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Testing and Debugging

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In this section, we will cover the essential aspects of testing and debugging in RPG programming. Testing and debugging are critical steps in the software development lifecycle, ensuring that your code is reliable, efficient, and free of errors.

Objectives

By the end of this section, you will:

  • Understand the importance of testing and debugging.
  • Learn different types of testing.
  • Explore debugging techniques and tools.
  • Practice writing test cases and debugging common issues.

  1. Importance of Testing and Debugging

Why Testing is Important

  • Quality Assurance: Ensures the software meets the required standards and functions correctly.
  • Error Detection: Identifies bugs and issues before the software is deployed.
  • User Satisfaction: Provides a better user experience by minimizing errors and crashes.
  • Maintainability: Makes the code easier to maintain and extend in the future.

Why Debugging is Important

  • Error Resolution: Helps in identifying and fixing bugs in the code.
  • Code Understanding: Improves understanding of the codebase and logic.
  • Performance Optimization: Identifies performance bottlenecks and optimizes the code.

  1. Types of Testing

Unit Testing

  • Definition: Testing individual units or components of the software.
  • Purpose: Ensures that each unit functions correctly in isolation.
  • Example: Testing a single function or procedure.

Integration Testing

  • Definition: Testing the interaction between integrated units or components.
  • Purpose: Ensures that combined units work together as expected.
  • Example: Testing the interaction between a database access module and a data processing module.

System Testing

  • Definition: Testing the complete and integrated software system.
  • Purpose: Ensures the system meets the specified requirements.
  • Example: Testing the entire inventory management system.

Acceptance Testing

  • Definition: Testing the software in a real-world scenario.
  • Purpose: Ensures the software meets the user's needs and requirements.
  • Example: User testing of the payroll system.

  1. Debugging Techniques and Tools

Common Debugging Techniques

  • Print Statements: Inserting print statements in the code to track variable values and program flow.
  • Breakpoints: Setting breakpoints to pause the execution and inspect the state of the program.
  • Step Execution: Executing the code step-by-step to identify where the error occurs.
  • Code Review: Reviewing the code with peers to identify potential issues.

Debugging Tools

  • RDi (Rational Developer for i): An integrated development environment (IDE) for RPG that includes debugging tools.
  • STRDBG (Start Debug): A command in IBM i to start a debugging session.
  • Service Entry Points: Allows setting breakpoints in service programs and procedures.

  1. Writing Test Cases

Structure of a Test Case

  • Test Case ID: A unique identifier for the test case.
  • Description: A brief description of what the test case is testing.
  • Preconditions: Any setup required before executing the test.
  • Test Steps: The steps to execute the test.
  • Expected Result: The expected outcome of the test.
  • Actual Result: The actual outcome of the test (filled after execution).

Example Test Case

Test Case ID: TC001
Description: Test the addition function with positive integers.
Preconditions: None
Test Steps:
1. Call the addition function with inputs 5 and 3.
2. Capture the output.
Expected Result: The output should be 8.
Actual Result: (To be filled after execution)

  1. Practical Exercise

Exercise: Debugging a Simple RPG Program

Given the following RPG program, identify and fix the errors.

**free
dcl-s num1 int(10);
dcl-s num2 int(10);
dcl-s result int(10);

num1 = 10;
num2 = 0;

result = num1 / num2;

dsply result;
*inlr = *on;

Solution

  1. Identify the Error: Division by zero.
  2. Fix the Error: Add a check to prevent division by zero.
**free
dcl-s num1 int(10);
dcl-s num2 int(10);
dcl-s result int(10);

num1 = 10;
num2 = 0;

if num2 <> 0;
    result = num1 / num2;
else;
    dsply 'Error: Division by zero';
endif;

*inlr = *on;

Conclusion

In this section, we covered the importance of testing and debugging, different types of testing, common debugging techniques and tools, and how to write test cases. We also practiced debugging a simple RPG program. Testing and debugging are crucial for ensuring the quality and reliability of your software. In the next section, we will focus on the final project presentation, where you will showcase your project and the skills you have learned throughout the course.

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