Overview

IBM Dependency Based Build for z/OS (DBB) provides the capabilities to build traditional z/OS applications such as COBOL and PL/I. The goal of DBB is to provide automation capabilities based on a modern scripting language that can be used on z/OS. DBB integrates best with Git-based source code managers and various pipeline automation tools.

DBB 4.0.0 is available only as a component of IBM Developer for z/OS Enterprise Edition (IDzEE).

DBB 3.0.x is available as an IBM Developer for z/OS Enterprise Edition component or an IBM Pipeline Automation for Z bundled product. It is also available as a stand-alone product.

Visit the DBB Overview page to learn more about its capabilities and usage scenarios.

Features

Toolkit

The DBB Toolkit provides a set of Java APIs that can be used to define an intelligent build script. The toolkit also contains Apache Groovy, configured for use with DBB APIs to simplify the process of creating and running build scripts. The APIs can be used with Java or Groovy, the samples provided use Groovy. The APIs include capability such as:

  • Run MVS commands
  • Run TSO/ISPF commands
  • Submit JCL jobs
  • Store and retrieve dependency information
  • Utility capabilities such as copying to PDSE from z/OS
  • zImport capability for migration to Git
  • Ability to create and store the build report

zBuilder

The zBuilder is available in DBB 4.0.x and 3.0.x.

This optional integrated build framework reduces adoption time by enabling users to create configuration-driven builds instead of scripted builds. Build configuration is defined in YAML files under the control of the build engineering team.

The underlying implementation consists of DBB-provided Java tasks that use the existing DBB toolkit APIs.

Download instructions

  • As an IBM IDzEE component

    Download via Shopz

    To search for IBM Developer for z/OS Enterprise Edition in Shopz, select z/OS-ServerPac as the Package type and MVS - Application Development as the Group.

    Then, type the IDzEE product number (5755-AD5 for IDzEE 18/DBB 4.0.x or 5755-AB5 for IDzEE 17/DBB 3.0.x) in the Product ID field or IBM Dev for z/OS Ent Ed. in the Product description field.

    You download an SMP/E installable component. To install it, follow the instructions in the Program Directory for IBM Dependency Based Build 4.0.x or in the Program Directory for IBM Dependency Based Build 3.0.x .

  • As a IBM Pipeline Automation for Z bundled product (for DBB 3.0.x)

    Download via Shopz

    To search for IBM Pipeline Automation for Z in Shopz, select z/OS-ServerPac as the Package type and MVS - Application Development as the Group.

    Then, type the DBB product number (5755-PAZ) in the Product ID field or IBM Pipeline Automation for Z in the Product description field.

    You download an SMP/E installable component. To install it, follow the instructions in Installing and configuring.

  • As a standalone product (for DBB 3.0.x)

    Download via Passport Advantage

    1. Select Software Downloads and Media Access.
    2. Select Program offering and agreement number and click Continue.
    3. In the Download software tab, select the DBB toolkit version to download. To find the DBB toolkit version, enter Dependency Based Build in the Part description field. All the versions of the DBB toolkit will be displayed. Select the appropriate version.
    4. Optionally, you can click the alphabetical order list to display and view the product by name.
    5. When the DBB toolkit version is selected, leave the default download values and click Download.

    You download an SMP/E installable component. To install it, follow the instructions in the Program Directory for IBM Dependency Based Build 3.0.x.

  • As a 90-day trial

    Download

    To install the DBB toolkit trial on UNIX System Services:

    1. Make sure you can access the z/OS UNIX system. The recommended access is through SSH. Recent versions of MacOS and Windows both ship preinstalled with OpenSSH, which contains the ssh and scp tools that are used in these installation instructions.

      To access the command-line interface, use the `Terminal` application on MacOS, or `PowerShell` on Windows. To check that OpenSSH is available in Terminal or PowerShell, run ssh -V. It should return an OpenSSH version.

    2. Create a directory for the DBB toolkit, such as /var/dbb.

      Open MacOS Terminal or Windows PowerShell.

      Log into the z/OS UNIX shell, substituting USER and HOSTNAME with your z/OS UNIX user and hostname:
      ssh USER@HOSTNAME

      If prompted, enter your password.

      Create the directory for your DBB Toolkit (/var/dbb for example):
      mkdir /var/dbb

      You can now exit back to your personal device's shell:
      exit

    3. Upload dbb-ztoolkit-trial-x.x.x.tar to z/OS UNIX.

      Ensure you have downloaded the DBB Toolkit trial tar file from the Download link.

      In your command line, navigate to the location where you downloaded the file:
      cd ~/Downloads

      Upload the file by using scp, again substituting USER and HOSTNAME with your z/OS user and host. If prompted, enter your password, and wait for the file to finish uploading:
      scp dbb-ztoolkit-trial-x.x.x.tar USER@HOSTNAME:/var/dbb/

    4. Extract the toolkit to /var/dbb

      Navigate back into z/OS UNIX through SSH:
      ssh USER@HOSTNAME
      cd /var/dbb

      Extract the toolkit to /var/dbb by using the tar command:
      tar -C /var/dbb -xpovf dbb-ztoolkit-trial-x.x.x.tar

    DBB is now installed. For configuration and next steps, see Installing and configuring DBB 4.0.x in IDz 18 . For instructions on how to use the zBuilder, see zBuilder in DBB 4.0.x .