Defining resource options with property groups

Overview

System properties, subproject properties, local project properties, and resource properties make the development environment more convenient. You can build code at a keystroke, for example, because compilers and linkage editors are referenced as property values. Properties define the characteristics of a local or remote resource. They are created for each resource when the resource is first accessed and maintained until the resource is deleted. Disconnecting from a remote system makes the properties and resources unviewable, but the properties persist and can be viewed again when you reconnect to the system.

When you modify a resource by an operation that you initiate from within the Developer for z/OS client, the properties of the resource are kept up-to-date. When you modify a resource from outside the client, such as by using ISPF, the properties of the resource become out of sync until they are refreshed from the workstation.

You define resource properties in property groups, or named sets of property values that can be easily shared and reused among projects, systems, and users. A property group is a set of property values that you define for local z/OS projects or specific local and remote resources. After the property group is defined, the values in it can be applied to the z/OS projects, subprojects, and resources that you create on that system. Property groups provide a way to manage resource properties; share them across systems, projects, resources, and users; and maintain consistency in your development and build environment. The systems, projects, and resources you define have default properties. If no property groups are defined for a system, then the default properties are in effect for the system and its resources.

You can, for example, define a property group with values required for debugging and apply that property group to your resources when you must debug a project or subproject. If you must change a specific property value, such as the JCL job card and data set, you can change this property in the property group, and the change is propagated to all resources associated with that property group.

You can add, copy, delete, edit, import, and export property groups. Physical resources, such as systems, files, and data sets, and logical resources, such as projects and subprojects, can be associated with a property group that can be overridden for specific situations. Property groups are independent of each other. That is, changing property values in one property group has no effect on the property values in other property groups.

Your site can create system property groups and default property values and make them available to users. When a connection is made to a system, if these files are found, then those property groups or default values are loaded and can be used. For instructions for creating default property values, see Configuring default property values.

How property groups are used

• Property group options for editors, compilers, preprocessors, and build functions
• Property group options for configuring preprocessors
• Property group options for the Remote C/C++ Editor
• Property groups for the Dependency Based Build Integration
• Property groups for Engineering Workflow Management local projects

The Property Group Manager

The Property Group Manager view provides tools for creating, deleting, editing, importing, exporting, and copying property groups. Because it is one of the default views in the z/OS Projects perspective, it is usually open when you start the workspace. If it is not already open, do these steps to open it:

1. From the menu bar, click Window (on Windows) or IBM® Developer for z/OS (on macOS) > Show View > Other.
2. In the Show View window, expand z/OS Project Views.
3. Select Property Group Manager and click OK.

The Property Group Manager opens. It lists all system connections, the property groups that are defined for each system, and the last edit date for each property group. You can sort the list by clicking the table headings. Property groups are sorted first by system name and then by property group name or description. To reverse the sort order, click the column heading again.