Further Reading: Unit Testing COBOL

Books

  • Nicolette, D. Developer Testing: Building Quality into Software. Addison-Wesley, 2017. — While not COBOL-specific, this book provides the theoretical foundation for all developer testing practices discussed in this chapter.

  • Beck, K. Test-Driven Development: By Example. Addison-Wesley, 2002. — The foundational TDD text. The examples are in Java and Python, but the principles apply directly to COBOL.

  • Feathers, M. Working Effectively with Legacy Code. Prentice Hall, 2004. — Essential reading for anyone adding tests to existing COBOL programs. Feathers' techniques for breaking dependencies are directly applicable.

  • Meszaros, G. xUnit Test Patterns: Refactoring Test Code. Addison-Wesley, 2007. — Comprehensive catalog of test patterns including stubs, mocks, and test data builders.

Tools and Frameworks

  • COBOL-Check (Open Mainframe Project): github.com/openmainframeproject/cobol-check — The open-source framework demonstrated in this chapter. Active development, GnuCOBOL and Enterprise COBOL support.

  • IBM Developer for z/OS: IBM's integrated development environment includes unit testing capabilities for Enterprise COBOL programs.

  • Micro Focus Unit Testing Framework: Commercial testing framework for Micro Focus COBOL environments.

  • GnuCOBOL: gnucobol.sourceforge.io — Free COBOL compiler that works with COBOL-Check for local development and testing.

Articles and Papers

  • Nicolette, D. "Unit Testing COBOL: Yes, It's a Thing." Open Mainframe Project Blog, 2021. — Introduction to COBOL-Check by its creator.

  • Riegen, R. van. "Test-Driven Development for COBOL." IBM Systems Magazine, 2019. — Practical guide to applying TDD practices in an Enterprise COBOL environment.

  • Krasner, H. "The Cost of Poor Software Quality in the US." CISQ/Synopsys, 2022. — Industry data on the cost of software defects, with specific attention to financial services and healthcare.

Online Resources

  • IBM Z Xplore (free): ibm.com/z/resources/zxplore — Free cloud-based mainframe learning environment where you can practice COBOL testing.

  • Open Mainframe Project: openmainframeproject.org — Community resources for mainframe modernization, including testing tools and practices.

  • COBOL-Check Documentation: Comprehensive user guide and API reference available in the project's GitHub repository wiki.

Standards and Guidelines

  • ISTQB Foundation Level Syllabus: The International Software Testing Qualifications Board syllabus covers test design techniques (equivalence partitioning, boundary value analysis, decision tables) applicable to COBOL testing.

  • NIST Special Publication 500-235: Structured Testing: A Testing Methodology Using the Cyclomatic Complexity Metric. Formal treatment of code coverage and testing sufficiency.