What's new in IBM Developer for z/OS and Developer for z/OS Enterprise Edition

Version 16.0.4

Db2® for z/OS Development

• Support for creating, deploying, and running stored procedures is added. The SQL editor includes a new wizard, Deploy Stored Procedure and menu actions for running stored procedures. The Run Configurations wizard now includes support for deployed stored procedures. For more information about stored procedure support, see Creating, deploying, and running stored procedures.
• A new Db2 Templates preference page displays SQL templates included with the product and allows for the creation of additional templates. For more information about defining templates, see Defining SQL templates.
• The SQL editor provides content assistance for built-in functions, stored procedures, and SQL templates. For more information about the SQL editor content assistance, see Inserting code with content assistance.
• The Catalog list is updated:
  • It now includes these Db2 objects: Sequences, Table Spaces, Triggers, User-Defined Functions, User-Defined Types. Nesting support is added to all preexisting references to these objects.
  • These child objects are removed: Schemas > Aliases, Packages > Aliases, Packages > Partitioned Table Spaces, Packages > Sequence Aliases.
  • Functions is renamed User-Defined Functions in these nodes: Schemas, Packages, Views.
  • A new filter option, Include implicit objects, is added to the Query Filter properties for these top-level Catalog filters: Databases, Indexes, Sequences, Tables, and Table Spaces. When this option is enabled, implicit objects are included as children of these objects. The filter label is also updated to show Include Implicit.
  • The Catalog list adds disambiguation labels to objects with identical names. These labels display additional context, such as the schema name, in parenthesis following the name.
  For more information about the Catalog list, see Navigating catalogs.

Editors

• Many of the language parsers are updated to support syntax checking, highlighting, and content assistance for new programming language statements and keywords. The following list summarizes the updates included with the product for programming language currency:
  • Enterprise COBOL for z/OS: Support for V6.4 December 2023 and February 2024 PTFs.
  • Enterprise PL/I for z/OS: Support for V6.1 January 2024 PTF.
  • CICS® Transaction Server for z/OS®, Version 6 Release 2: Support for February 2024 beta update.
  • HLASM: Support for SETA and SETC instructions.
• COBOL real-time syntax checking is enhanced to automatically determine if synchronous loading of copybooks is needed. The preference setting Load Copybooks synchronously is no longer necessary and is removed from the COBOL > Real-Time Syntax Checking Preferences page.

Remote Connection Emulator

• The Remote Connection Emulator supports Copy, Cut, and Paste text editing functions on macOS with limitations. On macOS, you can copy, cut, and paste text only within the Remote Connection Emulator window. You cannot paste text into the Remote Connection Emulator that was copied or cut from an external window or application, such as a text editor.
• The emulator is enhanced to support Network Virtual Terminal (NVT) mode.

ZUnit (z/OS Automated Unit Testing Framework)

• Update:
  ZUnit is deprecated. The recommended replacement is IBM Test Accelerator for Z. For more information about this new offering, see the IBM Test Accelerator for Z product website.
• You can now use the Enterprise COBOL CALL02.cbl sample file and project to record data from a COBOL batch application, and import the data for the sub program SUB02B.cbl that is called statically into a test case, and then generate, build, and run the TSUB02B.cbl test case to see the test results for the imported data. For more information, see Record and import data into the test case of SUB02B.cbl for sub program called statically.

Known Issues and Limitations

• Language-sensitive help in the COBOL Editor, PL/I Editor, and z System LPEX Editor is not functioning. For a workaround, see Troubleshooting language-sensitive help.

