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SDK for Node.js

IBM Open Enterprise SDK for Node.js

Access a secure, module-driven, highly scalable platform at no charge to accelerate application modernization on IBM® z/OS®

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IBM® Open Enterprise SDK for Node.js is a no-charge SDK to connect Node.js applications to z/OS® resources. It provides a stand-alone JavaScript® runtime and server-side JavaScript solution for building Node.js native and JavaScript modules for the IBM Z® platform.

With IBM Open Enterprise SDK for Node.js, clients can modernize their applications to extend the value of their existing applications. Node.js allows enterprise clients to tap into a massive JavaScript developer talent pool and resources by enabling coding in the popular JavaScript language.

Now, clients can simplify the development and maintenance of Application Programming Interface (API), access z/OS-based resources from Node.js using direct or RESTful APIs and colocate Node.js applications and services to optimize their performance and security.

Get more details Understanding the Open Enterprise SDK for Node.js Getting started
What's new Updates for functions, performance and usability enhancements
Benefits

Benefits

Modernize applications

Extend core business applications by using microservices in the IBM Open Enterprise SDK for Node.js.

Orchestrate APIs

Avoid displaying more APIs than needed and simplify API development and maintenance with asynchronous orchestration for efficient scaling. 

Access z/OS assets

Access z/OS-based resources from Node.js with REST APIs to integrate with services and tools such as CICS®, Db2®, VSAM and IBM MVS™.

Save development effort

Use Node.js in both the front and backend of applications to leverage the same technology and skills to build end-to-end applications.

Accelerate delivery of applications

Take advantage of over 2 million community-provided modules to help accelerate your application development.

Improve performance

Colocate Node.js applications and data to increase throughput and reduce response time by using the event-driven, efficient I/O model.

Features

Features

Code that uses the popular Node.js framework

Use the JavaScript runtime, server-side APIs and libraries to efficiently build high-performance, highly scalable network applications. 

See how Node.js tops the list in the 2024 Stack Overflow Developer Survey.

Explore Stack Overflow Developer Survey

Coding made easy with npm

Accelerate application delivery with npm, the world's largest software registry, which provides developers access to share and re-use over 2 million community Node.js modules, such as Express and Loopback.

Learn more about npm Reusing code with npm community packages for Node.js

CICS® support

Host IBM Open Enterprise SDK for Node.js and manage it with IBM CICS® Transaction Server as part of a CICS bundle. You can use the locally optimized transport for calling CICS services.

Using Node.js with CICS Transaction Server for z/OS

Access your z/OS data

Use Node.js to connect all critical assets, including VSAM, Db2®, RACF/SAF and IMS® through z/OS Connect Enterprise Edition.

Connect to your z/OS assets with IBM SDK for Node.js

zEnterprise Data Compression Support

IBM Open Enterprise SDK for Node.js uses zEDC hardware accelerator for zlib-based compression and decompression, which provides significant performance benefits over previous software implementations.

Explore zEnterprise Data Compression Support

V8 JavaScript engine

Use a powerful open source JavaScript engine that compiles JavaScript source to the latest z/Architecture® instructions for optimal performance.

What is V8?
Compare editions

Compare editions

The portable archive interchange (pax) download format is popular in UNIX® environments, including z/OS UNIX, and offers a similar user experience. SMP/E installable images and their fix packs can be managed by the SMP/E software installation and maintenance tool on z/OS. Optional IBM Software Subscription and Support (S&S) is available to take advantage of IBM Support to open service requests addressed in documented turnaround times.

pax edition

Use the pax archive installable format, which is consistent with distributed platforms.

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SMP/E edition

Manage updates easily with SMP/E (CBPDO, ServerPac) installable format. Recommended for production deployments. Both licenses and S&S are available through Shopz.

Obtain from Shopz

No license charge

Run your own applications

Full functionality

IBM Z hardware needed

Limited support on GitHub

IBM Software Subscription and Support (S&S)

Optional

        

Technical details

Technical details

Below are links to checklists that summarize key installation and configuration steps for the edition formats.

SMP/E edition Pax edition
The prototype for this modern, event-driven solution using Node.js was completed in a single weekend. I can’t think of another language that can achieve so much, across such varied platforms, with so little effort. Paul Scott, Chief Architect, Web enablement technologies Phoenix Software International
How to

How to

Learn how Open Enterprise SDK for Node.js provides a module-driven, highly scalable approach to application design and development that encourages agile practices.

Discover how convenient it can be to remotely debug your IBM Open Enterprise SDK for Node.js application within Visual Studio Code.

Discover native Node.js modules for Node.js applications that are needed to run performance-critical code, access system level APIs or include existing C/C++ libraries.

