Mainframe Testing Interview Questions – Part 4

Mainframe Testing Interview Questions – Part 3

In this post you will find mainframe testing interview questions and answers (part3), most commonly asked interview questions for mainframe.

1  What is FileAID?
–> FileAID is a mainframe tool, accessed by command line that gives the user ability to browse or edit sequential and VSAM files or DB2 database data. It is used to create or change the file contents. You need to provide input file name (which you want to edit / create), then copybook name (layout of the required file).

2. What are the modes browsing in File-AID?
–> (F) Formated Mode (It requires layout in which file should open)
–> (V) Vertical formated Mode (It requires layout in which file should open)
–> (U) Unformated mode (It does not requires layout in which file should open)
–> (C) Charactor Mode   (It does not requires layout in which file should open)

3. What is InSYNC?

4. Why do we need File Management Tools?
–> View a file with computational variables
–> View VSAM File
–> Perform all operations on dataset
–> Define VSAM File, Create GDG
–> Compare 2 files
–> Convert file from one layout in to other

5. Difference between IMS Database and DB2 databse?

6.

Mainframe Testing Interview Questions – Part 2

Mainframe Testing Interview Questions – Part 1

In this post you will find mainframe testing interview questions and answers (part1), most commonly asked interview questions for mainframe.

1. What is mainframe Testing?
—> Testing mainframe based application is nothing but mainframe testing. Process wise it is not different than other types of testing but the difference is of technology. Mainframe testing covers batch testing and online testing.

2. Difference between mainframe testing and manual testing?
—> Process wise it is not different than other types of testing but the difference is of technology. In other manual testing we do testing on let us say web application or any desktop application having GUI. But in case of mainframe application, there is no GUI, all you can see is blue screens that can be a mainframe host for batch testing or it can be CICS Screens for online testing.

3. What and all can be tested under mainframe testing?
—> It has huge scope. This depends on your project & requirement, But at high level, you can do batch testing and online testing. In batch testing, you can run jcl, validate files, validate databases etc. where as in case of online testing, noting about back-end, all is you need to work on front end. where you can enter some values & check for response based on system. Online system is real-time systems.

4. what is difference between batch testing and online testing?
—> In batch testing, It is purely back-end testing. you can run jcl, validate files, validate databases etc. where as in case of online testing, noting about back-end, all is you need to work on front end. where you can enter some values & check for response based on system. Online system is real-time systems.

5. What to test in mainframe batch application testing?
—> Again this is having huge scope and is application to application dependent. In general, batch processing is dealing with JCL, you need to run JCL & check for output files / tables or front end screens. Batch processing is mainly used to process huge volume of data at a time. ex – Interest calculation in bank on month end.

6. What to test under mainframe online application Testing?
—> In case of online application testing, you need not to deal with back-end. Just in front-end, you need to enter data & check for application response (just as like web application) Example – Account opening system in bank

7. What is scheduler? have you used it anytime?
—> As the name suggest, it is used to schedule the jobs based on certain condition. The condition could be time & day specific or can be dependency with some other job. Various scheduler available in mainframe are – CA7, OPC. It also do continuously automatic monitoring of jobs and completion notification

8. what is difference between fixed length file and variable length file?
—>In Fixed length file,
1.Every record in the file has exactly same size (in byte)
2.It take huge memory.
3.Access become fast.
4.Computer knows exact location of records so easy access.
5.slow in transferring the records it has large size.

In Variable length file,
1.Different record in the file have different size.
2.It take least memory.
3.access become slow.
4.computer does not know exact location of record so slow access.
5.fast transferring as it is small in size.

9. What is JCL?
—> JCL is a Job Control Language used to describe a UoW (Unit of Work) on a mainframe computer (O/S 390, Z/OS etc .  .  .  ). In case of JCL, everything works in background. However the operating system manages interactive (foreground) user requests that initiate units of work. In general, foreground work is given priority over background work.

10. What is jobcard in jcl?
—> First statement in any JCL is nothing but JOB CARD. It is used to identify job or unit of work (UoW) for mainframe operating system to perform. Only one jobcard is allowed per job. it starts with //.
example – //job-name JOB jab-card-parameters

For more interview questions, refer –

Mainframe testing interview questions – part2

Mainframe testing interview questions – part3

Mainframe testing interview questions – part4