For both explicit- and implicit-mode clients the logic flow is essentially the same:

The client initiates the request for a specific IMS™ MPP server by communicating with MVS™ TCP/IP, which passes the request on to the IMS Listener. The Listener schedules the transaction and the client then exchanges application data with the server. When the transaction is complete, the connection is closed; each client request for an IMS transaction requires a new TCP/IP connection.

The following topics provide more details about the programming requirements for explicit-mode and implicit-mode clients, respectively.