I know what you're thinking. Who are you? Why have I never seen you write a blog before? How are you reading my thoughts right now? Well, let me put your mind at ease. First, I'm your friend and as of late, I'm the new product architect for IBM Developer for z/OS. And while I may not possess any supernatural powers, I can offer you something even more fascinating: updates to IBM Developer for z/OS Enterprise Edition (IDzEE) and the other Aqua products.

IBM Developer for z/OS Enterprise Edition (IDzEE)

Before we get too far into what's new with IDz 15.0.7, let's talk about the Enterprise Edition.

To keep it short and sweet, IDzEE offers a robust toolkit of additional capabilities and features to target flexibility, collaboration, and a truly enterprise level DevOps integration. With IDzEE 15.0.7, you are entitled to:

• IBM Wazi for VS Code, an extension to Visual Studio Code (VS Code) for z/OS developers. While VS Code already supports JavaScript, TypeScript, and Node.js, the IBM Wazi Developer extensions expand its capabilities to include COBOL, PL/I, REXX, JCL, and High-Level Assembler (HLASM). This integration allows developers familiar with VS Code to work seamlessly on the IBM Z platform, reducing the learning curve and enabling faster productivity.
• IBM Wazi for Dev Spaces 2.0, a cutting-edge, cloud-native IDE tailored for z/OS developers. Built upon the robust Red Hat CodeReady Workspaces platform, it seamlessly integrates with your development environment to offer an unparalleled edit, build, and debug experience. Red Hat CodeReady Workspaces itself is a collaborative development solution designed for Kubernetes, empowering developers with OpenShift workspaces and a browser-based IDE for swift cloud application development. Excitingly, recent updates have introduced a user-friendly, form-based UI for deployment, eliminating the need for manual YAML source modifications.
• IBM Dependency Based Build (DBB) 1.1.4, a powerful tool that streamlines the build process by managing dependencies between software components. With DBB, developers can efficiently build complex applications by automatically resolving and fetching dependencies, ensuring a smooth and reliable build experience. By simplifying the build process and managing dependencies effectively, DBB enables developers to focus more on coding and less on manual configuration, leading to increased productivity and accelerated software delivery.
• IBM Z Open Automation Utilities (ZOA Utilities) 1.1, an advanced solution that simplifies automation on the z/OS platform. With ZOA Utilities, organizations can unlock the full potential of their mainframe environment by automating manual tasks, improving efficiency, and reducing operational costs. By leveraging modern automation frameworks like Python and REST APIs, ZOA Utilities empowers developers to automate a wide range of activities, from system management and application deployment to data processing and job scheduling.

Fixes and Updates

IDz 15.0.7 integrates a wide array of updates and bug fixes from IBM Developer for z/OS and Explorer for z/OS, aiming to enhance user experience and bolster reliability. To view the complete list of fixes for IBM Developer for z/OS (IDz), IBM Developer for z/OS Enterprise Edition (IDzEE), and Application Delivery Foundation for z/OS (ADFz), click here.

Editors

In IDz 15.0.7, the COBOL and PL/I language parsers have updates to provide support for the most recent Enterprise COBOL 6.4 and Enterprise PL/I 6.1 PTFs.

Remote Connection Emulator Enhancements

• By default, the session type is set to telnet 3279. However, if you open a workspace created in an earlier version of the client with an active Remote Connection Emulator session, the session type retains the original value. To modify the session type, simply navigate to Session Properties and make the desired changes.
  
  
  
  
• The Host Properties page now offers two additional options:
  • Override default web settings (Windows only): This option allows you to address display issues within the Remote Connection Emulator view by changing the default Eclipse browser type to Edge. Enabling this setting can help optimize your browsing experience.
    
    
    
    
  • Test the connection: Troubleshooting connection problems becomes more accessible with this new feature. By clicking the "Test Connection" button, you can perform a connection test to the z/OS system, generate a trace file, and analyze the results displayed in the Connection Status Message field.
    For more information about session properties, see Setting session properties.
    
    
    
    
• The latest release introduces the ability to remap the left and right Ctrl keys. Utilize the Keyboard Remap slider window to customize the control keys according to your preference. For more information about remapping the control keys, see Customize the keyboard. Please note that this function is not supported on macOS.
  
  
  
  
• A convenient Preferences page has been added, allowing users to configure a working directory. This feature provides flexibility in choosing a specific directory for your work. To learn more about working directory configuration, refer to the documentation on Configuring a Working Directory.
  
  
  
  
• Navigating through the Preferences, Host Properties, Session Properties, Keyboard Remap, and Terminal Styling windows has become more intuitive. These windows now provide context-sensitive help, making it easier to find the relevant information you need.
  
  

Additionally, several limitations have been addressed in this release. For more information about the current limitations, consult the Limitations and troubleshooting section.

But Wait! There's More!

*Slaps the side of a z16* The z/OS Automated Unit Testing Framework (ZUnit) introduces new capabilities, including testing main programs calling subprograms in DLLs. A User Libraries field allows specifying additional libraries for running the program under test. CICS target names can now be manually edited. Message prompts provide more detailed error and warning information. In zIDE (z/OS Integrated Development Environment), the FEKRNPLI remote preprocessor supports the +DD:OPTIONS parameter for specifying compiler options exceeding the 100-character limit. Documentation enhancements include topics for HLASM development setup, detailed information on z/OS-based licensing, migration instructions, a ZUnit support summary page, and updated ZUnit COBOL and PL/I limitations pages.

Visit What's New for IDz 15.0.7 to see the full documentation of what's new and improved.