The adapter operates in conjunction with FOCUS to access the IMS DBMS under the z/OS operating system, both in TSO and batch.

IMS offers the DBCTL (Database Control) facility for connecting to IMS. The adapter supports this facility and takes full advantage of its efficiency, security, and application control enhancements. Environments, contains a complete description of each environment available for accessing IMS databases with the adapter.

The adapter is compatible with all versions of IMS currently supported by IBM.

If you have the appropriate FOCUS adapters installed, FOCUS can implement joins between IMS databases and other file types such as FOCUS databases, QSAM and VSAM files, DB2 tables, and CA-IDMS/DB databases.