CICS Month Trivia

It’s CICS month at Planet Mainframe! That means we’ll spend some time this month exploring the system that’s been the bedrock of enterprise transaction processing since the 1960s.

CICS grew out of the idea of Ben Riggens, an IBM systems engineer working at Virginia Electric Power Co., who saw the need for a better way to handle interactive applications. Since then, it has become a trusted platform for handling high-volume transaction workloads across industries like banking, insurance, and retail. Known for its stability and scalability, CICS integrates with modern APIs and web services, while continuing to leverage the robust IBM mainframe infrastructure. 

This quiz will help you test your general knowledge of CICS, its history, and its pivotal role in enterprise computing – while offering a chance to learn something new!

1. What does CICS stand for?

 
 
 
 

2. CICS is primarily used for which type of computing?

 
 
 
 

3. Which of these is a CICS region type?

 
 
 
 

4. CICS transactions typically involve which type of file access?

 
 
 
 

5. Which of the following tools is commonly used to monitor and manage CICS regions?

 
 
 
 

6. What does a CICS “transaction” typically represent?

 
 
 
 

7. Which of these is a typical security measure in CICS?

 
 
 
 

8. Which CICS command-level API is used to retrieve data from a file?

 
 
 
 

9. What is an “abend” in the context of CICS?

 
 
 
 

10. What is a “program control table” (PCT) entry used for in CICS?

 
 
 
 

11. What is the correct way to say CICS?

 
 
 
 
 

Sonja Soderlund is an Oregon-based B2B freelance writer. Whether writing about mainframe computers, educational technology, or sustainable retail, she strives to bring clarity to complex issues.

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