Rational Developer for System z

A host of significant new functions and feature enhancements in V7.6 build on an already comprehensive set of features. They support the following capabilities:

System configuration, performance, and consumability

• The IBM Rational Developer for System z client and host components have been enhanced for performance, decreasing editing content assist dialog time by up to 80%, decreasing source code download/upload time by up to 35%, and speeding real-time syntax check in some code situations by orders of magnitude.

• The client installation has been reworked to eliminate or simplifying un-needed components or providing more installation options resulting in a 25% decrease in the traditional developer scenario install size. This results in much smaller hardware requirements for users both on and off the host lowering hardware costs for customers as well as making the environment simpler.

• The Host installation and configuration process is simplified to reduce the amount of time taken to install, configure, or upgrade the product after initial purchase. New installation cookbooks have been included to help provide a checklist for mainframe installers

• The IBM Rational Developer for System z installation panels have been refined to allow users to choose just the portions of the package they feel are needed to reduce install size and visual clutter on the developer interface

• The File Manager integration host-resource requirements are reduced when used in combination with IBM File Manager V10.1, to allow greater scalability where more users can access data on the host concurrently.

• The IBM Rational Developer for System z infocenter has been decoupled from the IBM Rational Developer for System z client installation using a facility called IBM Rational "Remote Help." Remote help allows the IBM Rational Developer for System z infocenter to be sourced from IBM.com, downloaded to a common server in the client environment, or integrated into the IBM Rational Developer for System z workbench on the PC. Remote help aids in reducing the IBM Rational Developer for System z footprint on the client as well as provide a centralized location for easy documentation updates and rollout of new documentation. This feature helps to deliver new documentation updates to IBM Rational Developer for System z users faster outside of the typical iFix process.

• Support for smartcard security login on the IBM Rational Developer for System z host components

Core z/OS development in support of CICS V4.1 and IMS V11

New support for CICS V4.1:

• Existing IBM Rational Developer for System z users can use the same functions they work with today automatically enabled with support for new CICS V4.1 verbs in syntax check, content assist, and unit build.

• Support for new CICS modernization architectures such as Service Component Architecture, Event Processing, and application bundle deployment via CICS Explorer, described in detail in later sections.

New support for IMS V11

• Over 71 IMS code generation wizards to help new users create IMS processing in COBOL programs, including traditional DL/1 processing as well as new capabilities such as ICAL execution

• Support for new IMS web services and RESTful service capabilities

General new functionality in support of either runtime:

• Manageable property groups of build/syntax check properties can be easily created and applied to separate z/OS projects. This simplifies the tedious process of setting up and determining which properties apply to which z/OS application projects.
  - The usability of property groups has improved via the use of an editor dialog rather than a wizard dialog. This allows you to view property groups and source code side-by-side allowing editing of both concurrently
  - The property group editor includes new validation logic to help developers locate missing information, missing datasets, or improperly formatted inputs.

• Support for Generation Data Group (GDG) Datasets from the IBM Rational Developer for System z Remote Systems Explorer.

• Expanded alternative include syntax in COBOL and PL/I, specifically, the support -INC and ++INCLUDE verbs as if they were copy statements.

• A new API is included for customers who have developed custom pre-processors. Pre-processors can now be called from a local syntax check operation so that customized development processes can be handled in the local environment as well as the remote environment. Multiple pre-processors can be configured for execution in sequence.

• The compare view now allows updates to the content being compared. This is an improvement over the read-only compare editor previously offered. The compare editor also can now enforce LRecl and Record format rules for the datasets or members under comparison.

• Job resubmit (sj) support, editing a completed job for re-execution, from the editor as well as Remote Systems Explorer

• Refreshing of active (executing) job spool contents

• Several smaller enhancements -- Added to the LPEX editing environment such as:
  - Enhanced support for COBOL copy-replace verbs and copybook resolution
  - HEX editing support in the editor
  - Identification of non-round tripping code-page conversion characters inline in the edit session to speed conversion error resolution.

Next-generation development environment for COBOL

The COBOL editor has been enhanced to add capabilities such as:

• More robust syntax-check -- This increases productivity by notifying developers immediately when syntax errors occur, eliminating the need for developers to submit syntax check options as often.

• New support for syntax-check as you type for CICS (EXEC CICS) and DB2 (EXEC SQL) syntax co-processors

• A refactoring engine offering intelligent wizards to perform code changes, including the ability to preview and approve changes, such as:
  - Data-element renaming. Data-Element renaming saves time and offers better reliability over simplistic find-replace
  - Remove Noise Words -- Cleans the COBOL program syntax to remove un-need and outdated verbs

• Editor link-ability that assists with easily finding and jumping to other elements in your applications. For example, while working on a COBOL data item you may click the "open declaration" action to jump to the working storage definition of the item, even opening a copybook in an editor if necessary.