Version 16.0.3

Db2 for z/OS Development

• A new SQL editor combines familiar editing, formatting, and syntax checking capabilities of the Developer for z/OS source code editors with the Db2 for z/OS Development tools for running and tuning SQL. This new editor introduces a menu action Format SQL and a preference page for setting SQL formatting options. Text editing tools include
  • Bracket matching and automatic closing of bracket pairs
  • Code folding
  • Toggle Line Comment
  • Toggle Word Wrap
  • Toggle Block Selection Mode
  • Show Whitespace Characters
  • Syntax coloring and flagging SQL errors
  • A new z/OS File System Mapping that defines file transfer characteristics for workstation files with the .sql extension and z/OS data sets with the SQL low-level qualifier
  For more information about the SQL editor, see Creating and running SQL scripts.
• Ability to edit table data in the Remote System Details view. The Edit Table function is enabled for database tables that have either a primary key constraint or a unique constraint. For more information about editing table data, see Editing table data.
• Ability to export and import preferences from the Db2 for z/OS, SQL Formatter, and EXEC SQL Statements preference pages. For more information, see Exporting Db2 for z/OS preferences.
• The push-to-client feature now supports Db2 for z/OS connections. For more information about setting up and using the push-to-client feature, see Planning a push-to-client environment. In the push-to-client export wizard, the Db2 for z/OS preferences are on the Global configuration page. For more information about using the push-to-client export wizard, see Exporting push-to-client configuration files.
• Improvements and enhancements to several functions that were introduced in prior releases:
  • Table data sorting and query filtering in the Remote System Details view are improved and expanded.
  • Show Execution Status is supported for a parent items, such as a program file or an SQL script, as well as individual queries. You can filter the contents of the Execution Status window to show only errors and warnings, and link to the Db2 for z/OS documentation for more information about SQL errors.
  • Catalog navigation has been enhanced to show more Db2 objects. For more information, see Navigating catalogs.

Documentation

The table of contents for the IBM Documentation is reorganized to more accurately reflect the development process and place commonly used topics in a more prominent location. Any topic links that changed as a result of this reorganization are mapped to their new location to preserve browser bookmarks. The reorganization applies only to the documentation for the Eclipse IDE and does not affect the Wazi portions of the documentation.

Editors

COBOL and PL/I

The COBOL and PL/I Editors support real-time syntax checking and content assist for new EXEC CICS® API calls in the CICS 6.2 Beta release.

HLASM

The Eclipse IDE includes a new HLASM Editor implemented using the Language Server Protocol. To try it out, right-click an HLASM source file and select Open With > HLASM Editor. Learn more about the editor features and functions at Getting started with the HLASM Editor.

REXX

• A new tab in local and remote property groups enables you to provide information for resolving local and remote include files in the REXX Editor. For more information about these settings, see Setting up property groups for editing.
  
• A new Preferences page for the REXX Editor enables you to set margins, tab stops, and a column indicator line.

Property groups

• The z/OS IDE is enhanced to generate a property group from a ZAPP file in a z/OS project and to generate a ZAPP file from a property group. Learn more about ZAPP files and property groups at Exporting and importing from a ZAPP file.
• Fields for defining local copy, include, and macro libraries in both local and remote property groups support global patterns.

Remote Connection Emulator

On Windows, the Remote Connection Emulator supports Copy, Cut, and Paste text editing functions.

ZUnit (z/OS Automated Unit Testing Framework)

• A new Number of Records row is added in Test Case Editor so that you can verify and edit the number of records. For more information, see Verifying and editing number of records.
• ZUnit sample programs are enhanced with new designs and changes in the workflow. For more information, see ZUnit (z/OS Automated Unit Testing Framework) Samples.
• You can now test a sub program that is statically linked to a caller program without having to build a dummy load module.
• ZUnit scalability is improved for better interactions with larger layouts and larger arrays.
• When recording test case data for batch programs, you can now easily filter to look for the .jcl file extension while browsing for JCL files.
• To know more about how to set ZUnit local project properties, see Setting ZUnit local project properties.

Known Issues and Limitations

• Language-sensitive help in the COBOL Editor, PL/I Editor, and z System LPEX Editor is not functioning.

Version 16.0.2

Db2 for z/OS Development

• A Catalog folder in database connections enables you to explore schemas, storage groups, databases, and tables, and to filter displayed objects. For more information, see Navigating catalogs.
• Database connectivity is enhanced with several new preference settings, greater control over individual database connections, and the ability to automatically reconnect if a connection is dropped. For more information, see Connect to a Db2 location and Configuring Db2 for z/OS tooling.
• A Test Connection button is added to the SQL Tuning Services Server properties page.

Documentation

A new topic provides instructions for Migrating to Developer for z/OS Enterprise Edition or Application Delivery Foundation for z/OS from Developer for z/OS.

Editors

COBOL

Support for COBOL 6.4 April 2023 PTF syntax changes.

PL/I

Support for PL/I 6.1 March 2023 PTF syntax changes.

