Install and configure the IBM® Test Accelerator for Z parts on your z/OS with IBM Host Configuration Assistant for Z Development
“Designed to simplify planning and configuring of Z Development products, Host Configuration Assistant helps you determine the host components to configure for your products and provides you with feature-based checklists to let you focus on focus. The customized configuration tasks are generated and can be assigned to the programmer to assist the configuration step by step.” - Host Configuration Assistant for Z Development
What does this mean?
Step-by-step instructions for installing the host components into your environment, delivered not only directly in the web but also available to be emailed as a .pdf file ( great to have a backup available offline!)
Simply click IBM Test Accelerator for Z, (along with any other products listed you may be installing upgrading or reconfiguring) and see all of the host components you would want to have installed and configured.
We have selected what we want! Now we just need to configure our particular status and needs …
Today, we need to do some upgrades to the latest versions, so that is path we will travel; however there is a definite road for those new installations!
... and just configure how we want delivery.
I like that .pdf file in hand and as an offline backup so I have it sent to me.
It knows who “me” is because I am logged in to my IBM account, so no need to provide my email, but we can also send it to others if we want.
Pressing Complete.
Wow!
Already done with getting our custom built host install and configure guide.
Diving right back in….
Let’s get started!
Progress down the Left, instructions on the right.
We have the parts with the new versions already.
Great!
On to the next steps.
We set up the product as being installed.
Now we need to get the Explorer for z/OS updated and configured.
Looks good to go.
On to the Debugger, which means migration for the installed components, assuring the existing configurations, setting up the configuration on Test Accelerator for Z (TAZ) Dynamic Test Engine (DTE), and checking on the Debug Profile Service (DPS).
We definitely want to make sure that we can get CICS and IMS in the recordings, and also debug in addition to my testing, so we will also configure that.
(Some steps omitted here for brevity, but you’ll see them on yours!)
We like having Code Coverage (CC) and getting the Data Collections so we need to make sure to do these.
And last, some finishing up.
All right, ready to go!
Note: Yes, I did get the emailed .pdf file too!
This is what we have set up when we connect this with our Microsoft Visual Studio Code (VS Code) instance on the laptop having the IBM TAZ Early Development Testing extension and the pre-requisites installed and configured.
We are now ready to go do some COBOL unit testing with IBM TAZ Early Development Testing on VS Code for 2.6 !
IBM Test Accelerator for Z 2.6
The documentation is updated with all the new features… so first step is to stop by the What’s New section to see where else to browse to!
Head to What's new in IBM Test Accelerator for Z for the latest.
IBM Test Accelerator for Z Early Development Testing for VS Code
Test Accelerator for Z 2.6.0 has a few big Early Development Testing for VS Code changes.
Early Development Testing is part of TAZ, so let us name it after TAZ: We changed the VS Code extension name from Early Development Testing to IBM TAZ Early Development Testing for clarity.
We changed the zdata file format to JSON. This makes it easier to put into the repository, since the type is well known.
Test execution with code coverage was added, and activated option to run test with code coverage in the test explorer.
Don’t forget to grab the IBM Compiled Code Coverage extension, as it is needed to actually view the code coverage!
All of the rest of the improvements are in the following User Experience Update check list. Take the product for a spin to check them out!
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Direct Data Editor to .zdtata file updates, where every time you make and assertion or mock changes, the .zdata file will also be updated to represent the changes. If you have existing tests with binary z.data, don’t worry we got you: the old binary format .zdata can be easily converted to the new JSON format using "Migrate binary zdata to JSON" command palette. Users can migrate entire workspace, specific folders, or individual files through the command palette.
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Added hover actions on individual test points, and also in the Test Points view for quicker navigation; open the .ztest file directly from the test name using a book icon.
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Changed test points view to automatically expand and focus when a unit test is opened. Loading state is now visible even when the Test Points section was previously collapsed.
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Book icon to open the corresponding source code location.
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Go-to-file icon to open the selected test point in the Test Data Editor.
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Disabled test points are now greyed out in the test points view.
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In Batch program recording, as this is a unit test, only one step can be chosen to record from a JCL.
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The editor validates the numeric inputs and rejects values with specific error messages to help users correct their input Numeric Edited item type sign changes improvements.
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Batch recording process job failures no longer behave as a hung system.
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When a user enters a test name during creation, this name will now appear in both the .ztest file name and the name attribute inside the .ztest file.
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There is now a setting taz-edt-extension.ussResultsLocation which allow users to customize where test results are stored on Unix System Service..
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TAZ EDT VS Code now validates the Zowe profile availability and checks for an empty file.
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User experience improvements with deleted changes.
IBM Test Accelerator for Z Early Development Testing for Eclipse (including Unit Test and Component Test) changes
We added a new User Experience capability: Recording unit test case data for batch programs is enhanced by enabling target job‑step selection and providing a more intuitive user interface.
IBM Enterprise Edition for Galasa
The IBM Enterprise Edition for Galasa (IEEG) is now based on Galasa 0.46.1, and containing security fixes, so don’t forget to get the latest!
IBM Test Accelerator for Z On Demand Environments
Make sure to grab the latest stock image and product updates.
Excelsior!
Host Configuration Assistant for Z Development page
Test Accelerator for Z page
Release notes
Documentation
Download from Passport Advantage Online