Hello and welcome to the forum,
The DLI statement is used to update IMS from within Easytrieve. From the manual:
The DLI statement provides controlled input/output of an IMS/DLI database. You can use the DLI statement with (or independently of) the automatic input
associated with RETRIEVE. You can code the DLI statement at any place in a JOB
where you can code an input/output statement for any other file. This statement
provides complete control over the creation and maintenance of a database.
Suggest you look for specifics in the documentation for your release of the product.
Also, does anyone know if SMF records are recorded for the updates?
SMF records would be created the same as if this was a cobol process.