IBM z/OS Explorer Aqua (or just Aqua for short) is a continuous delivery release train platform that brings together a set of Eclipse-based mainframe development tools and offerings in order to provide z/OS application developers and system programmers an easy way to install, deploy and maintain our IBM Eclipse-based products.

Aqua 3.0 is based on Eclipse 4.4 Luna, Aqua 3.1 is based on Eclipse 4.6 Neon and Aqua 3.2 is based on Eclipse 4.8 Photon. For each version of Aqua (3.0, 3.1 and 3.2) the included plug-ins and offerings are designed to work with their specific Eclipse versions (4.4 Luna, 4.6 Neon, and 4.8 Photon respectively). All new features and products will be integrated with Aqua 3.1 and Aqua 3.2 moving forward while Aqua 3.0 remains in support mode.

No, it is not possible to have an Eclipse 4.4 Luna based environment and install software from z/OS Explorer Aqua 3.1 onto it as the plug-ins are compatible only with their specific Eclipse version. To move from Aqua 3.0 to 3.1 or 3.2, you will need a fresh environment and from there you can bring over the workspace data. The same applies for Aqua 3.1 to Aqua 3.2.

To install a plug-in or offering, there are two methods: IBM Installation Manager or Eclipse p2.

IBM Installation Manager is a software package tool that provides a step-by-step guided wizard to allow users the ability to install, modify, update, roll back, or uninstall IBM products. Software and environment prerequisites are handled through this tool as well to ensure that all installed software is compatible.

Eclipse p2 is a provisioning platform for Eclipse-based applications and plug-ins, typically used to extend an existing Eclipse environment with new plug-ins and software.

You can identify the available installation methods for each product with the table below. As a general solution, all products are available with the IBM Installation Manager.

• Client (IBM IM) - this product is available through the IBM Installation Manager
• Client (Eclipse p2) - this product is available through Eclipse p2
• Client (Zip) - this product is available as a pre-packaged archive for offline installations with IBM Installation Manager (Aqua 3.1 only)
• Server - this product has a server or host component available

Yes, it is possible to deploy a local repository for use with either the IBM Installation Manager and Eclipse p2 in an environment where the destination machine may not be able to access IBM's online repositories.

The steps to do so are similar to how it would be done with an online environment except that instead of accessing IBM's online repository, the user must create their own locally hosted repository by extracting the provided prepackaged archives for the IBM Installation Manager or Eclipse p2 method.

IBM Explorer for z/OS Aqua – Happy 5th Anniversary!