Data integrity considerations

The CICS BAC control file on the MVS system is the permanent storage location for all resource and default properties records that you use to control access to CICS resources through CICS BAC. Unlike the CICS BAC workstation administration client, the ISPF administration interface does not store object records in temporary files until you explicitly upload the object record back to the host. The ISPF administration interface has no process that is synonymous with the workstation administration client's upload and download process. Instead, when you select for display a particular object record, the record is read immediately from the target region control file. When you save a particular object record, it is immediately written to the target region VSAM KSDS control file.

The ISPF administration interface does not lock records on a CIC region control file when they are read by the interface. This means that, when you edit an object record and save it using the ISPF interface, you should be aware that the record could have been have changed since you originally read the object, possibly by another TSO user operating on the same CICS region control file. Also, there is no indication that an object you read from a control file has been previously downloaded from the control file to a workstation using the CICS BAC workstation administration client and still exists on the workstation. In this situation, a record updated using the ISPF administration interface could be overwritten by another changed version uploaded from the workstation.