Can you imagine that you can write program with RESTful APIs to work with important z/OS resources like jobs, data sets, Unix files, console commands, TSO commands? Yes, you can do that with z/OSMF RESTful APIs. Before we break down z/OSMF RESTful APIs, let’s firstly talk about why RESTful APIs?
REST is acronym for REpresentational State Transfer. It is a software architectural style which defines several constraints for designing services like Client-Server, Stateless, Uniform interface. By complying with those constraints, your services could get benefits such as simplicity, visibility, scalability, allowing independent evolution, etc. Today, RESTful is very popular standard for implementing web services because RESTful web services are:
- Lightweight
- Easy to call
- Language and platform independent (mean you could use any programming language supports HTTP protocol)
z/OSMF has been providing RESTful APIs (web services) intends to make z/OS more approachable for several years. Today, z/OSMF provides more than 10 types of RESTful APIs:
- z/OS data set and file REST services
Supports working with z/OS data sets, Unix files and Unix directories such as create data set, read/write content of data sets, query data sets, query Unix files, etc.
Supports working with z/OS jobs such as list jobs according to specified criteria, submit job, retrieve job spool files, purge job, etc.
Supports working with z/OS console such as issue console command, retrieve command response, monitor console messages for specified keywords, etc.
- TSO/E address space services
Supports working with z/OS TSO address space such as start TSO/E address space, start a TSO application, issue TSO command, etc.
Supports working with notifications such as send a mail/mobile notification, retrieve all notification received, etc.
- Cloud Provisioning services
Supports provisioning MWs like DB2, CICS, IMS, MQ, WebSphere via REST APIs.
Supports working with z/OSMF workflow via REST APIs such as creating a workflow, starting a workflow, cancel a workflow, etc.
- Software Management services
Supports working with z/OS Software via REST APIs such as add a software instance, export a software instance, retrieve properties of software, etc.
- Application Linking Manager services
Allows 3rd party application to integrate with z/OSMF applications via REST APIs such as registering event which could be handled by z/OSMF application or register itself as a handler to handle z/OSMF events, etc.
Supports retrieving topology information managed by z/OSMF Systems task via REST APIs.
- Application server routing services
Supports route your UI requests to a separate application server when you develop an external z/OSMF application.
With the above z/OSMF RESTful APIs, you can write your own program to work with z/OS much more efficiently. Check out what our customer said about z/OSMF RESTful APIs:
“By applying the open API provided by z/OSMF, we are building a truly service-oriented host system operation and maintenance platform.” — Lihui Liu, Project Manager, ICBC Shanghai Data Center
Wants to learn more about z/OSMF RESTful APIs? Please check out z/OSMF Programming Guide which documents all the RESTful APIs supported by z/OSMF.
Wants to learn how to write a program to call z/OSMF RESTful API? Please check out “IBM z/OS Management Facility” trial on IBM Z Trail Program.
More details about z/OSMF, please check out z/OSMF web page.
References:
1. z/OSMF Marketplace:
https://www.ibm.com/us-en/marketplace/zos-management-facility
2. z/OSMF Trial：
https://www.ibm.com/account/reg/us-en/signup?formid=urx-34578
3. z/OSMF One Stop Hub:
https://www.ibm.com/developerworks/community/blogs/e0c474f8-3aad-4f01-8bca-f2c12b576ac9/entry/z_OSMF_One_Stop_Hub?lang=en
4. z/OSMF Knowledge Center:
https://www.ibm.com/support/knowledgecenter/en/SSLTBW_2.3.0/com.ibm.zos.v2r3.izu/izu.htm