Code4z & Zowe: Championing the VS Code Opportunity

Become an advocate to spur adoption in your organization

Become a developer advocate

{Ecosystem} As a community, we need to equip the next generation of talent with tools to address the next generation of challenges. One such challenge, which is becoming increasingly urgent, is accelerating business demands resulting from Generative AI. To meet these needs, we need to provide a development environment that offers:

• Best-in-class productivity
• Seamless access to mainframe resources
• New & emerging capabilities like AI-assist and browser-based collaboration

Any debate about which platform best meets these needs is over. Visual Studio Code* is the winner and while many teams have begun adopting it, others have not yet prioritized the opportunity.

Here’s where developer advocacy comes in. Anyone passionate about the technology and the benefits it brings can fill this role and spur adoption within their organizations.

The goal of advocacy is to drive team-level awareness of the opportunity and to educate the key decision makers — team leaders and execs, architects, and infrastructure/tools leads — regarding the business benefits. This article explains how.

Context: Code4z is Built on Zowe

For those not yet familiar, Code4z is the free and open extension pack that transforms VS Code into a mainframe developer cockpit. Check out the many assets that describe the Code4z experience on the code4z.broadcom.com site.

Open Mainframe Project’s Zowe is a practical prerequisite for Code4z. Not only does Code4z include Zowe Explorer as a core component, but it also relies on Zowe for secure access to the mainframe as well as Zowe Conformant extensions that complete the experience. All of the Code4z extensions are Zowe Conformant and many are open source, enabling anyone to contribute.

To understand Code4z’s dependence on Zowe, and to learn how to leverage VS Code if Zowe is not yet installed, read this article: Code4z Offers Two Paths to VS Code for Mainframe.

code4z.broadcom.com

Action Plan

To jump-start the adoption of VS Code (i.e., Code4z & Zowe), consider these steps:

Step 1 — Familiarize yourself

If Zowe is not yet installed, follow the Quick Start option.

If Zowe is installed, explore as much of the Complete Code4z Experience as possible.

Bottom-line, the better you understand the capabilities, the better you can advocate for adoption.

Step 2 — Vet the opportunity

How you go about this depends on organizational dynamics. Strategize with your team lead and consider engaging an architect or infrastructure lead to vet the technical aspects of adoption. It’s important to address any concerns before engaging more senior members of the team and, in our experience, most of these concerns can be addressed through simple education. Reach out if you’d like to vet concerns with a Code4z and/or Zowe expert.

Step 3 — Engage peers

Once any concerns are addressed, the objective at this stage is to build a community of interest to drive change — a community of voices is far more compelling than a single one. To do this, consider hosting a series of lunch and learn sessions to educate others about the potential and to brainstorm how your team and the broader organization might benefit.

Step 4 — Engage decision-makers

Once a critical mass is established, create a presentation / demonstration that highlights the benefits, especially when compared to the current process. Again, consult with your team lead regarding how to present the benefits and gain buy-in.

Executives typically evaluate technology opportunities in business terms so consider incorporating these talking points:

• Developers love VS Code. If needed, reference the Stack Overflow survey result as a proof point. Key message: VS Code is quickly becoming table stakes for recruitment and its adoption will make onboarding far easier.
• Source code stored anywhere. Whether stored in a mainframe SCM like Endevor or the IT standard Git or even datasets, Code4z works. This flexibility, which includes the use of Bridge for Git, ensures that code migrations can occur without disruption, whenever needed. Code4z does not lock you into any specific code repo.
• Zowe’s secure access. Zowe’s secure access, including SSO, is the foundation of the Code4z experience. Also, Zowe CLI opens up a host of automation opportunities making the framework even more vital. Key message: the Zowe framework is essential.
• Zowe’s shift-left ecosystem. True DevOps empowerment is possible with access to the many complementary Zowe Conformant tools. For example, you can empower developers with self-service Db2 schema changes 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. Share this link.
• VS Code facilitates knowledge transfer. Beginning with a tool they already know enables new-to-mainframe talent to focus on the other unique aspects of the platform like languages.
• Open source freedom. With open source Code4z extensions, you can address any specific needs or priorities, even at the team level. For example, users are already addressing specific language dialects.

As part of the education process, consider sharing decision-maker-oriented resources like IDC’s VS Code for Mainframe Infobrief and the VS Code for Mainframe Roundtable video, which features several early adopters and an industry analyst. Consider sharing the Developer Cockpit simulator too.

Objection Handling

Let’s take a look at some potential objections that you may encounter and how you might address them.

Objection: Let’s wait until Zowe is more mature

Response: Zowe celebrated its five-year anniversary in 2023 so it’s no longer a new framework. Zowe V2 has been in Long Term Support since early 2022 and Zowe V3 will be released next Spring. In fact, according to the Arcati Yearbook, 69% of surveyed sites are either using Zowe or planning to use it within the year. If you’re not deploying it, your organization is already a laggard.

Objection: We don’t want to disrupt productivity

Response: Code4z can be deployed without any changes to the way developers currently work. Those who want to continue to use ISPF or other tools can do so uninterrupted.

Objection: We don’t want to move to Git

Response: Git is not a prerequisite; the Code4z experience is just as compelling without Git.

Objection: We don’t have the resources to invest at this time

Response: Code4z/Zowe adoption is not a big investment. In fact, self-service is a key design point and adoption has already been vetted with our technical leads.

Summary

The Code4z / Zowe experience is ready when you are. Sometimes all it takes is an individual with real passion to affect change in even the most conservative organizations: an advocate.

If that’s you, take advantage of the many resources available to you. By taking the time to learn, to vet, and to engage like-minded peers, you can be confident Code4z / Zowe is an opportunity worth championing.

And you don’t have to go it alone. Reach out if you’d like additional support. That’s what communities are for!

Learn More

If you enjoyed this blog, check out more Zowe blogs here. Or, ask a question and join the conversation on the Open Mainframe Project Slack Channel #zowe-explorer, #zowe-cli, as well as #zowe-dev, #zowe-user, #zowe-api, or #zowe-onboarding.

If this is your first time using the Open Mainframe Slack Channel register here.

* Visual Studio Code, VS Code, and the Visual Studio Code icon are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.