Mainframe is poised to meet business needs in 2025 and beyond, and SHARE Washington, D.C.’s (Feb. 23-27) technical sessions shouldn’t be missed. With open source and new interfaces for mainframe, SHARE members will get state-of-the-art education that they can take back to their offices to meet business needs.
New Interfaces Ease Mainframe Access
In “Making the Mainframe Great Again with Zowe Command Line Interface,” IBM’s Joe Winchester, senior technical staff member, and Billie Jean Simmons, software developer for zDevOps, IBM Wazi, and Cloud IDE, with Eugene Johnston, principal software engineer at Broadcom, will explore how the Zowe Command Line Interface (CLI) expands mainframe access to off platform tasks, including those in hybrid cloud environments. Simmons says, “Historically, mainframe access has been accomplished by using a dedicated TCP/IP connection, which displays a screen that looks identical to a physical terminal directly wired to a mainframe. Instead of using a dedicated session for its connection, Zowe CLI uses REST APIs to facilitate interaction between apps written in different programming languages on very different operating systems.”
New to Z employees can access the mainframe by running commands from CLI through their personal computers, rather than a 3270 interface. “They also don’t have to learn TSO syntax in advance,” says Winchester. “A Zowe CLI user interacts with the mainframe through a Windows command prompt, Windows PowerShell terminal, Linux command terminal, or MacOS command terminal. These interfaces are familiar to recent graduates or other staff who are new to the mainframe.”
Simmons points out, “Mainframers can use CLI to interact with MVS, JES, and UNIX system services.” Winchester adds, “Zowe commands can bundle multiple z/OS options into a single selection for a commonly used operation, making it easier for a user to select the right fit for the task at hand.”
SHARE members will learn about the 30 extensions available in the extensible framework for subsystems, such as CICS, Db2, and MQ, as well as many vendor product services, according to Winchester and Simmons. Winchester indicates, “Through deployment in CI/CD pipelines, Zowe CLI commands embedded in scripts enable mainframe apps to participate in the same type of continuous build activities as the Windows and Linux applications within your company.” These scripts can also help automate actions within the pipeline.
Simmons explains that CLI runs off-platform, enabling it to be embedded in a DevOps pipeline or distributed toolchain. “This makes it ideal for enterprises with a hybrid-cloud infrastructure in which the mainframe is more like a server,” Simmons adds. “Zowe’s client-side APIs do the heavy lifting when performing mainframe operations.”
Zowe CLI can make the mainframe more accessible and make it easier for companies to onboard new graduates, according to Winchester. “The CLI has built-in help for command syntax and examples to help users write scripts and learn the syntax. Credentials, such as passwords or certificates, can be shared between different CLI extensions to help with single sign-on and identity management,” he explains. These features make it intuitive for new and experienced mainframers alike.
Enhance Productivity Through Automation
Cody Giardinello, senior software engineer at Broadcom, and Sean Rooney, client services technical consultant for mainframe AIOPS and automation at Broadcom, will share their expertise in automating tools like Python, Zowe, and VS Code in their session, “Automated Symphony: Orchestrating Automation Using Cutting Edge Tools Like VS Code, Python, and Zowe.” Giardinello says, “SHARE members will gain a clear understanding of how open-source technologies like Zowe and z/OS Open Automation Utilities (zOAU) can be seamlessly integrated into traditional mainframe environments to enhance productivity and modernize workflows.” Members can expect to learn from real OPS/MVS customer scenarios, and new to Z mainframers can start leveraging tools and languages, such as VS Code and Python, on day one.
According to Giardinello, VS Code, Python, and Zowe can automate routine mainframe tasks, including report generation, log analysis, and ticketing to reduce errors and save time. This allows teams to focus on higher-value activities. “We’ll demonstrate how Unix System Services (USS) can act as a gateway for integrating any language — Python, C, or even Go — into mainframe workflows,” he explains. “There’s no question that VS Code is the most in-demand code editor among software engineers today. By adopting VS Code, mainframers gain access to its vast ecosystem, including extensions available through the VS Code Marketplace. Our industry is not ‘one size fits all,’ so empowering developers to choose tools that suit their preferences is essential.”
Companies can shorten their onboarding process by leveraging familiar tools and languages, such as Python. “This doesn’t mean abandoning established mainframe languages like REXX,” says Giardinello. “It’s about considering all available options and selecting the right tool for the job, ensuring you strike the best balance between modern practices and proven solutions.”
SHARE members will learn how to leverage tools, including open-source packages, to effectively address business challenges. With more than 300 technical sessions at SHARE Washington, D.C., members will learn how to use the latest advancements in mainframe technology to make their day-to-day work easier and build on the skills they already have, increasing their own productivity and meeting today’s business goals faster.
Register for SHARE Washington, D.C., today. Check out the rest of the technical agenda and plan your education journey.
Serena Agusto-Cox has more than 20 years of editorial experience and six years of experience writing about mainframe and information technology. She interviews and crafts forward-looking and engaging technical updates related to the mainframe ecosystem, highlights the experiences of thought-leaders in the community, and shares important updates to technical education and training.