REXX

A Show Whitespace Characters button is added to the toolbar.

ZUnit (z/OS Automated Unit Testing Framework)

• New ZUnit sample TOURFILE.cbl is now available to demonstrate how to test a COBOL batch file I/O application program. The existing samples are updated to become easier to use. For more information, see ZUnit (z/OS Automated Unit Testing Framework) Samples.
• The preferences pages for setting ZUnit preferences are updated to support new and changed options and features. For more information, see Setting ZUnit preferences.
• To know about the latest ZUnit experience, see ZUnit (z/OS Automated Unit Testing Framework) for more information.

Remote Connection Emulator

• Two new options are added to the Host Properties page.
  • Override default web settings: On Windows, if the emulator is not displaying correctly, you can override the default Eclipse browser.
  • Test the connection: Generates a trace file for troubleshooting connection problems.
  For more information about these options, see Setting session properties.
• Several limitations are lifted with this release. For more information about current limitations, see Limitations and troubleshooting.

CA Endevor support in CARMA (Common Access Repository Manager)

Support for the CA Endevor repository access manager is enhanced to add the following fields to the Properties view for CA Endevor SCM elements:

• Add/Update from data set name
• Add/Update from member name
• Retrieve-To data set name
• Retrieve-To member name

You can open the Properties view for an element by selecting it in the CARMA Version History view or in the element list of the CARMA Repositories view. For more information about these views, see Viewing the history of CA Endevor SCM elements and Connecting to CA Endevor Software Change Manager (SCM) RAM.

Version 16.0.1

Db2 for z/OS Development

• Enhanced support for the z Systems® LPEX Editor includes the capability for editing SQL files, running or tuning selected statements in an SQL file, and running all SQL statements in an SQL file that is open in the editor. These new functions are supported by a new content type that associates SQL files with the z Systems LPEX Editor as the default editor. For more information about SQL file support, see these topics:
  • Running SQL
  • Tuning SQL
  • Defining SQL content types
• If you update a P2 installation of v16.0.x into which you imported a Db2 for z/OS client license, you might be prompted to restart the product again.

Editors

COBOL

• The COBOL Editor supports new formatter preferences for aligning TO clauses and for setting capitalization options for copybooks. For more information about the new formatter preferences, see Formatting COBOL code elements.
• The Show Expanded Source action now places all temporary files that it generates into an .expanded folder. This enhancement makes it easier to exclude these temporary files from source control management applications. For more information about Show Expanded Source, see Opening expanded source files.
• Language-sensitive help for Enterprise COBOL 6.4 and CICS 6.1 keywords.

PL/I

• Support for new language elements introduced in Enterprise PL/I version 6.1 PTFs UI81964, UI80842, and UI80915.
• The Show Expanded Source action now places all temporary files that it generates into an .expanded folder. This enhancement makes it easier to exclude these temporary files from source control management applications. For more information about Show Expanded Source, see Opening expanded source files.
• Language-sensitive help for PL/I 6.1 and CICS 6.1 keywords.

Engineering Workflow Management Integration for z/OS

This release includes support for IBM Engineering Workflow Management version 7.0.2. To install the Engineering Workflow Management components into a Developer for z/OS client, you must use the Eclipse p2 provisioning platform. For installation instructions, see Installing the integration.

Remote Connection Emulator

• You can now remap the left and right Ctrl keys by using the Keyboard Remap slider window. For more information about remapping the control keys, see Key mapping. This function is not supported on macOS.
• The Preferences, Host Properties, Session Properties, Keyboard Remap, and Terminal Styling windows now provide context-sensitive help.
  Tip: To open help for the main Remote Connection Emulator window and for the Session Properties, Keyboard Remap, and Terminal Styling slider windows, click the ? icon at the top or bottom of the window. The corresponding help topic opens in IBM Documentation.
• Several limitations are lifted with this release. For more information about current limitations, see Limitations and troubleshooting.

ZUnit (z/OS Automated Unit Testing Framework)

• The ZUnit preference page is moved under the new ZTest preference page. Some preferences are moved to the new ZTest preference page. For more information, see Setting ZUnit preferences.
• You can now test a main program calling a subprogram that is in a DLL.
• A User Libraries field is added to the property group which you can use to specify the names of the additional libraries to run the program under test. For more information, see Setting test runner options for a test case.
• You can now manually edit CICS target names. For more information, see Editing EXEC CICS settings.
• Message prompts are added or updated to provide more details about the errors or warnings and their solutions.

