Names and identifiers

You can use a program to define a process. The program gives the process a name, known as its process name , which is used to reference the process from outside the BTS system.

This user-assigned name, which can be up to 36 characters long, must be unique within the process-type to which the process belongs.

Similarly, when an activity program defines a child activity, it gives the child a name (its activity name ), which it uses to reference the child. This user-assigned name, which can be up to 16 characters long, only needs to be unique within the set of child activities defined by the parent. For example, it is perfectly valid for several activities within the same process to each define a child called Invoice.

Note: A root activity always has the CICS® -assigned name DFHROOT.

Besides its name, each activity has a CICS-assigned activity identifier . An activity identifier, which is 52 characters long, is a means of uniquely referring to an activity-instance. It is guaranteed to be unique across the sysplex, and its lifetime is the same as the activity it refers to. Activity identifiers are frequently used as arguments on inquiry and browsing commands. Only its parent can refer to a child activity by name; other programs can access the activity with its identifier.