require help for creating testing Tool

harsh singh · New User Joined: 11 Dec 2007 Posts: 26 Location: INDIA

Hi All,

We use Control-M as our scheduling tool and when we do any changes in our source code, we re compile the component and execute our job through Control-M Schedule.

every time we get the defect we follow the above order.

I am thinking of developing a script based tool like Bat or EXE which can help me to test the part of the code I have changed.

Please advise me if it is feasible or suggest me with bright ideas.

Thanks in advance for the help.

Robert Sample · Posted: Wed Feb 29, 2012 5:38 pm

The rule of thumb I learned from one of my college professors is that writing tools is three times harder than coding application programs, and writing operating systems is three times harder than writing tools. So your first task is to find out how much tolerance your site has for you spending (possibly a great deal of ) time doing something completely unrelated to your primary job.

If you decide to proceed, you need to write a specification document that details everything about your tool. While this is not, strictly speaking, a requirement -- it prevents you from spending a month developing code only to have to rewrite everything because you missed something at the beginning.

Questions to consider in writing your spec doc:
- How will your tool be invoked?
- Will the tool run in batch, TSO, both?
- What interfaces to other products does your tool need?
- Are there defined interfaces for those products, or will you have to figure out a way to pass data back and forth yourself?
- What data do you need to pass through each interface?
- What data do you need to get back from each product?
- Are your development skills up to the task?
etc
etc
etc

The question of writing tools comes up -- frequently -- on this forum and the general response is this is a bad idea. I'm not sure WHY people want to write tools so badly, but I do know it is nowhere near as easy as people seem to think it is.

enrico-sorichetti · Posted: Wed Feb 29, 2012 5:41 pm

dbzTHEdinosauer · Posted: Wed Feb 29, 2012 5:54 pm

most good 'tool creators' have the intelligence and initiative to research manuals,
search for and learn/understand published 'tools' on the web,
look at the ibm supplied libraries contained on their own systems,
and spend the extra time experimenting and learning.

most of the jerks that post 'i gotta write a tool' threads here
just want someone to give them code,
so they can show their boss their 'tool' (after they have shown their ass here)

don.leahy · Posted: Wed Feb 29, 2012 7:06 pm

IMO, no one should create tools unless they are so skilled at their regular job that they always finish their tasks ahead of schedule and find they have extra time on their hands.

enrico-sorichetti · Posted: Wed Feb 29, 2012 7:13 pm

harsh singh · New User Joined: 11 Dec 2007 Posts: 26 Location: INDIA

Hi All,

I neither need the ready code nor to impress my boss.. I work my own way for my learning. I had few things in mind just thought i will be advised few more from experts.

Thank you

Rgds,
Harsh

Bill Woodger · Posted: Thu Mar 01, 2012 2:45 pm

Well, you didn't give enough away to allow us to make that determination.

You want ideas, set out the requirement complete enough to be understood, set out how you are currently approaching it and the error/problem/bad feelings that route is giving you.

If you intend writing a script language, you'd be better off with a "language" forum rather than here for that task. If you just want a mainframe equivalent of a ".bat" or shell-script, that is some JCL. You have been sufficiently unclear that I can't determine which of these you are looking for.

expat · Posted: Thu Mar 01, 2012 2:53 pm

Why would you want to test a z/OS program on a PC

enrico-sorichetti · Posted: Thu Mar 01, 2012 2:55 pm

again for the umpteenth time
if somebody has the skills to write a <tool>
he/she should not have the need to ask on a forum AMEN

the only thing that can reasonably be asked is to help debug some obscure error,
naturally posting the offending code

NO CODE ==> NO HELP

Ed Goodman · Active Member Joined: 08 Jun 2011 Posts: 556 Location: USA

My #1 rule for tool making is to NEVER TELL ANYONE ABOUT IT!!!

Make the helper app to do what you need, then keep it to yourself. A few projects later, you can work twice as fast using the tool.

Once someone else sees it, they will want it too. Then you have to stop tinkering with it,and it becomes obsolete.

Now, for the OP, when you say you submit it through Control-M, do you mean the execution of the compiled code? Do you men just the one program, or the entire section of a batch flow?

Do you do your development on the PC or on the mainframe? Asking because if it's all mainframe, I'd suggest a mainframe helper app.

If it's a Control-M schedule to kick off jobs that turn around and exercise some sort of Java/SOAP code that you just changed, then I get it. There are easy ways to submit Control-M jobs in batch, from an FTP job. I just did it last month when I wrote a helper app to download test data.