Extending the CARMA plug-in

The CARMA plug-in has been designed for extensibility so you can easily add custom actions. By extending the CARMA plug-in, you can use many of the built-in features of CARMA. Alternatively, you can make use of only the core API functionality to develop your own user interface for accessing a CARMA host.

For most purposes, extending the CARMA plug-in should be sufficient, which has the following advantages over creating your own user interface:

• Dialogs automatically prompt the user for return values, custom parameters, and login information as necessary.
• It features a built-in CARMA hierarchy navigator.
• You can easily provide access to custom RAM actions through menus with minimal effort.

If you would like to extend the CARMA plug-in and are new to Developer for z/OS® plug-in development, you may want to refer to the Eclipse Platform Plug-in Developer Guide. If you would instead like to create your own user interface for CARMA using the core API, refer to the Developer for z/OS CARMA plug-in API specification.

Before you begin development, you should understand the architecture of CARMA. For additional information, see CARMA architecture.