Does CA InterTest CICS have functionality similar to TEST(SEPARATE)?

Products

• InterTest - CICS
• InterTest - Batch
• InterTest VSE - CICS

Issue/Introduction

One of our apps guys was looking at IBM DEBUG COBOL 6.2 features.

COBOL 6.2 has a new TEST(SEPARATE) feature to separate the DWARF debug information from the Program Object, similar to a Protsym file.  According to the IBM Developer Works this has several “advantages”, but you do not have to use the SEPARATE option.

With TEST(SEPARATE):

• You can generate DWARF debug information into a separate side file, the location of which is specified with the SYSDEBUG DD.

• The size of the load module is reduced as the debug information is placed into a separate file from the load module.

• The confidentiality of the debug data is well protected as the debug information is not shipped with the load module.

• You can use the debug information in the side file to debug the load module at a later time as needed.

• You can also utilize this new debug side file functionality when you debug optimized code.

• The TEST(SEPARATE) sub-option is also available with the Enterprise COBOL V4 compiler which eases the migration to the new COBOL for z/OS V6.2 compiler.

I have not tried these features yet as we don’t have COBOL 6.2 rolled out, but if it works with IDz and IBM Debug.

Does CA have anything in InterTest CICS like this?

Environment

Release:
Component: INTERT

Resolution

I've checked into this and discussed with the Product Owner, and no...There is nothing in CA InterTest CICS like this. Kind of going back to the optimized vs. non-optimized idea...InterTest CICS is working off the load module that would be produced by the source code itself, line by line. As soon as anything interferes with that, like optimized code, CA InterTest CICS fails to work consistently. 

Our recommendation is that you can certainly use the TEST(SEPARATE) functionality to debug...seems kind of nice, actually. IBM is the developer of the compiler, so not surprised they can pull something like this off. 

I wrote a tech doc a few years ago...TEC1258658 "For COBOL programs compiled to be used with CA InterTest CICS, are the compile options TEST, SEPARATE, OPTIMIZE, and HOOK valid?" It just shows that SEPARATE is an acceptable compiler option, as long as you also include all the compiler options that InterTest CICS requires.