Documentation

• The documentation for Product licensing provides more detailed information about z/OS-based licensing for Developer for z/OS Enterprise Edition.
• The ZUnit support summary page summarizes the support from ZUnit and IBM Z Virtual Test Platform in terms of environment and middleware.
• Host messages are added for ZUnit at Host messages for ZUnit (z/OS Automated Unit Testing Framework).
• ZUnit COBOL limitations and ZUnit PL/I limitations pages are updated.

Limitations and known issues

Remote Connection Emulator is not available on Linux®.

Some limitations reported in version 16.0.0 are no longer in force:

• The IBM Developer for z/OS client is now available on Linux.
• IBM Installation Manager is now supported. IBM Installation Manager version 1.9.2 is required. For more information, see Installing the IBM Developer for z/OS client by using IBM Installation Manager.
• The IBM Engineering Workflow Management Integration for z/OS is included in this version. For installation instructions, see Installing the integration.
• The Help is unavailable message that was caused by an error in the product plugin_customization.ini file is resolved.

Version 16.0.0

Cheat Sheets

This release replaces the Getting Started view and its task guides with Eclipse cheat sheets. If you open a workspace created in version 15.0.x or earlier in the version 16.0 client, the Getting Started view redirects you to cheat sheets. To learn more about cheat sheets, see Cheat sheets.

Dependency Based Build Integration

The DBB Integration component now supports IBM Dependency Based Build version 2.0. For information about IBM Dependency Based Build, see the IBM Dependency Based Build Documentation. For information about the DBB Integration component, see Integrating IBM Dependency Based Build and Developer for z/OS.

Eclipse 4.23 and Java™ 11 Support

The product client is now built on Eclipse 4.23 with support for Java 11 and IBM Explorer for z/OS Aqua 3.3. For the Eclipse documentation, see Eclipse documentation.

As a result of support for Eclipse 4.23:

• IBM Installation Manager is not yet supported in the IBM Developer for z/OS version 16.0.0 release. Currently, product installation is available only by the Eclipse P2 provisioning platform. For installation instructions, see Installing the IBM Developer for z/OS client by using P2.
• Eclipse cheat sheets replace the Getting Started view. To learn more about cheat sheets, see Cheat sheets.

As a result of support for Java 11, the following code pages that were provided in IBM SDK, Java Technology Edition, Version 8, to support character encodings are no longer available in this release: hp-roman8, IBM00924, IBM274, ISO-8859-10, ISO-8859-14, KZ-1048, PTCP154, x-COMPOUND_TEXT, x-IBM-udcJP, x-IBM1027, x-IBM1041, x-IBM1043, x-IBM1046S, x-IBM1047_LF, x-IBM1088, x-IBM1114, x-IBM1115, x-IBM1130, x-IBM1141_LF, x-IBM1153, x-IBM1164, x-IBM1165, x-IBM1351, x-IBM1362, x-IBM1363, x-IBM1363C, x-IBM1370, x-IBM1371, x-IBM1377, x-IBM1379, x-IBM1380, x-IBM1382, x-IBM1385, x-IBM1386, x-IBM1388, x-IBM1390, x-IBM1390A, x-IBM1399, x-IBM1399A, x-IBM16684, x-IBM16684A, x-IBM29626, x-IBM300A, x-IBM301, x-IBM33722A, x-IBM33722C, x-IBM420S, x-IBM4933, x-IBM720, x-IBM808, x-IBM835, x-IBM836, x-IBM837, x-IBM859, x-IBM864S, x-IBM867, x-IBM897, x-IBM924_LF, x-IBM927, x-IBM930A, x-IBM939A, x-IBM941, x-IBM947, x-IBM951, x-IBM954, x-IBM954C, x-IBM971, x-ISO-8859-6S, x-KOI8_RU, x-KSC5601, x-mswin-936A, x-UTF_8J, x-windows-1256S

Editors

COBOL and PL/I

Support for COBOL 6.4, PL/I 6.1, and CICS 6.1 is enhanced to lift several limitations in earlier product releases. For more information, see Limitations in COBOL 6.4, PL/I 6.1, and CICS 6.1 support.

z Systems LPEX Editor

The z Systems LPEX Editor is updated to version 4.23.

