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Introduction to channels and containers

Channels and containers provide a method of transferring data between CICS® programs, in amounts that far exceed the 32KB limit that applies to communication areas (COMMAREAs).

Each container is a "named COMMAREA" that is not limited to 32KB. Containers are grouped together in sets called channels.

The channel/container model has several advantages over the communication areas (COMMAREAs) used by CICS programs to exchange data:
There are also implications when using channels and containers in preference to COMMAREAs:

For more information on using channels and containers within the JCA framework, see Using the ECI resource adapters with channels and containers.

For more information on using channels and containers with ECI calls, see Creating channels and containers for ECI calls.

For more information on channels and containers, see the CICS Transaction Server for z/OS® Channels learning path.

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