Integrating IBM Dependency Based Build and Developer for z/OS

IBM® Developer for z/OS integrates with IBM Dependency Based Build (DBB) so that you can run personal builds for COBOL, PL/I, and Assembler source files that are stored in a Git repository on a z/OS system. DBB builds use modern scripting languages, such as Apache Groovy, and the personal builds that you run by using the integration can use the same scripts on z/OS that run full team builds. DBB build operations occur on the remote system and return the output of the build and the results of the DBB scripts to your local workstation.

Video tutorial

For a overview of the end-to-end process of setting up and running a user build by using the DBB integration with Developer for z/OS, watch this 6-minute video. It demonstrates many of the tasks described in this section of documentation.

Dependency Based Build Integration with Developer for z/OS

DBB sample code

The Dependency Based Build product provides a set of sample code that you can use to try out user builds and as a model for your own build scripts. It is delivered in a GitHub repository at https://github.com/IBM/dbb. For more information about the DBB samples, see Installing and using DBB samples.

Workflow and topology

The IBM Dependency Based Build product supports variations in the build topography, such as the code storage methods in the software configuration manager and the written format for build scripts. Many of these variations are illustrated in the code examples that are available in the DBB sample code repository. By using the Developer for z/OS integration with DBB, you can import your enterprise source code that is stored in Git into a z/OS project so that your Git development environment benefits from Developer for z/OS features such as software analysis and metrics, modern Eclipse editors, z/OS Enterprise Unit Testing Framework (ZUnit), and Debugger for z/OS. Developer for z/OS works with the sample source code, build scripts, and repository structure that are included in DBB. Although DBB supports a number of source code repositories, the most commonly used repository is Git. The following image illustrates the architecture and workflow among Developer for z/OS, IBM Dependency Based Build, and Git.
  • On the workstation, the IBM Developer for z/OS client, with the Git integration for Eclipse (EGit) and DBB integration features installed, enables you to integrate the source code from a local Git clone, a Git repository on a distributed server, or a Rocket Git repository on a z/OS system into your IBM Developer for z/OS development environment. You access the Developer for z/OS and DBB functions from a z/OS project.
  • The DBB integration feature on the client interacts with IBM Dependency Based Build on the z/OS system to execute user builds on the remote system and return the build results and output files to your local client.
Workflow topology among IBM Developer for z/OS, IBM Dependency Based Build, and Git

For more information about IBM Dependency Based Build, see the product documentation at https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/adfz/dbb.

The DBB integration documentation includes these topics.