Chapter 41: Capstone Project -- Further Reading

Books

"Murach's Mainframe COBOL" by Mike Murach and Associates This comprehensive textbook serves as an excellent companion to the capstone project, providing detailed coverage of every major COBOL feature used in the banking application: file handling, VSAM, DB2, CICS, report generation, and structured programming. The Murach paired-pages format makes it an effective reference when you need to look up specific syntax or techniques during implementation. Available from the Murach website and major technical booksellers.

"Murach's CICS for the COBOL Programmer" by Raul Menendez and Doug Lowe The CICS components of the capstone project -- online inquiry, transaction entry, pseudo-conversational design -- are covered thoroughly in this dedicated CICS textbook. It includes complete CICS/COBOL programs with BMS map definitions, COMMAREA design, and error handling patterns that directly apply to the capstone's online subsystem. Available from the Murach website.

"DB2 for the COBOL Programmer" by Curtis Garvin and Steve Eckols The DB2 portions of the capstone project -- table design, embedded SQL, cursor processing, error handling -- are covered in detail in this focused DB2/COBOL textbook. The treatment of host variables, indicator variables, SQLCODE handling, and dynamic SQL provides the database programming knowledge needed for the capstone's data access layer. Available from the Murach website and major technical booksellers.

Online Resources

IBM Enterprise COBOL Samples IBM provides sample COBOL programs that demonstrate common programming patterns: file processing, DB2 access, CICS transactions, and report generation. These samples serve as reference implementations for the techniques used in the capstone project and can be adapted as starting points for individual programs. Search for "Enterprise COBOL samples" on the IBM Documentation website.

IBM Redbook: "CICS and SOA: Architecture and Programming Approaches" This Redbook covers how CICS applications (like the capstone's online subsystem) fit into broader enterprise architectures, including service-oriented and API-driven designs. Understanding these architectural patterns helps position the capstone project's CICS programs for future integration with modern front-end applications. Search for this title on the IBM Redbooks website.

IBM Developer: "Learning Path -- COBOL Programming" IBM's developer website offers a structured learning path for COBOL programming that includes interactive exercises, sample projects, and integration scenarios. The learning path covers many of the same topics as the capstone project and provides additional practice with hands-on exercises in a cloud-hosted z/OS environment. Available on the IBM Developer website.

IBM Documentation

IBM Redbook: "ABCs of z/OS System Programming Volume 1-13" This multi-volume series covers the z/OS system environment in which the capstone project runs, including JCL, VSAM, job scheduling, system management, and performance monitoring. Understanding the system environment helps COBOL programmers design programs that work efficiently within z/OS operational constraints. Available on the IBM Redbooks website.

IBM Enterprise COBOL Migration Guide When building new COBOL programs for the capstone project, the migration guide helps ensure that the code uses current Enterprise COBOL best practices and avoids deprecated features. It documents the evolution of COBOL language features across versions, helping programmers write future-proof code. Available on the IBM Documentation portal.

IBM CICS Transaction Server -- Application Programming Guide The CICS programming guide provides comprehensive documentation for all CICS API commands used in the capstone's online programs: SEND MAP, RECEIVE MAP, READ/WRITE/REWRITE/DELETE file operations, LINK, XCTL, RETURN with TRANSID, and HANDLE CONDITION. Available on the IBM Documentation portal.

Standards and Best Practices

"The Art of Software Architecture" by Stephen T. Albin Software architecture principles -- modularity, separation of concerns, information hiding, dependency management -- apply to COBOL system design just as they do to any other technology. This text provides a framework for thinking about system structure that helps avoid the monolithic, tightly-coupled designs that make legacy COBOL systems difficult to maintain. Available through major online booksellers.

"A Practical Guide to Enterprise Architecture" by James McGovern et al. Enterprise architecture principles guide how the capstone project's banking system fits into the broader organizational technology landscape. Understanding EA principles helps COBOL developers design systems that integrate well with other enterprise systems and align with organizational technology strategy. Available through major online booksellers.

IBM z/OS JCL Reference The JCL reference is essential for designing the batch job streams that orchestrate the capstone project's batch processing. It covers DD statements, EXEC statements, condition code processing, GDG management, IDCAMS utility control statements, and SORT/MERGE JCL. Available on the IBM Documentation portal.