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Virtual TPF Technology
"Virtual TPF Technologly" is another name for the ability of CMSTPF to emulate the TPF operating system using VM and CMS. Testing with virtual TPF offers advantages in reduced resource utilization and enhanced application quality.
TPF is like a superhighway, designed for speed and throughput, NOT for debugging.
Of course, real TPF is essential for some phases of testing (for example, testing running multiple transactions and volume, system, and stress testing). But for unit testing, using real TPF leads to numerous problems:
- Programmers who test on the same TPF system "sideswipe" each other, affecting the test results and potentially ruining hours of work;
- TPF provides few quality checks;
- TPF is impossible to stop completely: the environment is noisy and constantly changing -- not good for unit testing.
While using several VPARS is a slightly better approach, it is still resource intensive in MIPs and MB mapped against the real machine. And unless all programmers get their own VPARS, there is still sharing during testing, leading to the problems listed above. In addition, with too many VPARS, it becomes less feasible to provide connectivity to remote resources.
The breakthrough idea of VIrtual TPF is to emulate the TPF operating system using CMS. The result is that 1000 TPF programmers can each have a private TPF system for testing with little impact. The major advantages are:
- Program Isolation (other programmers' programs don't corrupt yours during testing);
- Database isolation (your data is not disturbed by others during testing);
- Enhanced diagnostic checking (checking built into CMSTPF but not available in TPF).
Program and database isolation provide the keys to succesful testing of TPF applications: my program and my data remain in my control. This helps recreate problems and helps prevent crashes or accidents that interrupt testing.
Virtual TPF has quality checking built in. The whole system is designed with the programmer in mind, making it necessary to write correct TPF code by enforcing the TPF architecture in ways that TPF itself does not. CMSTPF is a lot smarter and more programmer-friendly than a "real" TPF could ever be. It helps programmers detect and avoid errors that usually show up latter -- in production code!
And CMSTPF, TPFGI, and related products solve the problem of access to remote resources through CTFS (the CMSTPF-to-TPF Function Server).
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