When I was growing up, my father always reminded me to make sure I had a good set of tools. In fact, he bought my first toolbox, filled with various tools to handle a variety of tasks. I still have it. Of course, tools have improved over the years, so I upgrade them from time to time. Having the right set of tools for managing your test data is just as important. The recent releases of BMC AMI DevX File-AID and BMC AMI DevX Data Studio contain all the tools you need for building out the test data required for all aspects of application testing.
The purpose of every application is to process the data that is required by the business, and today’s applications and associated data are more complex than ever. The requirements for test data are more diverse because application data resides on multiple platforms and in different formats. The challenge is to be sure the right data is easily and readily available for each stage of development and testing. A lack of good test data can easily become a bottleneck in the DevOps workflow, so good test data management practices are a must. File-AID and Topaz for Enterprise Data help you manage your test data by making it easy to:
- Manage data across platforms—Both solutions provide the same user experience to manage data across the enterprise, whether the data resides on the mainframe or in a database on a distributed server. File-AID enables you to create relationally intact sets of data that represent a subset of the real data and mirror the conditions found in production data.
- Edit—In most cases, your test data will need to be continuously enhanced to build out missing or new conditions that didn’t exist in the original subset. File-AID’s modern editor interface makes it easy to edit all types of z/OS files, IMS databases, Db2 tables, Oracle tables, SQL servers, and more, all with a consistent look and feel.
- Repeat—Agile development requires that your testing be repeatable. Test data environments can quickly be provisioned with a refresh of the original test data, ensuring your application testing begins with the same base set of data. Better yet, these steps can be automated as part of your DevOps toolchain.
- Automate—Almost 30 powerful batch functions such as compare, copy, and update allow you to evaluate data as it flows through your batch processing and correct any errors or invalid conditions before they can cause failure.
- Reformat—Making changes to your file that require the addition of a field? The File-AID reformat function can map an old layout to a new layout and copy the data to the new file.
- Compare—File-AID and Topaz for Enterprise Date have robust compare features that allow you to do things like compare files on two different logical partitions (LPARs).
These are just some of the tools BMC AMI DevX File-AID and BMC AMI DevX Data Studiohave to offer. Rest assured that when you open either solution’s toolbox, you will find the right tool to get the job done and keep your development process running smoothly.
So, what’s in your toolbox? If it isn’t BMC AMI DevX File-AID, now is the time to look at making a change. You can learn more about its features and benefits on the File-AID product page. If you are currently using BMC AMI DevX File-AID, you can take advantage of the latest tool updates by installing File-AID V21.1.