Remote Connection Emulator

The default session type is telnet 3279. If you open a workspace that was created in version 15.0.x in a version 16.0.x client, and that workspace has an active Remote Connection Emulator session, the Session type setting retains the value that was set in the workspace. To change the session type, click Session Properties.

ZUnit (z/OS Automated Unit Testing Framework)

• The AZUTSTRN test runner is removed from ZUnit (z/OS Automated Unit Testing Framework). Use the default Dynamic Test Runner (BZUPLAY) for existing and new testing capabilities.
• New COBOL and PL/I test case template wizards are added to help you quickly create test cases.
• The Dynamic Test Runner libraries for batch recording service is now configured in the host environment variable settings by default. You can set the client preference to retrieve them from the host automatically instead of having to manually specify them.
• You can enable and specify local project settings in the ZUnit preferences menu for running test cases on local resources.
• A new option is added in the ZUnit preferences menu for Dynamic Test Runner to group call parameters by subprogram name in Test Case Editor.
• Opening Test Case Editor no longer creates a default TEST1 automatically. You must create a test manually, or use the Start recording data button to create the test by recording data.
• Cleanup menu is now enabled by default for remote COBOL or PL/I resources.

IBM Documentation Offline

IBM Documentation has introduced tooling for installing the IBM Developer for z/OS documentation on a workstation for offline access. To learn more and to download the IBM Documentation Offline go to https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/offline.

Limitations and known issues

• The IBM Developer for z/OS client is not yet available on Linux.
• IBM Installation Manager is not yet supported in the IBM Developer for z/OS version 16.0.0 release.
• The IBM Engineering Workflow Management Integration for z/OS is not delivered in this release.
• If you select Help > Help Contents to open the online help, you might see the message Help is unavailable. This issue is caused by an error in the product plugin_customization.ini file. To resolve this issue, do these steps:

  1. Edit this file:
     IBM Developer for zOS\plugins\com.ibm.developer.for.zos.product_16.0.0.202210132216\plugin_customization.ini
  2. Change the org.eclipse.help.base/help_home= parameter from this:
     org.eclipse.help.base/help_home=/com.ibm.wsentdev.doc/topics/kc_version_welcome_rdz.html
     to this:

     org.eclipse.help.base/help_home=/com.ibm.etools.getstart.wsentdev.doc/topics/aintro.html

  3. Restart the product.
  4. Click Help > Help Contents.
     The product overview page opens in the online help.

     

Deprecated and removed components

The following components are deprecated or removed from the product. Some of the removals have implications for opening workspaces created by earlier releases. These implications are documented in this list.

Data Studio and the Data perspective

Data Studio and the Data perspective are removed from the product. If you open a workspace created by an earlier release, and the Data perspective is open, the views show error messages similar to the following example: Could not create the view: com.ibm.datatools.project.ui.projectExplorer. Close the Data perspective.

Enterprise Service Tools IMS Web 2.0 projects

Support for IMS Web 2.0 projects is removed.

Getting Started view

The Getting Started view is removed from the product, and the task guides are migrated to Eclipse cheat sheets. If you open a workspace created in version 15.0.x or earlier in the version 16.0 client, the Getting Started view redirects you to cheat sheets.

Host Connection Emulator

Replaced with the Remote Connection Emulator. If you use the version 16.0 client to open a workspace that was created in version 15.0.x, and the workspace has an active Host Connection Emulator session, the session opens in the Remote Connection Emulator with a message similar to: No editor descriptor for id com.ibm.etools.host.connect.editors.HostConnectEditor. To access the full functionality of the Remote Connection Emulator, close that session and open a Remote Connection Emulator session.

Software Analyzer

Support for Java Code Review and Java Software Metrics is removed from Software Analyzer Configurations. You cannot import previously exported Java code review or metrics configurations (.dat files) into Software Analyzer.

Test runner (AZUTSTRN)

The AZUTSTRN test runner is removed from ZUnit (z/OS Automated Unit Testing Framework). Use the default Dynamic Test Runner (BZUPLAY) for existing and new testing capabilities.

Prior versions