Metadata store command-line interface

The metadata store command-line interface (CLI) provides you with simple and limited access to the DBB build metadata without using the metadata store Java™ APIs through Java application or Groovy script. Instead, you can run DBB metadata store functions from the z/OS® UNIX command line.

Two sets of command lines are available:

  • The redesigned command lines for DBB 2.0.2 and later, which are documented in the embedded pages.
  • The command lines for DBB 2.0.0 and 2.0.1, which are now deprecated and will be removed in a later release. For more information, see Legacy commands.

The objects that are stored in the metadata store, such as the collections or build results, are explained in Metadata store.

The build metadata access provided by the CLI

The CLI is limited to providing read and delete access to the build metadata. You cannot use it to create or modify the build metadata, as it might negatively impact the DBB incremental build process. If you want to create or modify DBB build metadata, you can write custom Groovy scripts with the DBB metadata store Java APIs and run them from the z/OS UNIX command line.

DBB CLI sessions

The DBB metadata store factory API creates either a Db2® metadata store or a file system metadata store. You must specify the metadata store type and other configuration options in the command to obtain the correct metadata store implementation to use. These options are useful when you run CLI commands from a batch process like a CI/CD server pipeline.

However, using these options can become burdensome when you run CLI commands from a terminal. DBB provides session commands to enter the configuration options once at the beginning of the session and then run the CLI commands without the configuration options while the session is active.