What is cics cemt command?

Answer 1

CICS (Customer Information Control System) is an IBM product. It as what nowadays is known as an Application Server. It runs under control of many IBM operating systems (e.g. z/OS, z/VSE, etc.).

To run applications inside CICS you invoke them by using a "transaction ID"; this ID is a string of up to 4 characters. Say you have a payroll application and you have assigned PAYR as the transaction ID. Well, when you sit in front of your terminal and simply enter PAYR, your application will start running as designed.

So, under CICS several kinds of applications can work. Some are business oriented, but others are "system" oriented. In other words, CICS also provides transactions for its own administration and control. CEMT is one of them and probably the most important of those system oriented transactions.

By using CEMT you can change system settings, modify resources attached to the system, or even shutdown the CICS server. If you run it by simply entering

CEMT, the application will "converse" with you asking which of the many actions you need to perform.

CEMT can also be considered a "command" because you can add options when you enter the CEMT transaction. For example, the following "command" will allow you to OPEN the file identified by PAYRFILE:

> CEMT SET FILE(PAYRFILE) OPEN

CEMT is a very complex application with many options and the main user is the CICS administrator. For security reasons, CEMT is usually not allowed to be run by end users. More information can be found here: http://www.ibm.com/cics .