In a recent virtual user group session I had the pleasure of hosting, we explored the intricate world of CICS COBOL transaction debugging with the help of Colin Pearce—an exceptionally experienced mainframe systems programmer whose career spans over three decades, much of it spent in financial institutions. Colin brought his deep expertise in z/OS and CICS to the session, delivering a rich and detailed presentation focused on understanding and resolving transaction issues in CICS COBOL programs.
This session was built to be hands-on and highly informative. Colin didn’t just scratch the surface—he took us deep into the practical realities of debugging in CICS environments. Through a guided lab, he walked participants step by step through critical debugging techniques, highlighting the importance of understanding components like the Program Status Word (PSW), register values, and their role in diagnosing problems.
One of the standout moments was his explanation of how to interpret transaction dumps and leverage elements such as Program Prolog Areas (PPAs) and the save area to understand program flow. He also demonstrated how to use register 14 to identify the last executed CICS command—a crucial skill for any debugger tracing the source of a problem.
What made Colin’s session especially valuable was not only his technical depth, but also his approachability. He broke down complex concepts with clarity and offered his contact information for anyone looking to dive deeper after the session. It was a true masterclass, accessible to both seasoned programmers and those newer to the field.
As always, these community sessions wouldn’t be possible without the organizations who believe in keeping mainframe knowledge flowing. We’re grateful to Broadcom and DataKinetics for their ongoing support and involvement in the user group.
If you work with mainframe systems—especially CICS and COBOL—this is one session you don’t want to miss. Colin’s guidance offers both foundational understanding and practical tools you can apply immediately. You can watch the full session now on Planet Mainframe. I hope it inspires you as much as it did me.
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