HCL Z Data Tools

The HCL Z Data Tools extension for Microsoft Visual Studio Code works in conjunction with the Zowe Explorer extension. HCL Z Data Tools provides flexible, user-friendly tools for enhanced file processing when working with z/OS data sets.

This comprehensive solution provides intuitive interfaces for accessing, editing, and managing data sets and files on z/OS systems, and is a modern alternative to work with HCL Z Data Tools outside the existing ISPF client.

Table of contents

• General requirements
• Host requirements
• VS Code requirements
• Integration with Zowe Explorer
• Features
• Unsupported features
• Getting started
• Getting help

General requirements

• Assumes knowledge of HCL Z Data Tools product installation and features.
• The Z Data Tools VS Code extension connectivity to Z Data Tools host is similar to using the Z Common Components (ZCC) server:
  • Assumes knowledge of how to install and configure the Z Common Components server.
  • ZCC must use the AT-TLS feature when configuring TLS support.

Host requirements

• HCL Z Data Tools 16.1.0+
• HCL Z Common Components 16.1.0+
  • You must configure and deploy at least one Z Common Components server on the host you intend to use with the extension.

VS Code requirements

• VS Code 1.101.0+
• Zowe Explorer 3.2.0+
  • Assumes the user is familiar with the Zowe Explorer extension before using the HCL Z Data Tools extension.

Integration with Zowe Explorer

The HCL Z Data Tools extension builds on the strong foundation provided by Zowe Explorer. To preserve the familiar Zowe Explorer user experience, it purposefully avoids contributing highly customized UI elements whenever possible. Instead, it enhances your current workspace by:

• Reusing your Zowe profiles configuration to manage local and remote resources.
• Adding new functionality directly to Zowe Explorer's existing Data Sets and Unix System Services views.
• Integrating additional information directly into Zowe Explorer's existing Attributes view.

See the Getting help section to report issues related to the Zowe Explorer extension.

Features

The current version of the HCL Z Data Tools extension does not have the full functionality of the ISPF Z Data Tools client.

The feature set is strictly related to the Z Data Tools Base component.
Itemized below are the features supported and not supported in broad terms.

Supported character sets

The extension currently supports decoding and encoding character data using the following character sets:

IBM037  IBM930   IBM1144
IBM273  IBM937   IBM1146
IBM277  IBM939   IBM1147
IBM278  IBM1047  IBM1390
IBM280  IBM1141  IBM1399
IBM285  IBM1142
IBM297  IBM1143

Z Data Tools editor

The Z Data Tools editor can be used in two modes:

• Viewing and editing data sets using the Unformatted mode editor

  • Hex values display
  • Column ruler
  • Navigation commands
  • Record selection, cut, copy, paste, insertion and deletion
  • Undo history

• Viewing and editing data sets using the Formatted mode editor

  • Hex values display
  • Navigation commands
  • Tabular record editing, with record insertion and deletion

Template editor

The template editor offers various options for editing existing templates used with the Z Data Tools editor in its Formatted mode.

The current implementation offers the following feature set:

• Layout selection
• Segmentation toggle
• Layout criteria editing
• Held and Selected column toggle

Z Common Components connections

• Associate a Z Common Components connection with a Zowe Profile
• Remove the association between a Z Common Components connection and a Zowe profile

Unsupported features

Secure connections

• Trust manager for certificates used when connecting to the Z Common Components server

Z Data Tools editor

• Utility functions for the Unformatted and Formatted editor such as Find/Replace, Exclude, Sort
• Editing of hex values
• Toggling of excluded or suppressed records
• Batch operations
• Other Z Data Tools commands or utilities (masking, import, export, extract, merge, compare, etc.)
• Editing of CICS, DB2, IMS, MQ resources

Known issues

• Opening a file in Edit mode in the Z Data Tools Unformatted editor while that file has already been opened in Edit mode by another Z Data Tools editor session (VS Code, or ISPF), will result in an error message indicating that the file is locked and cannot be opened. When the other edit session ends and releases the lock, you'd normally be able to open it in Edit mode in your VS Code Z Data Tools editor session. However, the "locked" error will still be reported and the file won't open. Currently, the only solution is to restart VS Code.

  This issue will be fixed in a future release.

Getting started

Configuring the Z Common Components connection

Before you begin, all the above requirements must be fulfilled.

1. Open VS Code.
2. If necessary, create at least one Zowe profile: team configuration profile or v1 profile (deprecated).
3. Switch to the Zowe Explorer tool window.
4. Right-click on the profile that matches the z/OS subsystem your Z Common Components server is running on.
5. From the Z Common Components menu item, choose Configure connection.
6. Enter the connection information for the Z Common Components server.

You are now ready to use the HCL Z Data Tools VS Code extension.

Note: if you access a Z Data Tools feature before configuring the Z Common Components connection, you are prompted to provide the required connection information. This prompt occurs only during the first access.

Z Data Tools editor

Data sets under the Zowe Explorer tree view can be opened in the Z Data Tools editor in both Unformatted mode (characters view) and Formatted mode (with a template applied). Both modes support View and Edit sessions.

The Unformatted mode editor supports essential navigation commands such as TOP, BOTTOM, UP, DOWN and LOCATE, and offers toolbar options to display hex line representations, and to enable a column ruler. It also offers editor actions to work with records directly. All other related editor actions, such as Cut, Copy and Paste, are supported across different opened data set sessions in Unformatted mode.

The Formatted mode editor supports the same set of navigation commands, along with the hex representation of text displayed in table cells. The Cut, Copy and Paste operations are currently not supported for entire records.

Use the HCL Z Data Tools > Page Size setting to configure the editor's cache page size.

Command Palette commands

The HCL Z Data Tools extension adds new commands to the VS Code Command Palette.

Open Data Set

This command opens a data set or data set's member in the Unformatted or Formatted mode editor, depending on whether a template name is inputted while stepping through the palette wizard.

Open Template

This command opens a template in the Template editor.

Lock Template

This command locks a template.

Note: your user must have the correct authority over the resource.

Unlock Template

This command unlocks a template.

Note: your user must have the correct authority over the resource.

Show Resource Attributes

This command opens the Zowe Explorer Attributes view with additional Z Data Tools-provided data for a specific data set or data set's member name.

Getting help

To ask questions or report issues related to the installation, configuration, or use of this extension, contact HCL Support.

Zowe Explorer issues

The HCL Z Data Tools extension depends on Zowe Explorer.
Issues might originate from core Zowe Explorer functionality rather than the extension itself. Examples include:

• Data set and Unix System Services (USS) file browsing
• Job management and submission
• Base Zowe Explorer commands and views

Report issues that are specific to Zowe Explorer to the Zowe Explorer issue tracker.

To determine the source of an issue and the appropriate reporting channel, consider the following:

• Error notifications include the extension name.
• Log entries displayed in the Output view are categorized by extension.