Explorer for Endevor is a part of the Che4z open-source project. The extension is also part of Code4z, an all-round package that offers a modern experience for mainframe application developers, including HLASM Language Support, COBOL Language Support, Zowe Explorer, and Debugger for Mainframe extensions.
The Explorer for Endevor VS Code extension modernizes the way you interact with CA Endevor® SCM, using a user-friendly, intuitive IDE interface and provides the following benefits:
- View and retrieve CA Endevor elements
- View elements details
- Manage your Endevor profiles, Endevor location profiles, and base profiles
- Perform quick edit
- Generate an element
How can we improve Explorer for Endevor? Open an issue in our Git repository. Feel free to contribute.
Ensure that you meet the following prerequisites before you can use Explorer for Endevor:
- Access to Mainframe
- Access to CA Endevor® SCM
- CA Endevor® SCM version 18.0.12 or higher with the following PTFs applied:
- (if using version 18.0.x) PTFs SO09580, SO09581, SO10013, and SO11268
- (if using version 18.1.x) PTF SO11272
- (Optional)(Web Services with STC Pooling only) PTFs SO03928 and SO03929
- CA Endevor® SCM Web Services installed and configured. For more information, see the CA Endevor® SCM documentation
- (Optional) Zowe CLI v1-LTS
- (Optional) CA Endevor plug-in for Zowe CLI version 6.0.0
Explorer for Endevor is included with Eclipse Che version 7.6.0 and above. Check here for more information.
Create an Endevor profile and review use cases to see how you can use the full potential of Explorer for Endevor.
Explorer for Endevor uses Zowe CLI endevor and endevor-location profiles for CA Endevor SCM Plug-in for Zowe CLI to access Endevor inventory locations on the mainframe. If you already have a CA Endevor plug-in Zowe CLI profile, you can access inventory locations immediately, using your profile in the tree. If you do not have a profile, you can create one in Explorer for Endevor.
Follow these steps:
- Click the Add a New Profile button to add a new Endevor profile.
- Enter a name for your profile.
- Enter your Endevor URL in the
https://host:portformat. - (Optional) To add your mainframe credentials to your profile, enter your username and password. Adding your credentials to your profile lets you access different Endevor locations without entering your credentials. If you do not add credentials to your profile, a credential prompt displays whenever you click on an Endevor location profile in the tree.
- Specify whether to Reject or Accept connections with self-signed certificates.
- True: Reject connections with self-signed certificates.
- False: Accept connections with self-signed certificates.
Your profile is now available in the tree. You can also use the same profile in Zowe CLI directly.
Tip: You can create multiple profiles if necessary.
Once you have an Endevor profile, you need to add an Endevor location profile where you specify your Endevor instance, Endevor path that consists of environment, system, subsystem, stage number, and element type, CCID, and Comment. Endevor location profiles let you view and works with elements of specified Endevor locations.
Follow these steps:
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Click the + icon next to your Endevor profile to add a new location profile.
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Create a name for the Endevor location profile and press Enter.
-
Select an instance from the quick-pick menu and press Enter.
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Enter Endevor path and press Enter.
The path has the
environment/stage/system/subsystem/typeformat.Note: If you are unsure about the
typeparameter, you can substitute the parameter with a * wildcard. -
(Optional) Enter CCID and press Enter.
-
(Optional) Enter comment and press Enter.
Notes:
- If you want to skip the CCID and/or comment step, you can leave the inputs blank by pressing Enter.
- You can cancel the creation of Endevor location profile at any step by pressing Escape.
Explorer for Endevor loads your default Endevor profile into the tree. When you create a new profile in the extension, or select an existing Endevor profile to use, the profile also appears in the tree.
You can edit a profile or update your credentials, using the Zowe CLI and the zowe profiles update endevor-profile <profileName> and zowe profiles update endevor-location-profile <profileName> command. The commands let you update the details of existing profiles.
If you do need to have some of your profiles in the tree, you can hide such profiles. To do so, right-click on a profile and select Remove Profile option.
Note: The Remove Profile action does not permanently remove the profile. When you click the "Add a New Profile" icon again, you can add any previously created profiles again. You can only permanently delete a profile, using the Zowe CLI.
Review the following use cases to familiarize yourself with the basic Explorer for Endevor features:
- View an element: You can view the content of the selected element.
- View details: You can view the details of a chosen element. The details include the environment, stage, system, subsystem, element type, and the name and extension of the element.
- Retrieve an element: You can download the selected element.
- Retrieve an element with dependencies: You can download the selected element with dependencies.
- Quick edit: You can download, edit, and upload the selected element.
- Generate: You can call the
generatecommand for an element.
You can view the contents of an element by clicking on the element in the tree. The chosen element is displayed in the editor area. Viewing the contents of the element allows you to determine if you want to retrieve and work with the element.
Follow these steps:
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Hover over an element you want to view.
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Click the element to see the contents of the element.
The contents of the element display in the editor area.
The details of an element you want to view display in the editor area in a separate tab.
Follow these steps:
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Right-click on an element.
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Select the View Details option.
The details of the element display in the editor area.
You can download an element to your workspace and decide whether you want to edit the element.
Follow these steps:
-
Right-click on an element.
-
Select the Retrieve option.
The extension downloads the element and places it to your workspace. The contents of the element display in the editor area. You can edit the element immediately.
You can download an element with dependencies to your workspace and decide whether you want to edit the element.
Follow these steps:
-
Right-click on an element.
-
Select the Retrieve with dependencies option.
The extension downloads the element and places it to your workspace. The contents of the element display in the editor area. You can edit the element immediately.
The Quick Edit action lets you download an element, then edit and upload the element back.
Follow these steps:
-
Right-click on an element.
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Select the Quick Edit option.
The contents of the element display in the editor area. You can edit the element.
-
Press CTLR+S or Command+S when you want to save and upload the edited element back.
You can use the Generate action to call the CA Endevor generate command for a selected element.
Follow these steps:
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Right-click on an element.
-
Select the Generate option.
The pop-up notifying that the
generatecommand was called appears.
The Explorer for Endevor extension is made available to customers on the Visual Studio Code Marketplace in accordance with the terms and conditions contained in the provided End-User License Agreement (EULA).
If you are on active support for CA Endevor, you get technical assistance and support in accordance with the terms, guidelines, details, and parameters that are located within the Broadcom Working with Support guide.
This support generally includes:
- Telephone and online access to technical support
- Ability to submit new incidents 24x7x365
- 24x7x365 continuous support for Severity 1 incidents
- 24x7x365 access to CA Support Online
- Interactive remote diagnostic support
Technical support cases must be submitted to Broadcom in accordance with guidance provided in “Working with Support”.
Note: To receive technical assistance and support, you must remain compliant with “Working with Support”, be current on all applicable licensing and maintenance requirements, and maintain an environment in which all computer hardware, operating systems, and third party software associated with the affected Broadcom CA software are on the releases and version levels from the manufacturer that Broadcom designates as compatible with the software. Changes you elect to make to your operating environment could detrimentally affect the performance of Broadcom CA software and Broadcom shall not be responsible for these effects or any resulting degradation in performance of the Broadcom CA software. Severity 1 cases must be opened via telephone and elevations of lower severity incidents to Severity 1 status must be requested via telephone.
Copyright © 2020 Broadcom. The term "Broadcom" refers to Broadcom Inc. and/or its subsidiaries.