Validate Phase

Overview of Validate Phase

The purpose of the Validate phase is to ensure the semantic equivalence of the refactored COBOL code with the generated (and possibly modified) Java code.

The general flow is this:

• The COBOL developer compiles the refactored COBOL with the TEST(DWARF) compiler option which produces debugging information in the load module created by the compilation and link-editing.
• The COBOL developer uses the watsonx Code Assistant for Z Validation Assistant VS Code extension to read the compiler listing, compile and run test cases using the IBM z/OS Debugger, and saves the output from these test cases.
• The Java developer uses the watsonx Code Assistant for Z Validation Assistant to run tests against the generated Java method which will compile and run Junit tests locally on the developer workstation and compare the output to the output of the corresponding COBOL test case.

In the lab you will perform all of these steps in one sitting. In the real world scenario, the COBOL developer would likely run the COBOL portion of the process on their laptop or workstation and then provide the folder which has these results to the Java developer who would put this folder on their laptop or workstation prior to running the Java tests.

Generate COBOL outputs

Establish credentials in ZOWE Explorer

1. In VS Code, click the Zowe icon on the left side.

   

2. In the JOBS section near the lower left, right-click on the zos.dev profile and choose Manage profile:

   

3. A menu will appear in the top middle of VS Code. Click on Add credentials:

   

4. You will be prompted first for a username, and then for a password. Enter the following credentials.

   • Username: ibmuser
   • Password: sys1

5. In the DATA SETS section, expand both the Favorites and zos.dev folders.

   

6. Click the search button next to the bottom zos.dev folder.

   

   You may need to hover over the zos.dev bar for the search icon to appear.

7. Note: You may be prompted first for a username, and then for a password. If not, proceed to the next step. If you are, enter the following credentials.

   • Username: ibmuser
   • Password: sys1

8. You will be prompted to enter a dataset filter. Enter ibmuser.wca4z.** (it may be presented to you as a choice in the dropdown list) in the bar at the top of the page and press Enter.

   

   Multiple data sets will appear in the zos.dev folder, including IBMUSER.WCA4Z.COBOL.

Generate COBOL compiler listing

1. Back in the DATA SETS section of the ZOWE explorer pane, expand Favorites and then zos.dev underneath it, and then right-click on IBMUSER.WCA4Z.COBOL and select Upload member.

2. Browse to C:\Users\Administrator\Desktop\WCAZ Lab Data\COBOLJavaBatch\refactor\cobol, select GETMAVG.cbl, and click Upload file.

   You should now see the GETMAVG file under IBMUSER.WCA4Z.COBOL.

   

3. Expand the IBMUSER.WCA4Z.CNTL folder, right-click GETMAVG, and select Submit Job.

   

4. You will be prompted to confirm that you want to submit the job. Click the Submit button.

   

5. After you submit the job, you will get a pop-up in the bottom-right corner with the Job ID. Click on the Job ID to go to it.

   

   Note: if the job notification disappears before you click on it, you can find it again by clicking the Notifications button in the bottom-left corner of VSCode.

   

6. You should see a CC 0004 next to the job name and number. Any condition code higher than 4 should be investigated- ask for help from an instructor if necessary. As long as your condition code is 4 or 0, right-click on the Job name and select Download all.

   

7. Navigate to C:\Users\Administrator\Desktop\WCAZ Lab Data\COBOLJavaBatch\logs and click Select to save the files.

   

8. Navigate back to the file Explorer in VSCode and find the logs folder.

   

9. In the COBOL/GETMAVG folder, right-click sysprint.txt and select Rename... and then rename the file to getmavg.log.

   

Generate COBOL values

1. Right-click getmavg.log, hover over watsonx Code Assistant for Z Validation Assistant, and then select Generate COBOL Values for Testing.

   

2. You will be prompted to select a Load library at the top middle of VS Code. Enter or select IBMUSER.WCA4Z.LOAD and press enter.

   

   This step was successful if you see the message Completed generating cobol values for testing at the bottom of your Terminal window.

   

Run Java equivalence tests

1. Expand the IBM WATSONX CODE ASSISTANT FOR Z section, expand WsWork.java, and click on calcReturnPremium4100.

   The code will display in the main window and the calcReturnPremium4100 method will be highlighted.

2. Double-click the method name in the main window so that just the method name is highlighted. Then right-click the highlighted method name, hover over watsonx Code Assistant for Z Validation Assistant and select Run Equivalence Test.

   

   Wait until you see the message Equivalency Tests Complete.

   Note: You may see an error message popup in the lower right that says Failed to perform operation: SyntaxError: Expected double-quoted property name in JSON at position 188 (line 4 column 5). You may ignore this message- it is due to a syntax error in a settings file provided in the lab environment.

   In the IBM WATSONX CODE ASSISTANT FOR Z VALIDATION ASSISTANT pane, a green checkmark icon next to the test means the test passed and a red 'x' icon next to the test means that it failed. This pane is on the left, probably underneath the TIMELINE pane, and you will probably have to expand the pane in order to see these test results. Ask an instructor for help if your test didn't pass.

3. Repeat steps 1 and 2 for Java methods checkIfOverpaid4000 and MainPara1000.

In the Validate Phase,

1. We generated COBOL values for the GETMAVG refactored service.
2. We ran JUnit tests to compare the values from the transformed Java code.

Lab summary

Congratulations for completing the lab! In this lab, you performed tasks for several personas:

1. You performed the Understand phase in the role of an application architect
2. You performed the Refactor phase in the role of a COBOL application developer
3. You performed the Transform phase in the role of a Java application developer
4. You performed the Validate phase in the role of a Java application developer