Templates in CICS files, temporary storage, or transient data
Consider using one of these resources when you want to use dynamic data from an application program in a document template.
- How the application program stores its data.
- Whether the existing data can be used directly in the template, or needs to be modified.
- Whether the data must be preserved after it is used in the template.
In general, when a template is inserted into a document, all the data contained in the resource is used.
Document templates stored in these resources have the attributes FILE, TSQUEUE, and TDQUEUE, in their DOCTEMPLATE resource definitions.
If you are using a DOCTEMPLATE defined with the attribute TSQUEUE or TDQUEUE, two bytes (a carriage return and line feed) are added to the end of the DOCTEMPLATE buffer.
- Temporary storage
- The queue is read, in sequence, by ITEM number, and therefore all records in the queue are read, regardless of which records have been read by other applications.
- Transient data
Extrapartition transient data queues are suitable for use as document templates. All records in the queue are read.
Intrapartition transient data queues are not suitable for use as document templates. Because transient data uses a destructive read, when you insert data from a transient data queue into a template, the contents of the queue are no longer available to other applications.
- CICS file
-
- Entry-sequenced data sets (ESDS) are read in sequence of relative byte address.
- Relative record data sets (RRDS) are read in sequence of relative record number.
- Other data sets are read in sequence of key field.
Templates stored in any of these formats are cached by CICS. You can use the SET DOCTEMPLATE NEWCOPY command to delete the copy of the document template which is currently cached, and replace it with a copy read from the location where the document template is stored.