Getting Started with IBM z/TPF Development Extension

This guide will help you get up and running with the IBM z/TPF Development Visual Studio Code Extension.

This guide assumes that:

  • GitHub is being used for the source control system
  • That the default pipeline tasks are being used.

If you are using a different source control system or different pipeline commands, you will need to adjust the instructions accordingly.

Table of Contents

  1. Quick Start
    1. Step 1: Install the Extension
    2. Step 2: Setup Credentials
    3. Step 3: Setup the Workspaces
    4. Step 4: Configure the Extension Settings
    5. Step 5: Edit Your Code
    6. Step 6: Commit Any Changes
    7. Step 7: Run the Development Pipeline
    8. Step 8: Review the results
    9. Step 9: Iterate
  2. Essential Commands
  3. Next Steps

Quick Start

Step 1: Install the Extension

If you haven’t already, install the extension from the Visual Studio Code Marketplace. See the Installation Guide for detailed instructions.

Step 2: Setup Credentials

Workstation -> GitHub - create a public-private SSH key pair and add the public key to your GitHub account. Workstation -> Linux on IBM Z - create a public-private SSH key pair and add the public key to your Linux on IBM Z account. Linux on IBM Z -> GitHub - create a public-private SSH key pair and add the public key to your GitHub account.

Step 3: Setup the Workspaces

Because development for z/TPF programs is done on a remote Linux on IBM Z system and can require multiple Git repositories, the workspace layout is different from most software development projects.

The recommended layout for your local workspace is:

  • create a new local directory that is the root of your workspace
  • In the workspace root, create a build directory. This is where the project configuration files (maketpf.cfg, maketpf.cntl, maketpf.loadfile and maketpf.loaddeck) are stored.
  • In the workspace root, clone any Git repositories that contain the z/TPF program source code.

The recommended layout for your remote workspace is to closely mirror the local workspace layout:

  • create a new remote directory that is the root of your workspace
  • In the workspace root, create a build directory. This is where the project configuration files (maketpf.cfg, maketpf.cntl, maketpf.loadfile and maketpf.loaddeck) are stored and where any remote commands will be run.
  • In the workspace root, clone any Git repositories that contain the z/TPF program source code.
    • The extension expects that the names of the remote clones match the names of the local clones e.g. (myRepo on the local machine and myRepo on the remote machine).
    • The number of remote clones should at least match the number of local clones. If there are more remote clones than local clones, the additional clones will be ignored.

Step 4: Configure the Extension Settings

Review the Configuration Guide to configure the required extension settings.

Step 5: Edit Your Code

Use the editing feature of Visual Studio Code and other extensions to make changes to the z/TPF program.

Step 6: Commit Any Changes

Commit and push any changes to GitHub into your working branch.

Step 7: Run the Development Pipeline

  1. Open the Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P)
  2. Run “z/TPF: Run Pipeline”
  3. The pipeline will pull the latest changes to the remote workspace.
  4. The pipeline will build the z/TPF program(s) in the remote workspace.
  5. The pipeline will deploy a z/TPF loadset to the z/TPF system.
  6. The pipeline will run a suite of z/TPF Automated Test Framework tests on the z/TPF system.

Step 8: Review the results

Review the compile results in the Problems view. Review the test results in the Testing view.

Step 9: Iterate

Make additional changes to complete the project.

Essential Commands

Access these commands via the Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P / Cmd+Shift+P):

Command Description
z/TPF: Run Pipeline Run the development pipeline
z/TPF: Pull Changes Update Linux on IBM Z with Git
z/TPF: Build Changes Run build commands on Linux on IBM Z
z/TPF: Generate and Transfer OLDR Loadset Run load commands on Linux on IBM Z
z/TPF: Load and Activate OLDR Loadset OLDR Load and Activate on z/TPF

Next Steps

Now that you’re familiar with the basics: