Code Explanation for JCL: helping system programmers to get natural language explanations for JCL with IBM watsonx Code Assistant for Z 2.1

Authored by Kevin Bowkett, Mike Fulton, Rich Larin, and Husein Shamshudin

In today’s fast-paced technology landscape, enterprises must embrace automation and generative AI to stay competitive. The 2.1 release of IBM watsonx Code Assistant for Z introduces a highly anticipated feature: Code Explanation for JCL. This feature is designed to simplify and accelerate the understanding of JCL for both new and experienced system programmers, thereby enhancing productivity and helping to facilitate more efficient operations.

Addressing Agility and Skill Challenges in z/OS Environments

Operating z/OS environments today can involve challenges:

• Agility: With the adoption of enterprise DevOps, code commits have increased from quarterly releases to multiple daily deployments. Manual processes are no longer viable, necessitating automation. Therefore, a lack of understanding, documentation, and modernization of JCL introduces a risk for successful automation. It is necessary to ensure mainframe processes are accurately executed, easily maintainable, and effectively integrated into modern, efficient workflows.

• Skills: z/OS systems programmers use specialized languages, tools, and terminology, making it difficult for new team members to get up to speed or seasoned programmers to quickly understand code they aren’t familiar with.

For z/OS enterprise solutions to be successful, they need to be developed, deployed, and managed in an automated fashion, leveraging industry-standard tools and processes. This approach improves the productivity of both development and operations teams.

Simplifying JCL Understanding with watsonx Code Assistant for Z

IBM watsonx Code Assistant for Z Code Explanation can help users understand JCL quickly and effectively. Whether you are new to z/OS and learning JCL syntax, or you are a veteran sysprog encountering unfamiliar utilities, the explanations can be invaluable.

With this generative AI powered capability, users can:

• Select the JCL step
• Request an explanation (simple or detailed)
• Read the provided explanation to enable immediate action
• Save the explanations for future reference by inserting them in their code as JCL comments, copying them to other locations, or downloading them

For newcomers, detailed explanations offer in-depth insights, while experienced users might prefer simpler, high-level summaries.

See JCL Explanation in action in the demo video here.

Benefits of JCL Code Explanation:

Enhancing Efficiency for System Programmers

Consider a system programmer tasked with addressing performance issues. By utilizing watsonx Code Assistant for Z Code Explanation, they can quickly gain insights into JCL without extensive manual research. The tool allows them to highlight the code, select the type of explanation needed, and receive detailed guidance. This streamlined process helps the programmer understand and document the automation tasks efficiently.

Improving Documentation and Knowledge Sharing

With watsonx Code Assistant for Z Code Explanation, JCL explanations can be inserted as comments directly in the code. This practice ensures that the entire team can reference the explanations in the future, facilitating knowledge sharing and reducing the need for constant consultations among team members.

Expected Productivity Gains from Generative AI

According to Gartner, there is estimated to be a 30% reduction in time to complete coding tasks through the combination of human and AI assistants by 2028. The study also states that 80% of the product development lifecycle will involve generative AI code generation by 2025. These significant productivity gains highlight the importance of investing in generative AI technologies like watsonx Code Assistant for Z.

Read more details about our recent finding on the business value observed in recent projects using watsonx Code Assistant for Z.

Learn more

JCL Explanation is a capability of watsonx Code Assistant for Z, requiring a connection to the fine-tuned LLM available through the watsonx Code Assistant Service in IBM Cloud.

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