Testing an ODBA application program

You should perform a program unit test on your ODBA application program to ensure that the program correctly handles its input data, processing, and output data. The amount and type of testing you do depends on the individual program.

Be aware of your established test procedures before you start to test your program. To begin testing, you need the following items:

A test JCL statement
A test database
Always begin testing programs against test-only databases. Do not test programs against production databases. If the program is faulty it might damage or delete critical data.
Test input data
The input data that you use need not be current, but it should be valid data. You cannot be sure that your output data is valid unless you use valid input data.

The purpose of testing the program is to make sure that the program can correctly handle all the situations that it might encounter. To thoroughly test the program, try to test as many of the paths that the program can take as possible. For example:

Test each path in the program by using input data that forces the program to execute each of its branches. Be sure that your program tests its error routines. Again, use input data that will force the program to test as many error conditions as possible. Test the editing routines your program uses. Give the program as many different data combinations as possible to make sure it correctly edits its input data. The following table lists the tools you can use to test Online (IMSDB), Batch, and BMP programs.

Table 1. Tools you can use for testing your program
Tool	Online (IMS DB)	Batch	BMP
DFSDDLT0	No	Yes¹	Yes
DL/I image capture program	Yes	Yes	Yes

Note: 1. For call-level programs only. (For a command-level batch program, you can use DL/I image capture program first, to produce calls for DFSDDLT0).