IBM Z® Open Debug

IBM Z Open Debug is an extension for Visual Studio Code that provides interactive debugging support for debugging z/OS COBOL, PL/I and High Level Assembler applications in VS Code, in conjunction with IBM z/OS Debugger.

Go here for the full Documentation online.

Simplify your installation experience by using newly bundled extension packs that contain Z Open Debug as well as other extensions available for IDzEE and ADFz customers.

Prerequisites
Migrating to IBM Z Open Debug v4 from earlier versions
Configuring host connection
Debug profiles
Launching and debugging applications

Prerequisites

Review the IBM Z Open Debug License Agreement, terms and conditions for separately licensed code, and Third Party Notices before downloading.

Client
- Zowe Explorer Visual Studio Code extension version 3.0.0 or later
- Visual Studio Code version 1.48.2 or later
Host
- IBM z/OS Debugger Remote Debug Service: for interactively debugging compiled applications running on z/OS
- IBM z/OS Debugger Debug Profile Service: for creating debug profiles which can be used to trigger IBM z/OS Debugger in Batch, TSO, CICS and IMS environments
- A valid host registration for IBM Developer for z/OS Enterprise Edition (IDzEE), IBM Developer for z/OS Select or IBM Application Delivery Foundation for z/OS (ADFz)

Migrating to IBM Z Open Debug v4 from earlier versions

Starting with v4, IBM Z Open Debug uses Zowe connection profiles to define connections to z/OS machines, replacing the connection details that were previously defined in the VS Code Settings. Existing connection details defined in the VS Code Settings can be automatically migrated to a new Zowe team configuration, or added to an existing Zowe team configuration.

IBM Z Open Debug v4 uses a different internal format for storing debug profiles. Debug profiles in older formats can be automatically migrated.

The separate IBM Z Open Debug Profiles view extension has been deprecated. All functionality related to debug profiles is now contained in the IBM Z Open Debug extension, and the IBM Z Open Debug Profiles view extension can be automatically uninstalled.

A prompt will be displayed for each migration step. If desired, old artifacts may be retained after migration to allow continued backwards compatibility with older versions of IBM Z Open Debug.

Configuring host connection

IBM Z Open Debug defines connections to remote z/OS hosts using Zowe connection profiles. A minimal Zowe team configuration file for Z Open Debug might look like:

{
    "$schema": "./zowe.schema.json",
    "profiles": {
        "zOpenDebug": {
            "type": "zOpenDebug",
            "properties": {
                "host": "yourZhost.yourCompany.com",
                "dpsPort": 8143,
                "dpsContextRoot": "api/v1",
                "dpsSecured": true,
                "rdsPort": 8002,
                "rdsSecured": true,
            },
            "secure": [
                "user",
                "password"
            ]
        }
    },
    "defaults": {
        "zOpenDebug": "zOpenDebug",
    },
    "autoStore": true
}

Debug profiles

IBM Z Open Debug provides a user interface in Visual Studio Code for creating and managing debug profiles, which can be used to dynamically trigger IBM z/OS Debugger on z/OS applications. Debug profiles can be created and managed through the z/OS Debugger Profiles view (View > Open View... > z/OS Debugger Profiles)

Launching and debugging applications

After logging in to a connection in the z/OS Debugger Profiles view, Z Open Debug version 5.6.8 or higher will now automatically connect to new parked debug sessions or code coverage sessions as they become available on the Remote Debug Service, replacing the requirement to manually trigger debug launches. The connection profile entry in the z/OS Debugger Profiles view shows the listening status for debug events and code coverage events separately.

A new zopendebug.autoAttachToParkedSessions setting (enabled by default) controls whether parked debug sessions are attached to automatically. When disabled, a prompt is shown with the option to list available parked sessions, or they can be listed manually by running a launch configuration of type attach, as described below. Selecting a parked debug session from the list will attach Z Open Debug to it and allow interactive debugging of the application.

Additionally, IBM Z Open Debug provides several launch.json configuration types for working with z/OS Debugger sessions on a remote z/OS host. Launch configurations can be created and triggered through the Run and Debug view in order to:

Launch a z/OS application via a client-side command line, and then automatically connect to it once it is parked on the z/OS host. Use a launch config that specifies an applicationLaunch: commandLine attribute.

{
    "type": "zOpenDebug",
    "request": "launch",
    "name": "Launch and debug application",
    "connection": {
        "type": "zowe",
        "name": "myZoweConnection",
    },
    "applicationLaunch": {
        "commandLine": "zowe rse submit data-set \"MYUSER.SAMPLE.JCL(MYDBG)\""
    }
}

List available parked z/OS Debugger debug sessions on a z/OS host (and optionally click to connect to one of them). Use an attach config.

{
    "type": "zOpenDebug",
    "request": "attach",
    "name": "List and click to connect to available parked debug sessions",
    "connection": {
        "type": "zowe",
        "name": "myZoweConnection",
    }
}

Connect to an available parked z/OS Debugger debug session on a z/OS host. Use a launch config.

{
    "type": "zOpenDebug",
    "request": "launch",
    "name": "Connect to a parked debug session",
    "connection": {
        "type": "zowe",
        "name": "myZoweConnection",
    }
}

IBM Z Open Debug

IBM