• The COBOL editor now remembers where you make code changes and allows you to jump forward and back between code changes using the "forward" and "back" buttons to easily navigate change history in edit sessions or even across edit sessions. For example, using the back button to return to a COBOL program after making a change in a copybook.

• New data-rich code analysis views that include searchable displays series of perform statements

• Editor tooltips to show variable structures. Hover the cursor over a data item and a popup will show the storage structure, even if the storage definition is in a copybook

Next-generation development environment for PL/I

The PL/I editor has been enhanced to add capabilities such as:

• Syntax-Check as you type -- This increases productivity by notifying developers immediately when syntax errors occur, eliminating the need for developers to submit syntax check options as often.

• Editor link-ability that assists with easily finding and jumping to other elements in your applications. For example, while working on a PL/I data item you may click the "open declaration" action to jump to the working storage definition of the item, even opening a copybook in an editor if necessary.

COBOL design and development using UML

UML profiles for COBOL applications have been included in the IBM Rational Developer for System z media. UML designers can

• Use the COBOL profiles in IBM Rational Software Architect to take generic UML class diagrams and activity diagrams and transform them to COBOL-specific application specifications.

• Feed UML models into IBM Rational Developer for System z where they can be transformed into COBOL programs, copybooks, data definitions, and application logic.

This capability helps speed application design to initial implementation as well as providing application documentation for better communications between teams.

SOA, Web services, and RESTful services

Several Enterprise Service Tools usability enhancements have been added to simplify and improve the Web service development experience. The Service Flow modeler has included over a dozen usability enhancements spanning from simplified screen-flow recording to integrated deployment. The single-service wizards have been updated to include first-class meet-in-the-middle support, including new wizards and walkthroughs to help developers with all service development scenarios.

There are also Web service creation enhancements including support for:

• Multi-segment messages in IMS Web Services

• Multi-container messages in CICS

• Meet-in-the-middle mapping for XML attributes

• CICS PL/I top-down code creation

• CICS MTOM messages, a typical services model when a DataPower appliance is used in combination with CICS

IBM Rational Developer for System z now provides tools for Web 2.0 style RESTful services for both CICS and IMS. Restful services provide a lighter-weight model compared to traditional Web services and are typically used for rapidly assembling situational applications and mashups using tools like EGL Rich UI included IBM Rational Developer for System z with EGL or Lotus Mashup Center. IBM Rational Developer for System z provides tools to create:

• CICS ATOM feeds from TS Queues, VSAM datasets, or other CICS COMMAREA or Channel-based transactional programs

• CICS RESTful services using XSDBind creation wizards to help exploit existing processing and transform to XML data and services

• IMS Info 2.0 and Lotus Mashup center deployment for IMS transactional applications

CICS Service Component Architecture (SCA)

SCA is a new application assembly model for CICS applications. SCA allows the developer to model, describe, generate, and deploy application components as a unit. The SCA description holds descriptions of input/output criteria, resource definition requirements, component configuration information, and well as component dependencies linkages. This set of resources can be deployed to CICS, which analyzes dependencies to ensure the application will execute correctly based on component linkages.

The WebSphere Application Server includes a SCA feature pack to support SCA components similar to CICS components. IBM Rational Developer for System z can also model, describe, generate, and deploy to WAS for Java Enterprise Edition components. IBM Rational Developer for System z can help model the Web service linkages between WAS and CICS for understanding the heterogeneous application structure of a complete system.

The SCA models, diagrams, and documentation can be shared in an SCM or collaboration tool as a single unit as documentation for application structure and dependencies to facilitate sharing with other developers or to keep a historical record of application needs.

Integrated CICS Explorer and Application Deployment Manager tooling

IBM Rational Developer for System z includes a newly upgraded and integrated copy of the CICS Explorer, based on the version made available in CICS TS V4.1 as described in Software Announcement 209-135,(RFAXXX) dated April 28, 2009. The CICS Explorer is enhanced with the IBM Rational Developer for System z Application Deployment Manager (ADM). The CICS Explorer and ADM allow you to query, define, and install needed CICS resources, Services, and SCA bundles. The combination of CICS Explorer and IBM Rational Developer for System z simplifies the CICS development process by removing or automating several manual steps in the service deployment and testing cycle. The developer no longer has to return to the green screen, or work with CICS System Programmers via manual interaction, to define many of the CICS application resources they need for testing application changes. IBM Rational Developer for System z also gives developers the ability, if permitted in the CICS environment, to define and manage their own CICS resource definitions to speed applications development. Combined with the IBM Rational Developer for System z Manifest Process Tool tech preview, developers and systems programmers can collaborate in an easier manner to improve and speed CICS application development workflow.

The IBM Rational Developer for System z Enterprise Service Tools and z/OS project structures have been integrated with ADM to define and manage CICS application resources that need to be defined for CICS Web Services and Service Flows and transactional applications to be deployed and tested. The resource definitions can be tied to the artifacts generated and maintained by IBM Rational Developer for System z and managed as part of the software life cycle via a source code management system such as IBM ClearCase or IBM Rational Team Concert for System z.

