Check your z/OS Connect API project into source control

Source Control Management (SCM) is an invaluable tool for modern software development and forms the basis for modern DevOps and CI/CD pipelines in z/OS Connectand cloud-native development.

zosConnect-3.0 Applies to zosConnect-3.0.

Containers Applies to z/OS Connect container deployments.

What is Source Control Management and why is it important?

SCM is used to track changes to a project's code base and helps to prevent conflicts. If a conflict occurs, SCM is used to resolve it.

As projects grow in complexity and the number of developers involved increases, there needs to be increased communication and management to meet the demands of the project. SCM is essential to help ensure a well-maintained and protected code base.

The following list shows some of the SCMs:
  • Git
  • Subversion
  • Engineering Workflow Management
The following list shows some of the advantages of using a Source Control Management solution:
  • Version history of all changes.
  • Auditing.
  • Valuable record keeping for a project release notes.
  • Reduce communication complexity.
  • Troubleshoot easily and pinpoint when and where bugs or issues were introduced to the code base.
  • Enable developers to work independently on the same code base.
  • Isolate potentially damaging changes.

DevOps in z/OS Connect

As developers make changes in the z/OS Connect Designer, these changes are updated on the file system in the API Project that was mounted. These files are the source code for your API and should be checked into SCM. The z/OS ConnectAPI project source is then available to anyone who needs to make future updates and the most recent version is always used for deployment.

Attached to the SCM solution is a carefully crafted pipeline of familiar enterprise tools that use z/OS Connect API project in a build process to create an API image.

This unchanged image is used through development, staging, test, User Acceptance Testing (UAT), pre-production and eventually deploying to a live production environment.

Figure 1. A z/OS Connect API Project in a DevOps pipeline
A z/OS Connect API Project in a DevOps pipeline

Results

You created a new EmployeesApi z/OS Connect API project in the z/OS Connect Designer that calls Db2® to request data and services. You then tested your z/OS Connect API with the built-in Open Liberty REST Client.

If you have issues with your API project, see the Resolving problems with the IBM z/OS Connect Designer.

What to do next

Explore the finish project structure created in the EmployeesApi z/OS Connect API project Exploring the Db2 sample finished project