Custom EP adapter

You can write a custom EP adapter if the CICS-supplied EP adapters do not meet your needs.

A custom EP adapter is a CICS program you write to format and route an event. A custom EP adapter might be needed when one of the CICS-supplied EP adapters does not fulfil your needs. A custom EP adapter should not carry out any other processing, such as consuming the event.

When a custom EP adapter is processing asynchronous events, it is started by attaching a transaction. The transaction must be a local transaction and is not eligible for static or dynamic routing. When a custom EP adapter is processing synchronous (assured) events, it is linked to as a user-replaceable program; it is started by program LINK and executes in CICS key regardless of the EXECKEY option specified in its program resource definition. The EXECKEY option is honored when a custom EP adapter is attached.

The custom EP adapter supports these emission and transactional modes:
Table 1. Custom EP adapter emission and transactional modes
Event processing adapter Emission mode Transactional mode Notes
SYNC ASYNC TRANS NONTRANS
Custom Each combination of adapter, emission mode, and transactional mode is possible depending on how you have configured your custom EP adapter. The custom EP adapter must conform to the recoverability requirements of the event. Consult the documentation for your custom EP adapter.

You specify business events and the CICS® EP adapters that they use by using the CICS event binding editor. For more information about adapter properties and supported formats, see Specifying EP adapter and dispatcher information.

CICS supports custom EP adapters written in the following languages:
  • COBOL
  • PL/I
  • C
  • C++
  • Assembler language.