Introduction to the IBM z/OS Container Platform

Earlier this year, IBM released the IBM z/OS Container Platform. This product enables users to build, deploy, run and manage containerized z/OS UNIX® applications.

Introducing the IBM Open Enterprise Foundation for z/OS container image

We're excited to announce the availability of the IBM Open Enterprise Foundation (OEF) for z/OS container image on August 23, 2024. OEF is a collection of open source development tools that brings the benefits of modern software development practices to the z/OS environment. By providing access to tools like Git, Bash, Vim, Curl, Ncurses, Less, Make and Perl, OEF enables seamless integration with your existing z/OS applications and DevOps workflows.

Why use IBM Open Enterprise Foundation for z/OS in containers?

Running IBM Open Enterprise Foundation tools in containers offers several advantages:

• Modern Development Tools: By containerizing OEF, you gain access to powerful, supported open-source tools like Git, Bash, and others, making it easier to manage code, automate tasks, and implement best practices in your workflows.

• Consistency Across Environments: Containers ensure that your applications and tools run consistency across different environments—be it development, testing, or production.

• Streamlined CI/CD Pipelines: Integrate OEF’s staples such as Git and Bash seamlessly with modern CI/CD tools to accelerate software development and deployment.

Getting started with the IBM Open Enterprise Foundation for z/OS container

To start using the OEF container, obtain your entitlement key to download the container image from the IBM Cloud Registry (icr.io). Here's how you can pull and run the image using podman:

podman login -u iamapikey -p <your-api-key> icr.io
podman pull icr.io/zoscp/oeftools:latest
podman run -it <image id>

This sequence logs into the IBM Cloud Registry, pulls the latest oeftools container image, and runs it interactively. Note that Bash is the default shell, allowing you to immediately begin using familiar UNIX commands and scripts.

Using the tools within the IBM Open Enterprise Foundation for z/OS

Now that you have the OEF container set up, let's explore how you can leverage various OEF tools within the containerized environment.

• Clone a Repository: After launching the OEF container, you can clone a Git repository using the following command:

  • git clone https://github.com/your-org/your-repo.git
  • This will create a local copy of the repository on your z/OS system.

• Make Changes with Vim: Now that you have the repo cloned, you can use the Vim text editor to make your changes:
  • cd your-repo && vim my-file.txt # Make your changes with vim and save the file

• Commit and Push Changes: Once you've made your changes, you can add them to the Git staging area, commit the changes, and push them to the remote repository:
  • git add &&. git commit -m "Added new feature" && git push origin main

By integrating Git with other OEF tools like Vim and Bash, you can create a seamless and modernized development experience on your z/OS systems, all within a container!

Conclusion

For more details on OEF, visit the IBM Open Enterprise Foundation for z/OS product page. To learn more about the IBM z/OS Container Platform, check out the product information page.