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 working with HCL Z Data Tools outside the existing Eclipse-based client.

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

VS Code extension requirements

• VS Code 1.90.0+
• Zowe Explorer 2.17.0+
  • Assumes that the user has knowledge of the Zowe Explorer extension before using the HCL Z Data Tools extension

Host requirements

• HCL Z Data Tools 16.1.0+
• HCL Z Common Components 16.1.0+
  • There must be at least one Z Common Components server configured and deployed on the host that you want to work with

Features

The current version of the HCL Z Data Tools extension does not have the full functionality of the ISPF Z Data Tools client, nor the Eclipse 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.

Z Data Tools editor

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

• Viewing and editing data sets using the character 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 server connections

• Associate a ZCC port with a Zowe Profile
• Remove the association between a ZCC port and a Zowe profile

Unsupported features

• Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)
• Trust manager for certificates used when connecting to the Z Common Components server

Z Data Tools editor

• Utility functions for the character mode 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 character mode editor while that file has already been opened in edit mode by another Z Data Tools editor session (VS Code, Eclipse 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 would 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 will not open. Currently, the only resolution is to restart VS Code. This issue will be resolved in a future release.

Getting started

Specifying the ZCC connection port

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 port
6. Enter the port that your Z Common Components server is configured to use

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 port number, you will be prompted to specify the port the first time only.

Z Data Tools editor

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

The character 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 character 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.

The editor cache page size can be configured via the extension's VS Code Settings.

Z Data Tools VS Code command palette

The HCL Z Data Tools extension supports the Open Data Set palette command to open a data set in the Z Data Tools editor, and the Open Template palette command to open a template in the Template editor.