Getting Started with Workbench for VS Code
- Getting Started with Workbench for VS Code
Getting Started with Workbench for VS Code
The goal of this Test Drive is to help you prepare the BMC AMI DevX Workbench for Visual Studio Code (VS Code) environment you'll need for the rest of the Test Drive Experience.
Instructions:
- This guide contains many screenshots to provide a visual reference
- Specifies every action you must take
- Please note each place that you must enter your own specific ID or number
- You must complete each step before proceeding to the next to successfully follow the guide
In this Test Drive the screenshots provided have used specific values that may differ from your assigned values. Substitute your assigned values provided with the email notice in the screenshots. If at any point during your experience the host connection times out, you may need to log back into the Test Drive host connection.
Workspace Setup & Host Connection
In this section, you’ll create a Visual Studio Code workspace so your settings and configurations are saved and persist between Test Drive logins. Next, you’ll establish a host connection to access mainframe resources such as datasets and jobs.
Create a Visual Studio Code workspace
In the top toolbar, go to File → Save Workspace As.
Name the workspace YOUR TEST DRIVE ID and save it in the root directory PhotonUser.
Before continuing, make sure you’re working in the workspace you just created. At the top center of the screen, you should see YOUR TEST DRIVE ID (Workspace) as shown in the screenshot.
If not, go to the top toolbar and select File → Open Workspace From File, then choose your workspace in the PhotonUser root directory (screenshot not shown).
Connect To the Host
Now that the workspace is created and verified, the next step is to establish a connection to the host.
Click the z/OS icon on the left side of the screen to open the DevX Explorer.
BMC AMI DevX Explorer lets developers access mainframe application development resources through the Host Communications Interface (HCI) in VS Code. The extension also provides quick access to mainframe resources and allows you to search and filter datasets and members.
To log on to the host, right-click the TestDrive hostname in the DevX Explorer and select Log In. When prompted, enter your Test Drive credentials.
Dataset Filters & Allocation
In this section, you’ll locate a source dataset and use its attributes to allocate your own dataset. This ensures your new dataset matches the structure and attributes of the original, making it ready for use in subsequent steps.
Add a filter for the source dataset
To locate the source dataset add a filter.
Right-click the host in the DevX Explorer and choose Add Filter or click the + icon.
In the Add Filter dialog, type CWEZ000.TOPAZ.WORKSHOP and press Enter. A second dialog will appear asking for an optional filter name (screenshot not shown). Leave it blank and press Enter to apply the dataset filter.
The filter for the source dataset has been created and is now visible in DevX Explorer.
Click the arrow next to the dataset filter to expand and view all datasets under it.
Allocate your own dataset
Now you can easily allocate your own dataset by copying the attributes from the source dataset.
Right-click the CWEZ000.TOPAZ.WORKSHOP dataset and select Allocate Like.
Replace the CWEZ000 high-level qualifier in the dataset name with YOUR TEST DRIVE ID, then press Enter to allocate your own dataset.
Add a filter for your own dataset
Create a new filter to locate the dataset you just allocated.
Right-click the host in DevX Explorer and choose Add Filter or click the + icon. In the Add Filter dialog, type YOUR TEST DRIVE ID.TOPAZ.WORKSHOP and press Enter (screenshot not shown). A second dialog will appear asking for an optional filter name (screenshot not shown). Leave it blank and press Enter to apply the data set filter.
Before continuing make sure you have dataset filters for CWEZ000.TOPAZ.WORKSHOP and YOUR TEST DRIVE ID.TOPAZ.WORKSHOP. Each filter should contain a dataset with the same name. If not, review the previous steps as these datasets are required.
Member Copy & JCL Edit/Submit
In this section, you’ll copy the JCL member WBRSTOR from the source dataset into your own dataset. After copying, edit WBRSTOR to set your Test Drive ID as the job name, then submit it as a job. This job will create several WBSAMP datasets, each qualified by your Test Drive ID, for use in later Test Drive exercises.
Copy a Member to Your Data Set
Your dataset has been allocated with the same attributes as the source dataset, but it currently contains no data. Next, you’ll copy a JCL member from the source dataset into your own.
Click the expand arrow next to the source dataset CWEZ000.TOPAZ.WORKSHOP to show the member list. Right-click the JCL member WBRSTOR and select Copy.
Locate your dataset YOUR TEST DRIVE ID.TOPAZ.WORKSHOP. Right‑click it and select Paste to copy the WBRSTOR member into your dataset.
Edit and Submit JCL
Now that the JCL member WBRSTOR has been copied into your dataset, edit the member and submit to create the WBSAMP datasets.
Click the expand arrow next to your dataset to show the member list. Right-click WBRSTOR and select Edit to open the editor. Change the job name CWEZ000A to match YOUR TEST DRIVE ID plus one character.
When finished, click the X on the editor tab and save your changes.
Right-click WBRSTOR and select Submit JCL.
Job Explorer
In this section, you’ll find the status of the job that was submitted and view the job output.
View Job Output
The Job Explorer can be used to monitor the status of jobs and view the job output.
Click the toggle panel icon in the top toolbar (as shown in the screenshot). Then select Job Explorer from the bottom panel.
To find the job, enter YOUR TEST DRIVE ID* in the Prefix field and click Search.
Verify the job return code is 0 or status of 'Ended Normally" and double-click the job name to view the output. When finished, click the X on the editor tab to close it.
When you click the job name, the DD statements appear in the right-hand column of Job Explorer, along with the record count:
WBSAMP datasets
The job created several WBSAMP datasets qualified by YOUR TEST DRIVE ID. These datasets will be used in subsequent Test Drive exercises.
Add a filter for WBSAMP datasets
To locate the WBSAMP datasets qualified by YOUR TEST DRIVE ID add a dataset filter.
Right-click the host in DevX Explorer and choose Add Filter or click the + icon. In the Add Filter dialog, type YOUR TEST DRIVE ID.WBSAMP and press Enter (screenshot not shown). A second dialog will appear asking for an optional filter name (screenshot not shown). Leave it blank and press Enter to apply the data set filter.
Before continuing, ensure the WBSAMP datasets now exist. Your datasets should look similar to the screenshot, but with Your Test Drive ID as the high level qualifier.
Next Steps
Now that you have built your BMC AMI DevX Workbench for Visual Studio Code environment, you're ready to take a deep dive into the full Workbench experience.