE)           +
   DESCR ('appl queue description')    +
   INITQ ('initiation.queue')          +
   PROCESS ('process.name')            +
   TRIGGER                                     +
   TRIGTYPE (FIRST)
```
If you are triggering an application, create a process definition object to contain information relating to the application that is to serve your application queue. For example, to trigger-start a CICS® payroll transaction called PAYR:
```
   DEFINE PROCESS (process.name) +
          REPLACE +
          DESCR ('process description') +
          APPLICID ('PAYR') +
          APPLTYPE (CICS) +
          USERDATA ('Payroll data')
```
When the queue manager creates a trigger message, it copies information from the attributes of the process definition object into the trigger message.

Platform To create a process definition object

UNIX, Linux®, and Windows systems Use DEFINE PROCESS or use SYSTEM.DEFAULT.PROCESS and modify using ALTER PROCESS
Optional: Create a transmission queue definition and use blanks for the ProcessName attribute.
The TrigData attribute can contain the name of the channel to be triggered or it can be left blank. Except on IBM® WebSphere® MQ for z/OS®, if it is left blank, the channel initiator searches the channel definition files until it finds a channel that is associated with the named transmission queue. When the queue manager creates a trigger message, it copies information from the TrigData attribute of the transmission queue definition into the trigger message.
If you have created a process definition object to specify properties of the application that is to serve your application queue, associate the process object with your application queue by naming it in the ProcessName attribute of the queue.

Platform Use commands

UNIX, Linux, and Windows systems ALTER QLOCAL
Start instances of the trigger monitors that are to serve the initiation queues you have defined. See Initiation queue processing by trigger monitors for more information.

Platform	To create a process definition object
UNIX, Linux®, and Windows systems	Use DEFINE PROCESS or use SYSTEM.DEFAULT.PROCESS and modify using ALTER PROCESS

Platform	Use commands
UNIX, Linux, and Windows systems	ALTER QLOCAL

If you want to be aware of any undelivered trigger messages, make sure that your queue manager has a dead-letter (undelivered-message) queue defined. Specify the name of the queue in the DeadLetterQName queue manager field.

You can then set the trigger conditions that you require, using the attributes of the queue object that defines your application queue. For more information, see Controlling trigger events.