Recovery for files
A CICS® file is a logical view of a physical data set, defined to CICS in a file resource definition with an 8-character file name.
A CICS file is associated with a VSAM or BDAM
data set by one of the following:
- By dynamic allocation, where the data set name is predefined on the DSNAME parameter in the file definition (or set by a CEMT, or EXEC CICS, SET FILE DSNAME(name) command)
- By allocation by JES at job step initiation, where the data set name is defined on a DD statement
More than one file can refer to the same data set.
A data set is defined to be the physical object residing on DASD. It has a 44-character DSNAME. A VSAM data set, for example, is defined using VSAM access method services (AMS).
When designing your applications, ensure that application data is protected from transaction failures that could lead to data corruption, and that you can recover from accidental damage to storage devices.
When deciding on the access method, consider the recovery and restart facilities provided by each. These considerations are discussed in the following topics.