Debugging a CICS or Batch Application › Start Program Execution

Start Program Execution

The process to start the program execution is different for batch and CICS applications. Follow one of these procedures to begin debugging your program.

For batch applications

Follow these steps:

1. Select the program that you want to monitor under the Monitored node in the Debug view.
2. Click the green bug button on the toolbar.

   The batch job is submitted and the initial intercept is displayed.

3. Click the green arrow button to allow the program to run.

   The program will run until it encounters an abend.

For CICS applications

Follow these steps:

1. Under the Monitored node on the InterTest Debug view, select the program that you want to monitor and click the green bug button on the toolbar.

   The InterTest Debug Settings dialog opens.

2. Ensure that the debug settings are defined as you want them. For more information about configuring the debug settings, see Configure the Debug Settings.
3. Click Connect.

   CA InterTest notifies CA InterTest for CICS that your program is ready for debugging.

4. Go to the mainframe CICS display (green screen), and type in the transaction identifier of the demo program as listed in Demo Source Programs.
5. Press Enter.

   The Welcome screen appears.

6. Press Enter on this CICS mainframe screen.

   The demo program begins execution. Your CICS session will indicate that it is in xSystem state:

   

7. Return to the CA InterTest for CICS Eclipse UI to continue with your debugging session. Notice that the InterTest Debug view now displays the debug status as Debugging.

   

Evaluate and Correct Errors

When a program encounters an error during execution, and abend occurs and stops the program.

At the abend, the following events occur:

• The appropriate program listing causing the error is activated (if the program was not displayed earlier).
• The program positions itself at the statement causing the error.

  When the program stops, we say that it halts the program at a breakpoint. This is done automatically when an abend occurs, or the application halts a program at a breakpoint that you have previously set.

When an abend occurs:

• A small blue arrow appears in the ruler to the left of the line causing the error, and the line is highlighted.
• The status in the InterTest Debug view now displays a diagnostic message. This message explains that the error was caused by improperly formatted data.
• In this tutorial, the demo program detects an error at the ADD instruction. Execution of that ADD instruction triggers an abend.

Once a program is stopped, you can use the CA InterTest for CICS testing and debugging facilities to do the following tasks. When debugging your own programs, you will typically perform one or more of these activities.

• Examine the source listing.
• Examine and modify main and auxiliary storage (memory) to detect and correct errors.
• Set and remove breakpoints and bookmarks.
• Examine a program's statement trace.
• Keep data items in a watch view to observe changes in their values.
• Abend your task with or without a dump.
• Go around a problem by resuming program execution from a location other than the one at which the program is currently stopped.
• Execute the program in single‑step mode; that is, the program executes one verb and then stops.