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Version: v1.16.x LTS

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Learn about what is new, changed, or removed in Zowe™.

Zowe Version 1.16.0 and later releases include the following enhancements, release by release.

Version 1.16.0 LTS (October 2020)#

Notable changes#

Certificate management and keyring support

  • In V1.15, the JCL member ZWEKRING was added to the sample PDS library SZWESAMP. This member contains commands to create a keyring that can contain the Zowe certificate(s) and a local certificate authority. In this release, the JCL member ZWENOKYR was added to SZWESAMP that contains the inverse commands, so it can be used to remove the keyring, the Zowe certificate(s), and the certificate authority.
  • In V1.15, the JCL member ZWEKRING and the supporting code in the Zowe runtimes for working with certificates held in keyrings were provided in beta format for early technical preview for RACF only. In this release, the commands in ZWEKRING, ZWENOKYR and the supporting code in the Zowe runtimes for working with keyrings and certificates in RACF, TopSecret, and ACF/2 are now a supported piece of functionality.
  • A new documentation section is added to help you understand the configuration scenarios around Zowe certificates, and the relationship to a Zowe instance directory and Zowe runtime. See Topology for the Zowe z/OS launch process.

Additional TN3270 terminal configuration options

Additional TN3270 terminal configuration options can now be specified within the instance.env configuration file. These choices, such as codepage and terminal dimensions, affect server defaults but do not change the pre-existing ability for you to set your own preferences within the Desktop at runtime. A list of the available options can be found here.

New features and enhancements#

The following features and enhancements were added.

Zowe installation#

  • Moved explorer-ui-server out of explorers into new shared folder under Zowe Runtime Directory. #1545, #207, #37
  • Created zowe-setup-keyring-certificates.env and removed the overloaded properties from zowe-setup-certificates.env to try to simplify the user experience when setting up certificates in the keyring and USS keystore modes. #1603

Zowe API Mediation Layer#

  • ZAAS Client can now use HTTP so that the Application Transparent Transport Layer Security (AT-TLS) can be used for communication to ZAAS. #813
  • Implemented the logout functionality in ZAAS Client. #808
  • Added a more helpful and actionable description to message ZWEAM511E, which occurs when API ML does not trust the certificate provided by the service. #818

Zowe App Server#

  • The install-app.sh script used to install App Server plugins can now be used without Node.js. If Node.js is not detected when the script is executed, this behavior will be automated. You can also force this behavior with the environment variable INSTALL_NO_NODE=1, such as in the following example:

    • INSTALL_NO_NODE=1 ./install-app.sh ~/zlux-editor #137

  • ZSS is now automatically registered to the API Mediation Layer when both are present, using a static registration file. #208

  • Additional environment variables are now supported, which provides more options for TN3270 for the instance.env configuration file #1176 while also allowing TN3270 host to be specified during installation configuration. #1125. The following new environment variables are now supported in instance.env #108:

    • ZOWE_ZLUX_TELNET_HOST = string
    • ZOWE_ZLUX_SSH_HOST = string
    • ZOWE_ZLUX_TN3270_ROW = number
    • ZOWE_ZLUX_TN3270_COL = number
    • ZOWE_ZLUX_TN3270_MOD = numbers 2-5 as well as "dynamic" or other variations of the word
    • ZOWE_ZLUX_TN3270_CODEPAGE = ccsid number or string as seen in the ui

  • The Agent API now provides limited information without the need for authentication. Non-admins are able to view a subset of the information available to admins, specifically regarding the functionality of Zowe. Examples of the information available to non-admins are: OS architecture and environment variables for Zowe configuration such as the components used and the ports they are accessible on. #211

    • /server/agent/environment (limited info)
    • /server/agent/services

  • The ZSS /unixfile API has been updated to include an option to force file content to be sent or received as a specific encoding. If not specified, the pre-existing behavior of automatically choosing encoding based on tagging and file extensions will be used. #160

  • The app server can now read and use keys, certificates, and certificate authorities contained with PKCS12 files. This is in addition to existing support for PEM-encoded files as well as z/OS keyrings. #244

Zowe CLI#

The following enhancements were added to the core CLI:

  • Added a --pattern option to the zowe files list all-members command. The option lets you restrict returned member names to only names that match a given pattern. The argument syntax is the same as the "pattern" parameter of the ISPF LMMLIST service. #810
  • Added new options --lrecl and --recfm to the zos-files create command. Use these options to specify a logical record length and record format for data sets that you create. #788

Zowe Explorer#

  • Added the Allocate Like feature. #904
  • Added the ability to disable/enable profile validation. #922
  • Added the ability to access other profiles during profile validation. #953
  • Grouped Favorites by profile for Datasets, USS, and Jobs. #168
  • Once entered, datasets and members are displayed in uppercase. #962
  • Updated the environment check for Theia compatibility. #1009

