What is the difference between TASK and TRANSACTION in CICS?

In CICS, a TRANSACTION represents a unit of work that initiates a series of CICS commands to be executed in a specific order. It is used to encapsulate related processing logic and maintain data integrity.

On the other hand, a TASK represents a unit of work within a TRANSACTION that is processed independently. Multiple tasks can be active within a single TRANSACTION, allowing for parallel processing and improved performance.

Overall, while a TRANSACTION manages the sequence of CICS commands, a TASK controls the individual units of work within that sequence.