VS Code for Mainframe: The Enterprise Developer Tipping Point

Optics matter. At a recent industry conference, a university lecturer reconfirmed what many in attendance already knew, “3270 [green screens] scare off the young generation of developers.” No matter how state-of-the-art the platform or mission-critical the applications, perceptions are formed largely based on optics, and green screens are not a good look.

Beyond optics, though, a new option offers the promise of a more normalized developer experience (DevX) and DevOps productivity across platforms, along with the staffing flexibility it brings. In short, Visual Studio Code (VS Code) is a big step toward breaking down the mainframe silo.

VS Code’s extensible, ‘any language, any platform’ design makes it the perfect tool for mainframe developers and with the free and open Code4z extension pack, VS Code is mainframe-ready. Developers are now using VS Code for mainframe AppDev just like their peers, taking advantage of the extraordinary ecosystem and the other many benefits that have made it a runaway success.

Per my previous article, Git for Mainframe: Back to the Future, combining VS Code with Git (i.e., editor and source interfaces) makes the experience complete.

So how does Code4z make VS Code mainframe-ready?  Let’s explore the answers from a functional perspective.

Editing & Debugging

Mainframe is closely associated with core languages like COBOL, Assembler and JCL, which are often ignored in the world of modern tooling. With VS Code’s extensible framework, however, incorporating these languages is simple and seamless.

The Language Server Protocol (LSP), which was developed for VS Code, is now an open standard also used by the next generation of browser-based editors, providing a degree of future-proofing. LSP extensions provide a rich editing experience with a wide range of popular features including IntelliSense, which offers capabilities like syntax checking, verb formatting suggestions and variable name completion.

Code4z offers LSP extensions for COBOL and High Level Assembler (HLASM) while additional extensions are available for languages like JCL, REXX, Db2, and Easytrieve. The extensibility of this technology has already been used to extend syntax awareness to specific language dialects.

Similar to LSP, the Debug Adapter Protocol (DAP) provides a native interface and layer of abstraction for debug services. Code4z’s debugger extension facilitates the debugging of CICS and batch COBOL programs, an integral part of the end-to-end experience.

Access & Security

Mainframe applications, the lifeblood of many businesses, require rock-solid security throughout the entire SDLC. Code4z leverages Zowe, the award-winning open source framework that extends mainframe security and access controls to tools like VS Code. The Zowe Explorer extension, built on the Zowe CLI, provides access to data sets, jobs and USS files and developers also use it to issue TSO and MVS commands and to submit JCL. Zowe Explorer is packaged with Code4z as is a data editor for mainframe data sets including VSAM. This extension is built on Zowe Explorer, again leveraging the extraordinary extensibility.  A Zowe Explorer for CICS is also available.

Similarly, developers can access a rich and growing set of conformant Zowe CLI extensions via the terminal and scripting.

Access to SCMs tools is also supported. In addition to VS Code’s native Git integration, there are extensions for Endevor, ChangeMan ZMF, and related tools.

DevOps Automation

Since my introductory article a few years ago, Z is for Zowe – the Open Path to Mainframe DevOps, Zowe has enjoyed wide adoption with 69% of surveyed sites either currently using or planning to use it within the year.

With mainframe teams now using Zowe to adopt modern shift-left practices, scripts for scanning, building, deploying and testing can be run manually by developers from VS Code, in addition to automatic triggers from code commits. This flexibility further empowers developers to own their code throughout the SDLC and beyond.

With VS Code, mainframe developers can be equipped with more self-service capabilities like Db2 schema provisioning to accelerate the testing process. With capabilities like these, developers can remain in the VS Code experience focused on editing rather than being distracted by low-value infrastructure activities, like requesting and waiting for DBA action.

Playing the Long Game

While VS Code is the dominant tool today—almost 3 times as popular as its closest competitor according to Stack Overflow with the lead growing—what is the long-term opportunity?

Demand for a modern, enterprise-aligned experience spans many domains, from increasing productivity to backfilling retiring staff. Elevating team morale and future-proofing vital mainframe assets ensure this adoption trend will only increase.

But tools change. Browser-based editors and in-the-cloud collaboration are gaining greater acceptance and the AI-assist excitement is palpable. Bringing mainframe developers onto an enterprise platform ensures mainframe teams will be able to benefit from the same advances as distributed peers. Enabling VS Code and its cloud equivalents demonstrates a commitment to the long-term success of these applications and by reducing the idea-to-production cycle, product owners become champions.

While not all mainframe developers will embrace VS Code, especially those close to retirement, the vast majority will, as we have experienced within our Broadcom engineering organization. The bottom line is that VS Code makes them even more productive, as illustrated in Confessions of a Career ISPF Programmer.

Many of today’s developers are proficient with multiple languages (i.e., polyglot) so picking up an additional language like COBOL becomes less daunting if everything else—editor, repo, DevOps processes, etc.—is familiar.

Getting Started

For a closer look at the many free and open Code4z extensions, check out the Developer Cockpit, which simulates a COBOL/Db2/CICS developer configuration. And read From VS Code to Mainframe Developer Cockpit for more detailed use cases.

Most importantly, try it! Code4z is available on the VS Code Marketplace.

And stay tuned for additional Code4z extensions in the pipeline. There’s never been a more exciting time to be a mainframe developer!