Zowe JES/MVS/USS Explorers#

The following enhancement was added to the Explorer UI Server:

  • Explorer UI Server is now published as separate pax and decoupled out of explorers. #37

The following features and enhancements were added to the JES Explorer:

  • Moved explorer-ui-server out of explorers into new shared folder under Zowe Runtime Directory. Changed JES lifecycle start script to use new shared location. #207
  • Added context menu entry for download JCL used to submit a job. #335
  • Updated webpack to latest version, added .npmrc to specify npm registry as config. #222

The following features and enhancements were added to the MVS Explorer:

  • Extracted out explorer-ui-server, changed MVS lifecycle start script and packaging script accordingly. #151
  • Added loading icon to editor menu bar when opening a dataset's contents. #291
  • Added .npmrc to specify npm registry as config.

The following features and enhancements were added to the USS Explorer:

  • Extracted out explorer-ui-server, changed USS lifecycle start script and packaging script accordingly. #100
  • Added .npmrc to specify npm registry as config.

Bug fixes#

The following bugs were fixed.

Zowe API Mediation Layer#

  • Changed the default expiration time value for JWT token to 8h for consistency with the z/OSMF default. #615
  • Reduced excessive and unhelpful log messages. #672
  • Added the Base Path field in the API Catalog if one is available, which can override the Swagger Base Path. This causes the proper Base Path to be displayed in the event that the api doc is not populated properly. #810
  • Removed overwriting of the Swagger Base Path, which resulted in malformed API routes when the base URL is shared among multiple services. #852
  • API ML was previously not reporting SSL certificate errors when servers were unable to communicate. Now, if a SSLException occurs, SSL certificate errors are reported. #698
  • Fixed language in log messages for consistency. #830

Zowe App Server#

In previous versions, the environment arch and os fields were incorrect. This has been fixed, and the updated response from /server/agent/environment service is #213:

{
"agentName": "zss",
"agentVersion": "1.15.0+20200903",
"arch": "s390x",
"os": "zos",
"osRelease": "04.00",
"osVersion": "02",
"hardwareIdentifier": "8561"
}

Zowe CLI#

The following bug was fixed in the FTP plug-in for Zowe CLI:

  • Fixed an issue where the view spool-file-by-id command retrieved incorrect contents. #61

Zowe Explorer#

  • Fixed USS renaming issues. #911
  • Fixed the deletion of datasets issue. #963.
  • Removed errors in Favorites items caused by profiles that are created by other extensions. #968

Version 1.15.0 LTS (September 2020)#

Notable changes#

Keyring support

Prior to v1.15, the Zowe z/OS components were only able to use a certificate held in a USS Java KeyStore. In v1.15, the Zowe z/OS components can now use a certificate that is held in a z/OS keyring as described in Configuring Zowe certificates in a keyring.

For more information about Zowe certificates, certificate authorities, trust stores, and how they are used by Zowe, see Configuring Zowe Certificates.

Auto-Save plug-in data

Plug-in developers can now make use of the new autosave feature, which can automatically save state data based on what the developer intends to retain, at regular time intervals. This is to protect against client crashes, and in the case of a crash, the apps are reopened upon desktop login and restored with the saved state. This new capability furthers the larger goal of high availability and fault tolerance for all Zowe components.

Support for starting Zowe API ML without z/OSMF on your system

By default, the API Gateway uses z/OSMF as an authentication provider. With the release of Zowe 1.15 it is now possible to switch to SAF as the authentication provider instead of z/OSMF. So, if you want to securely run the Zowe API ML but your system does not have z/OSMF, simply select SAF as your authentication provider. For more information on how to switch to SAF, see API Gateway configuration parameters.

New features and enhancements#

The following features and enhancements were added:

Zowe API Mediation Layer#

  • The API Path Pattern now supports serviceId as the first element. This improves the consistency of the URL when processing through the Gateway or outside of the Gateway. #688
  • The SAF Provider can now be used as a possible authentication provider. This removes the API ML dependency on z/OSMF for authentication enabling SAF to obtain the JWT. #472
  • The Swagger URL is now provided for z/OSMF. This URL provides full documentation containing the Try It Out functionality if the z/OSMF version supports the Swagger endpoint. Alternatively, the URL provides the info endpoint to directly enable access to Zowe endpoints. #665
  • The default configuration of API ML now supports character encoding. #777

ZSS#

A new endpoint has been added to the Agent API. This new endpoint will return a list of services to the user. #209

