Installing International Components for Unicode for Software AG on z/OS

This document describes the steps for installing International Components for Unicode for Software AG (ICS) on z/OS which allows Natural to convert code pages and support Unicode.

International Components for Unicode for Software AG (ICS) requires the use of an ICS module and an ICU data library. In addition, you can use ICU data items to load ICU components that are not contained in the ICU data library. The ICS module does not have to be linked to the Natural nucleus if neither code page conversion nor Unicode support are required.

The use of ICU functionality increases the required Natural thread size.

Note:
For increased flexibility, it is also possible to load the ICS module during initialization of the Natural session. A dynamically loaded ICS module overrides the statically linked ICS module. You can also load an ICU data library during initialization of the Natural session. A dynamically loaded ICU data library overrides any statically linked ICU data library.

The ICS module, the ICU data libraries and the ICU data items are explained in Enabling Unicode and Code Page Support in the Unicode and Code Page Support documentation.

Notation vrs or vr:

When used in this document, the notation vrs or vr represents the relevant product version (see also Version in the Glossary).

Prerequisites

See General Prerequisites and System Support in the section Overview of the Installation Process.

Installation Medium

The ICS module, the ICU data libraries and the ICU data items are contained on the ICSvrs.LOAD and ICSvrs.SRCE data sets supplied on the installation medium for base Natural.

Installation Procedure

Be sure to read Installation Process and Major Natural Features before you start the installation procedure.

Step 1: Link the ICS Module

  1. Add the following INCLUDE statement to the link instructions for the environment-independent nucleus: 

     INCLUDE ICSLIB(SAGICU)

    For support of IBM architecture level 9, instead of SAGICU, you can use the alternative ICS module SAGICUA9:

    Note:
    The ICU data library ICSDT58J is contained in the ICS module SAGICU (or SAGICUA9 respectively) and available by default.

  2. Link the ICS module to the environment-independent nucleus as described in Link the Nucleus in Installing Natural.

Step 2: Link an ICU Data Library

Data libraries provided by Software AG are not supported with ICS 311. They will still be supported as part of the ICS Transition Version 222 .

ICS 311 uses the entirety of ICU localization data as described in Step. 5.

This step is only required if you want to use another data library in addition to ICSDT58J.

  1. Add one of the following INCLUDE statements to the link instructions for the environment-independent nucleus depending on the ICU data library to be used: 

     INCLUDE ICSLIB(ICSDT58E)

    Or:

     INCLUDE ICSLIB(ICSDT58X)

  2. Link the ICU data library to the environment-independent nucleus as described in Link the Nucleus in Installing Natural.

    If you link the ICSDT58X data library, link the environment-independent nucleus into a PDSE instead of a PDS to avoid IBM error IEW2641S.

Step 3: Load the ICS Module at Session Start

    • In batch mode, under TSO and in all IMS TM environments:

      Add to the STEPLIB concatenation of your execution JCL.

  2. At the start of a Natural session, set the Natural profile parameter RCA as follows: 

    RCA=SAGICU

    RCA is described in the Parameter Reference documentation.

    The ICS module SAGICU is described in the Unicode and Code Page Support documentation.

    Instead of the ICS module SAGICU, you can also load the ICS module SAGICUA9. In addition to SAGICU, this module supports IBM architecture level 9: see alternative ICS modules in the Unicode and Code Page Support documentation.

    If you want to load SAGICUA9, use the following parameter setting: 

    RCA=SAGICU RCALIAS=(SAGICU,SAGICUA9)

    The Natural profile parameter RCALIAS is described in the Parameter Reference documentation.

Step 4: Load an ICU Data Library at Session Start

Data libraries provided by Software AG are not supported with ICS 311. They will still be supported as part of the ICS Transition Version 222 .

ICS 311 uses the entirety of ICU localization data as described in Step. 5.

    • In batch mode, under TSO and in all IMS TM environments:

      Add to the STEPLIB concatenation of your execution JCL.

  2. At the start of a Natural session, set the Natural profile parameters RCA and CFICU for the ICU data library to be used:

    For ICSDT58E: 

    RCA=ICSDT58E  CFICU=(DATFILE=ICSDT58E)

    For ICSDT58X: 

    RCA=ICSDT58X  CFICU=(DATFILE=ICSDT58X)

    RCA and CFICU are described in the Parameter Reference documentation.

Step 5: Load ICU Data Items on Request in a Session

This step depends on the ICS version.

For ICS Transition Version 222

This step is optional and only required if you want to dynamically load an ICU data item on request during a Natural session instead of an entire ICU data library. For more information, see the Unicode and Code Page Support documentation.

  1. Make sure that the ICS load library from the ICSvrs.LOAD data set is available to the execution JCL of your Natural or TP monitor interface. Depending on your environment, perform one of the following options:

    • In batch mode, under TSO and in all IMS TM environments:

      Add >ICSvrs.LOAD to the STEPLIB concatenation of your execution JCL.

    • Under CICS:

      Add ICSvrs.LOAD to the DFHRPL concatenation of your CICS execution JCL.

    • Under Com-plete:

      Add ICSvrs.LOAD to the COMPLIB concatenation of your Com-plete execution JCL.

  2. Depending on your TP environment and the setting of the Natural CFICU profile parameter, perform one of the following options:

    • Under CICS, with CFICU=(DATITEM=NONE) set:

      Add one PPT entry for each ICU data item.

      See also the corresponding step in Installing Natural CICS Interface.

    • Under Com-plete, with CFICU=(DATITEM=NONE) set:

      Add THREAD-ESQA-SIZE=15K as a keyword parameter to the startup options for your Com-plete.

For ICS 311

  1. You can specify the name of the dataset containing the ICU data items from ICSvrs.LOAD dynamically at the start of the session using the CFICU STEPLIB parameter .

    • See section Data Scope and Data Handling in Unicode and Code Page Support

    • Add the load library containing the data items to the execution JCL of your Natural or TP monitor interface as described in Step 2.

  2. You can also statically add the load library containing the data items from the ICSvrs.LOAD data set to the execution JCL of your Natural or TP monitor interface.

    • In batch mode, under TSO and in all IMS TM environments:

      Add ICSvrs.LOAD to the STEPLIB concatenation of your execution JCL.

    • Under CICS:

      Add ICSvrs.LOAD to the DFHRPL concatenation of your CICS execution JCL.

    • Under Com-plete:

      Add ICSvrs.LOAD to the COMPLIB concatenation of your Com-plete execution JCL.

    ICS uses both allocation methods to search for data items, starting (if given) from the CFICU STEPLIB dataset and the statically specified Natural Steplibs in the JCL.

Installation Verification

After the last step of the installation procedure has been completed, proceed as follows:

  1. Configure and activate your Unicode and code page environment by following the instructions in Configuration and Administration of the Unicode/Code Page Environment and Profile Parameters and Macros in the Unicode and Code Page Support documentation.

    For information on the code pages and ICU data files available in your current Natural environment, you can use the SYSCP utility (described in the Utilities documentation).

  2. After successful activation, you can execute the example programs described in the Unicode and Code Page Support documentation.