The Service Interfaces Editor is the tool that enables you to define your service interfaces. You can define a service interface for an application from a COBOL program, the screens it uses or, in the case of a CICS application that does not use screens, its commarea(s). The service interfaces you define can cover a broad range -- from those that provide access to a subset of the functions performed by your application, to interfaces that do more than your application in its original form.
For CICS or IMS screen-based service interfaces, you start with the screens of an application and build a new interface based on existing screen fields. You have a great deal of creative license as you build your new interface. The Service Interface Editor enables you to pick and choose the fields you want to use, how users interact with those fields, and how the fields map to your application.
For CICS commarea-based service interfaces, you start with the input and output commareas of a CICS program and build a new interface based on commarea fields.
The following topics describe the Service Interface Editor and the concepts important to using it successfully: