Method and apparatus for testing job control language (JCL) members

• US 6,430,708 B1
• Filed: 04/16/1999
• Issued: 08/06/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 04/17/1998
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Visa International Service Association (Visa, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Visa International Service Association (Visa, Inc.)
• Inventors: Evans, William R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Ray, Gopal C.
• Application Number:
  US09/293,361
• Time in Patent Office: 1,208 Days
• Field of Search: 714/38, 714/25, 709/101, 707/200, 717/1, 717/4
• US Class Current: 714/38.14
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3684 for test design, e.g. generating new test cases

Abstract

Automated generation of a test scenario or environment for testing control programs in a batch computing environment uses various input to produce test libraries, referenced control files, and parameters with reduced manual intervention. User-specified overrides and key specifications are used to customize a test scenario in which the test scenario is based on production control programs, procedures, and parameters. One of the input to the generation tool is a control program list containing the names of control programs that to be tested. Custom characteristics of the test scenario or environment are also specified and entered into the generation tool. It is also determined whether any of the procedures called by the control programs need to be modified. The custom characteristics are incorporated into the control programs and modifications are incorporated into the procedures called by the control programs.

Claims

1. A method of automatically generating a test environment for testing control programs in a batch computing environment, the method comprising:

creating a control program list containing names of control programs to be tested;

specifying custom characteristics of the test environment;

determining whether one or more procedures called by the control programs need to be modified;

incorporating the custom characteristics into the control programs; and

incorporating modifications to the one or more procedures, thereby generating a test scenario in which the control programs in a batch computing environment can be tested.

2. A method as recited in claim 1 further comprising:

incorporating a set of external characteristics into the control programs.

3. A method as recited in claim 2 wherein the set of external characteristics include currency data and institutional-specific data.

4. A method as recited in claim 1 further comprising:

determining errors relating to data set names in the control programs and in the one or more procedures.

5. A method as recited in claim 1 wherein creating a control program list further includes:

importing program names from a control program flow diagram.

6. A method as recited in claim 1 wherein incorporating modifications to the one or more procedures further comprises:

reading the control programs;

identifying the one or more procedures invoked by the control programs;

identifying symbolics in the one or more procedures; and

overriding symbolics in the one or more procedures.

7. A method as recited in claim 6 further comprising:

matching symbolics in the one or more procedures with symbolics specified by a user.

8. A method as recited in claim 1 wherein incorporating the custom characteristics into the control programs further includes reading library concatenations.

9. A method as recited in claim 1 further comprising:

overriding one or more variable names in the control programs.

10. A method as recited in claim 1 wherein the control programs are job control language programs (JCL).

11. A method as recited in claim 1 wherein the batch computing environment operates under the MVS operating system.

12. A method as recited in claim 1 wherein the one or more procedures are job control language procedures (PROCs).

13. A method as recited in claim 1 further comprising:

retrieving a variable name from the control programs;

determining whether the variable name is in a user override file; and

replacing the variable name with an override name.

14. An automated test job control language (JCL) generation tool for creating a JCL test scenario, the generation tool comprising:

JCL code corresponding to a plurality of JCL programs;

a list of procedure libraries used by the plurality of JCL programs;

a list of parameter libraries used by the plurality of JCL programs;

a plurality of external specifications;

a plurality of referenced control files; and

a set of overrides;

wherein a JCL test scenario is created including test JCL libraries, test versions of referenced control files; and

test parameter files.

15. An automated test JCL generation tool as recited in claim 14 wherein the plurality of referenced control files is referenced by the plurality of JCL programs.

16. An automated test JCL generation tool as recited in claim 15 wherein the plurality of referenced control files contain updatable control and history files.

17. An automated test JCL generation tool as recited in claim 14 further comprising a list of JCL program names corresponding to the plurality of JCL programs.

18. An automated test JCL generation tool as recited in claim 17 wherein the list of JCL program names is created from importing JCL program names from a JCL flow program.

19. An automated test JCL generation tool as recited in claim 14 further comprising JCL procedures contained in the list of procedure libraries used by the plurality of JCL programs.

20. An automated test JCL generation tool as recited in claim 14 wherein the plurality of external specifications further comprises a date value and a high-level qualifier.

21. An automated test JCL generation tool as recited in claim 20 wherein the plurality of external specifications further comprises library concatenation instructions related to the list of procedure libraries and a list of load module libraries.

22. An automated test JCL generation tool as recited in claim 14 wherein the set of overrides includes procedure symbolics and data set names.

23. An automated test JCL generation tool as recited in claim 14 further comprising a plurality of test versions of data files referenced by the JCL.

24. An automated test JCL generation tool as recited in claim 14 further comprising a plurality of test parameter files for storing parameter values passed to one or more procedures invoked by the plurality of JCL programs.

25. A method of automatically generating a test environment for testing job control language (JCL) programs in a batch computing environment, the method comprising:

creating a JCL program list containing names of JCL programs to be tested;

specifying custom characteristics of the test environment;

determining whether one or more JCL procedures invoked by the JCL programs need to be modified;

incorporating the custom characteristics into the JCL programs;

incorporating modifications to the one or more JCL procedures, thereby generating a test scenario in which JCL programs in a batch computing environment can be tested.

26. A method as recited in claim 25 further comprising incorporating a set of external characteristics into the JCL programs.

27. A method as recited in claim 25 wherein the set of external characteristics includes currency data and institutional-specific data.

28. A method as recited in claim 25 further comprising determining errors relating to data set names in the JCL programs and in the one or more JCL procedures.

29. A method as recited in claim 25 wherein creating a JCL program list further comprises importing JCL program names from a JCL program flow diagram.

30. A method as recited in claim 25 wherein incorporating modifications to the one or more JCL procedures further comprises:

reading the JCL programs;

identifying the one or more JCL procedures invoked by the JCL programs;

identifying symbolics in the one or more JCL procedures; and

overriding symbolics in the one or more JCL procedures.

31. A method as recited in claim 25 further comprising matching symbolics in the one or more JCL procedures with symbolics specified by a user.

32. A method as recited in claim 25 wherein incorporating the custom characteristics into the JCL programs further comprises reading library concatenations.

33. A method as recited in claim 25 further comprising overriding one or more variable names in the JCL programs.