The integrated CICS Explorer also provides the foundation within IBM Rational Developer for System z for integrating the suite of CICS Tools from IBM - Interdependency Analyzer, Performance Analyzer, and Configuration Manager. The eclipse interfaces for these tools are provided separately, but can be integrated into the IBM Rational Developer for System z shell to provide a single workbench for all CICS development activities.

New source code management and collaboration support

New integration with CA Endevor Source Control Manager including:

• Views for displaying, searching, and filtering environments, systems, subsystems, stages, and types

• Integration with Endevor GENERATE processing

• Actions for working with Endevor package

• Ability to inspect Endevor member history or compare members at different versions and stages

• Integration with z/OS remote projects using RETRIEVE, ADD, and UPDATE from Endevor. This facilitates the use of typical IBM Rational Developer for System z functions such as content assist, open copybook, unit build, compare and more

• Limited QUICKEDIT like capabilities. The QUICKEDIT capabilities support browsing only at this time.

IBM Rational Developer for System z packages and integrates with the IBM Rational Team Concert for System z client facilitating integrations with IBM Rational Team Concert for System z V2.0 server capabilities such as:

• Work Item sharing and collaboration tools

• Instant messaging integration with team members

• Project planning tools

• Change tracking and analysis tools to investigate why changes are made to code

There are also specific IBM Rational Team Concert for System z enhancements made to IBM Rational Developer for System z V7.6 such as

• Work item URI linking directly to datasets and 3rd party SCMs using IBM Rational Developer for System z Remote Systems Explorer

• z/OS SubProject integration allowing System z code to be checked out from the IBM Rational Team Concert for System z source code repository directly into a subproject and datasets on the host. This facilitates using all the standard IBM Rational Developer for System z functionality such as editors, syntax check, open copybook, and unit build

• Integration with IBM Rational Team Concert for System z build definitions to locate information such as SYSLIB and COPYLIB to automatically enable IBM Rational Developer for System z functionality without the need for a set of property groups.

Using IBM Rational Team Concert for System z, IBM Rational Developer for System z, and the IBM Debug Tool together also enable what we call (Collaborative) Team Debugging. Team Debug allows developers to:

• Put debug sessions "on hold" and stored, searchable, and managed in the IBM Rational Team Concert for System z Team Server.

• Transfer control of the debug sessions to other developers - transferring source code and breakpoints, while bringing the new user to the point in the code the debugger is currently executing.

There is no longer a need to recreate debug sessions to walk through or document debugging steps with another user; simply share the debugger via IBM Rational Team Concert for System z. This capability is enabled for COBOL, PL/I, C++, Java, and assembler for CICS, IMS, Batch, DB2, and WebSphere Application Server.

Integrated application life cycle tools

WebSphere Service Registry And Repository support via the WebSphere Service Registry And Repository Eclipse plugins to allow integration with Web Service test and production governance systems

Enhanced System z Debugger support including:

• Integration with the LPEX editor facilitating better flow from editing to debugging

• Use of the outline view while debugging

• Content assist while entering debug commands

• New Debug Console commands that can also be entered in a command file are added to allow for unattended debugging.

• Team Debugging with IBM Rational Team Concert for System z

Enhanced File Manager Integration, enabled with IBM File Manager V10.1, facilitates access to structured data files from the IBM Rational Developer for System z workbench including:

• Support for template-driven display of VSAM, PDS Member, and Sequential File data. IBM Rational Developer for System z now offers full support for creating, editing, and updating existing or new File Manager templates providing the equivalent functionality as provided by the green-screen interface.

• Browsing and updating datasets from the workbench. IBM Rational Developer for System z provides a window to the dataset being worked, similar to the green screen interface, but enhanced with additional search and data manipulation actions.

• Supporting large dataset display and edit. The entire dataset is not downloaded to the workstation, only the part of the dataset being worked on. IBM Rational Developer for System z can still facilitate actions against the entire dataset using the File Manager engine on the host.

• Support for searching large datasets via host-based searching and display

• New VSAM utility operations such as copy and allocate-like available from the Remote System Explorer browser

Fault Analyzer Integration allows users to:

• Browse Fault Analyzer ABEND reports on CICS, IMS, Batch, Java, WebSphere, and other runtimes.

• View dump selections relating to ABENDs.

• Annotate reports to share comments with other users who browse the same reports.

• View a new split-screen mode in the dump analyzer, allowing users to view disparate parts of the same dump contents to compare data in different parts of the dump easily.

• Includes reference the same editor sessions used for code editing instead of module sidefiles. This offers a more integrated experience using the same data for all problem determination tool integrations and developer sessions leading from editing to fault analysis more seamlessly.