Learn to manage files in a partitioned dataset by leveraging the IBM Z Open Automation Utilities (ZOAU) Node.js module and by creating a web application that can edit, build and run C source code residing in a PDS.

Resources

Resources

Language interoperability with Node.js

Read the articles to know how application developers leverage Restructured Extended Executor (REXX™) Scripts in Node.js for modernizing their application architecture.

Reasons to host your Node.js applications on z/OS

Accelerate your digital transformation on IBM Z with tailored connectors to IBM Z assets.

Fix list for IBM Open Enterprise SDK for Node.js

Find a complete listing of releases, refreshes and fix packs (also known as PTFs) for IBM Open Enterprise SDK for Node.js.

Frequently asked questions

It is available with no license charge. Optional priced IBM Software Subscription and Support (S&S) is available.

IBM Open Enterprise SDK for Node.js applications are not IBM Z Integrated Information Processor (zIIP) eligible.

It is available with no license charge. Overall costs to deploy on z/OS can be reduced as workloads may be eligible to use the New Application Solution pricing model for new production workloads on z13® and later.

Optional Subscription and Support is available for SMP/E edition. 

Find out more

Learn more about ordering process at Shopz, read the blog Streamlined Shopz ordering process for Node.js on z/OS or contact your IBM representative to place the Shopz order for you.

The Zowe open source project offers modern, cloud-like interfaces to interact with z/OS. Zowe’s virtual desktop component provides a browser-based UI written in Node.js and is deployed on top of IBM Open Enterprise SDK for Node.js.

Find out how to install Node.js with Zowe (link resides outside ibm.com)

IBM Watson Machine Learning (WLMz) is an enterprise machine learning platform that enables organizations to build, deploy, and operationalize machine learning models on IBM z/OS. It provides a web-based configuration tool, which is powered by IBM Open Enterprise SDK for Node.js that guides you through the configuration of WMLz.

Find out more

At Phoenix Software, the manual system of issuing product licenses to customers gave way to an automated system where those customers could request a software license online. IBM Open Enterprise SDK for Node.js is one of the key pieces of technology enabling that modern solution, which involves minimal changes to shorten both development and implementation time, as well as reducing the potential for introducing unforeseen behavior.

Read the blog

For z/OS®, SMP/E installations of the IBM Open Enterprise SDK for Node.js are available at no-charge via Shopz. Clients can simply take or develop their Node.js applications and deploy them on IBM Z. With the wealth of corporate data that either resides or originates on IBM Z, there's a strong likelihood that cloud or mobile applications and APIs built on Node.js will require access to data and services on IBM Z. With Node.js, clients can now expose the Systems of Engagement opportunities from Node.js and tie them with the trusted Systems of Records on IBM Z.

Find out more

Yes, there are two IBM Z Trial options available:

  1. IBM SDK for Node.js - z/OS: ready in 2 hours and available for 3 days. Run and deploy a Node.js web application with the LoopBack framework and utilize the vsam.js npm module with Express framework to connect to a VSAM dataset.
  2. IBM CICS® Transaction Server for z/OS® Trial - Use this mixed language application to create a Java™ or Node.js web app and deploy into IBM CICS Transaction Server. Learn how to:
  • Create and deploy a Java application into CICS.
  • Create and deploy a Node.js application into CICS.
Start a trial

Node.js is a strategic and popular runtime for building cloud-native, enterprise, and open-source applications. Leverage Loopback framework and API Connect® to create, manage, secure, and monitor your APIs and microservices. On z/OS, CICS Transaction Server for z/OS 5.5 introduces support for managing z/OS Node.js applications within CICS regions and provides locally optimized transport via the ibm-cics-api node module to call CICS services. Zowe™, an open source platform that offers modern interfaces to interact with z/OS, leverages Node.js to provide their desktop framework. The ibm_db node module provides connectivity for Node.js applications to Db2 on both z/OS and distributed platforms, leveraging the ODBC support within db2connect and IBM Db2 for z/OS. The racf node module provides authentication capabilities against the z/OS RACF facility and the zcrypto node modules provide interfaces for leveraging RACF keyrings, enabling you to create secure web applications.

Node.js can be invoked within JCL using the BPXBATCH facility.

Find out more

Online documentation is available on IBM Documentation. You can also download the PDF format documentation for offline use. Paid world-class IBM S&S is available by opening a case. GitHub and Slack support are on a best-efforts basis.

Find out more
Next steps

Explore IBM Open Enterprise SDK for Node.js. Schedule a no-cost 30-minute meeting with an IBM Z representative.

Download now
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