10.6 Evaluation

After completing the model solution, the engineer and the architect must define the ending evaluation criteria. These criteria most often include all the starting criteria, as well as criteria that were discovered as a by-product of implementing the model solution.

In our case, the biggest surprise was the difficulty we encountered passing simple types between Micro Focus COBOL and Java. Most of these difficulties stemmed from shortcomings in the product documentation. Nevertheless, as a result of our experience, we added an ending evaluation criterion to test hypothesis 1: Micro Focus Net Express IDE can be used to support mixed-language programming with Java.

• Criterion 3: Simple data types can be exchanged between Micro Focus COBOL and Java, and Java exceptions can be handled in the Micro Focus code.

Once we completed the model problem and defined our ending evaluation criterion, we could evaluate the model-problem solution. Criteria 1 and 2 were easily satisfied by the solution. Criterion 3 was at least partly satisfied, in that we could communicate both integers and strings ”these being the most critical data types ”and provide exception handling in the COBOL code. As a result, we adopted the Net Express contingency of calling Java from Micro Focus COBOL as the primary contingency.

We also identified other areas of concern, including performance and scalability, while building the model problem. But as the model problem was not designed to evaluate these qualities, we did not add them as criteria.