Extending and customizing the CICS Configuration Manager server

You can extend and customize CICSĀ® Configuration Manager server processing by attaching your own CICS programs to the following user exit points:

Resource attribute update
This exit point occurs before CICS Configuration Manager updates the attributes of a resource definition, including creating or deleting a resource definition. This occurs while processing the following API commands: Alter, Copy, Create, Delete, Migrate, Rename, and Update.

You can write user exit programs to perform the following tasks:

  • Allow or disallow the API command
  • Except for Delete and Rename: allow the API command, while overriding some of the resource attribute values

You can use this exit point to enforce site standards upon resource definition names and attributes. For example, when a user edits and then attempts to save a resource definition, your user exit program can check the resource definition name and attributes, and then disallow the update, or allow the update as requested, or allow the update with some attribute values updated to match site standards.

Change package pre- and post-processing
These exit points occur before and after processing a change package API command: Install, Newcopy, Ready, Approve, Disapprove, Unready, Migrate, Import, and Backout.

You can use these exit points to augment change package workflow. For example:

  • Notify users of planned or completed change package activity
  • Log information regarding completed activity
  • Trigger an event to an external change management system
  • Security-check a user's authority to perform the designated function
  • Obtain a proceed-or-terminate decision from an external change management product
  • Overrule change package processing checks
  • Automatically update change package Ready or Approve states

For the change package pre-processing exit point, you can write user exit programs to disallow or allow the API command.

If a change package API command updates resource attributes, then the command triggers the following exits:

  1. A change package pre-processing exit
  2. One resource attribute update exit per updated resource definition
  3. A change package post-processing exit

You can write user exit programs in any language supported by CICS.

For additional information on these exit points, view the online help for the CICS Configuration Manager ISPF dialog interface: go to option 1.6 Exit Points, and then press the Help key (F1).

The following figure shows the user exit points, their names, and where they occur in a typical change package workflow.

Figure 1. User exit points