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About Us LongEx Mainframe Quarterly - August 2022
Consulting
Inside Th
Training  
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 Front
technical: IDEs: Some Assembly Required  mana
FAQ
Can W
In the Community At one client, they had two different Integrated Development IDEs?
Environments (IDEs) installed: neither had any significant usage. At
 opini
another, they had an IDE installed: an old version no longer supported. A
Our e-zine Shou
third client explained that they had an IDE, but were having difficulties
Our Books Every
getting it running.
Our Articles  techn
IDEs are great. They offer everything from real-time syntax checking and
Assem
Free Tools and Code colour coded editing screens to features for dataset and job management.
Mainframe Links More importantly, they offer productivity benefits, and can make it easier
for new staff to become useful faster.
 Printer Frie
Lookup Mainframe But as these clients found out, IDEs aren't necessarily easy to get running.
In this article, we're going to look at possible reasons why.  Read Previ
Software
Installation
Almost all IDEs require a z/OS-side server to process requests. In the case Longp
of IBM Developer for z/OS (IDz), this is a Websphere Application Server impro
Liberty server. For Zowe explorer, the normal Zowe address spaces are perfor
needed. Some IDEs like Che4z piggy back off the Zowe Command Line determ
Interface (CLI): those Zowe address spaces are still needed. proble
implem
There are some exceptions to this rule. For example, the Zowe FTP plugin
solutio
for the CLI allows the Zowe CLI to be used to access datasets using FTP.
your s
And we can also manually download files from z/OS using FTP, and then
us to g
use an IDE to work with them. However, in general, z/OS software is
perfor
needed. This introduces all the normal issues with any z/OS software:
installation, APF authorization, systems programmer support, regular
updates and maintenance. Not to mention security issues.
In the case of Zowe, additional software is required to be installed on
z/OS, including Node.js.
It's no surprise that IDEs also have a client component. In the case of IDz,
this is Eclipse based, while Zowe Explorer is a VSCode extension. Again, in
an enterprise this involves setting up all the management of these clients:
ensuring that releases are supported, and fit in with a site's software
standards and requirements. These clients often need additional
supporting software to be installed. For example, Zowe Explorer needs
Zowe, VSCode and Node.js.
Configuration
The work doesn't end there. Those clients need to be setup to connect to
the z/OS component, with any encryption or authentication requirements
satisfied.
For example, profiles can be defined in Zowe CLI to provide connection
and authentication information. For IDz, remote connections must be
defined within IDz: the user must know the IP address and port to connect
to.
Other configuration steps may also be needed. For example, the IDz Data
Source Explorer cannot work without an IP address, port and Db2
subsystem name of a z/OS Db2 subsystem that will process SQL requests.
In many cases, extensions are available that may be needed. For example,
Zowe Explorer provides features to edit z/OS datasets. However, many
sites may choose to use Zowe Explorer with the IBM Z Open Editor to get
advanced features for editing COBOL, PL/I, Assembler and REXX
programs.
Customization
Once the software has been installed and configured, then it's ready for
basic operations. However, the chances are that you will want to perform
additional customization to make it more useful.
For example, IDz allows JCL for COBOL compiles to be generated and
executed. For this to work, z/OS administrators will need to customize JCL
procedures installed on the mainframe. Administrators will also need to
setup IDz Property Groups with required compile and bind options.
IBM Z JCL Expert is another example: it can validate JCL before jobs are
submitted. It is available as an Eclipse plug-in, allowing it to be used with
Eclipse-based IDEs like IDz. Snippets are a third example: these are
'pieces' of commonly used code that users can drop into their own code. In
some cases, IDEs and extensions provide pre-canned snippets. However,
to really benefit from them, sites will want to code their own. For example,
a snippet with a standard job card would be handy, or COBOL code to
open an MQ queue. Sites can also provide comments and other hints to
help programmers produce better code.
Now, users can do all this work themselves. However, it would be smarter
if someone put all of this together, so users don't have to.
Source Code Management
The most common use for an IDE is to develop and maintain z/OS source
code. However, in most sites, this code will be under the control of Source
Code Management (SCM) software. So, for the IDE to be effective, it really
needs to work seamlessly with the SCM to view, checkout, modify and
commit source code.
The good news is that most current SCMs work with the common IDEs. For
example, IBMs Rational Team Concert has an Eclipse client that can work
with IDz. Similarly, Explorer for Endevor is a VSCode extension to allow
Zowe Explorer users to work with Broadcom CA Endevor.
But again, this doesn't happen magically. Someone has to create the
pathway: providing a way for IDEs users to work with their SCM. Ideally,
this would all be packaged together to make it easier for IDE users: but
someone needs to do this packaging.
Training
Even at sites with an IDE, the most common tool for editing source code is
ISPF: particularly with veteran programmers. To convince them to use an
IDE, you must do two things:
 Reduce the number of reasons not to use the IDE.
 Make it easier to use the IDE.
Many of the issues mentioned previous address the first point. For the
second, existing users must be trained: the IDE solution must be 'sold' to
them. In many sites, they assume that IDE documentation and YouTube
videos are all you need. However, the chances are that your IDE
configuration and setup will be different from others. Your z/OS systems
and SCM configuration certainly will be. So, users will need training
created and delivered to make it easy for them to get up and running on
the IDE at your site.
Not Impossible
Implementing an IDE solution is far from impossible: many z/OS sites
have successfully achieved it. However, like any other project
implementing a new tool or solution, it must be planned and executed in
such a way that it will be a success.

David Stephens

LongEx Quarterly is a quarterly eZine produced by Longpela Expertise. It

provides Mainframe articles for management and technical experts. It is
published every November, February, May and August.
The opinions in this article are solely those of the author, and do not
necessarily represent the opinions of any other person or organisation. All
 trademarks, trade names, service marks and logos referenced in these
articles belong to their respective companies.
Although Longpela Expertise may be paid by organisations reprinting our
articles, all articles are independent. Longpela Expertise has not been paid
money by any vendor or company to write any articles appearing in our e-
zine.

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