  • Sample request: GET /server/agent/services
  • Sample response:
{
"services": [
{
"name": "plugin definitions service",
"urlMask": "/plugins",
"type": "REST"
},
{
"name": "UnixFileContents",
"urlMask": "/unixfile/contents/**",
"type": "REST"
},
{
"name": "UnixFileRename",
"urlMask": "/unixfile/rename/**",
"type": "REST"
}

Zowe App Server#

  • Added a feature that allows users to auto save plug-in data by subscribing to the event. By default, the feature will auto save every 5 minutes, but this interval can be customized. #250
    • This feature is enabled via the Plugin Definition. "autosave": true
  • You are now able to select multiple jobs in the job tree, which allows for functions such as purging multiple jobs at once. #274, #204

Zowe CLI#

The following features and enhancements were added to the core CLI:

  • Added a --responseTimeout option to the z/OS Files APIs, CLI commands, and z/OSMF profiles. Specify --responseTimeout <###> to set the number of seconds that the TSO servlet request runs before a timeout occurs. The default is 30 seconds. You can set the option to 5 - 600 seconds (inclusive). #760
  • Added the --encoding option for the zowe zos-files upload dir-to-pds command. This option lets you upload multiple members with a single command. #764

The following features and enhancements were added to the Imperative CLI Framework:

  • Added support for dynamically generated cookie names. Updated AbstractSession.storeCookie() to process cookie names that are not fully known at build-time. #431
  • Added the SSO Callback function, which allows applications to call their own functions while validating session properties (that is, host, port, user, password, token, and so on). The callback option is named getValuesBack. #422

The following features and enhancements were added to the Secure Credential Store Plug-in:

  • Added the scs revert command. Use the command to revert securely stored credentials in your user profiles to be stored in plain text. #22
  • Changed the scs update and scs revert commands so that they fail if Secure Credential Manager is not enabled. #23

Zowe JES/MVS/USS Explorers#

The following features and enhancements were added to the JES Explorer:

  • Changed the packaging and lifecycle start.sh script to add explorer-ui-server keyring support. #1177
  • Added app bar, along with settings, and local storage to store user preferences and remember the last search filter. #487
  • Notifications preference can set duration for snack bar notification. #273

The following features and enhancements were added to the MVS Explorer and USS Explorer:

  • Changed the packaging and lifecycle start.sh script to add explorer-ui-server keyring support. #1177
  • Added ability to collapse and resize jobs tree. #259

Bug fixes#

The following bugs were fixed.

Zowe API Mediation Layer#

  • Fixed SSL validation when Eureka is running in HTTP mode. When the scheme is HTTP, SSL configuration is not verified since it is not used. #792
  • Fixed a problem in error handling when no api-doc is available. Now a specific return code and message is generated when a problem occurs when obtaining or transforming the api-doc. #571

ZSS#

  • When RBAC is disabled, only the following services will be available. #210
    • /server/agent/environment (with limited information)
    • /server/agent/services

Zowe App Server#

  • External CA certificates to the Zowe ZWED_node_https_certificateAuthorities array only after checking to see if the certificates exist, which prevents it from pointing to nothing, resulting in it breaking. #136
  • In previous versions, the component.json file was only being created when users upgraded their Zowe system to a more recent version. Performing an initial installation would not result in the component.json file being created. In this version, this bug has been resolved, and the component.json file is created both when upgrading and performing an initial installation. #135

Zowe CLI#

The following bugs were fixed in the core CLI:

  • Renamed the z/OS Files API option from storeclass to storclass. This fixed an issue where the CLI could define the wrong storage class on create dataset commands. #503
  • Fixed an issue where the output of the zowe zos-uss issue ssh command would sometimes omit the last line. #795

The following bug was fixed in the Imperative CLI Framework:

  • Fixed an issue with ConnectionPropsForSessCfg where the user would be prompted for user/password even if a token was present. #436

Zowe JES/MVS/USS Explorers#

The following bugs were fixed in the JES Explorer:

  • Fixed a bug where no jobs would show after auth token expired and user logs back in. #408
  • Added default value for ZOWE_EXPLORER_FRAME_ANCESTORS at lifecycle start script. It resolves #44.
  • Fixed an issue where job tree height is greater than app container which makes the page scrollable. #484

The following bugs were fixed in the MVS Explorer:

  • Fixed an issue where the dataset tree and the content viewer were not aligned. #484
  • Added default value for ZOWE_EXPLORER_FRAME_ANCESTORS at lifecycle start script. It resolves #44.

The following bugs were fixed in the USS Explorer:

  • Added default value for ZOWE_EXPLORER_FRAME_ANCESTORS at lifecycle start script. It resolves #44.

Version 1.14.0 LTS (August 2020)#

Notable changes#

Zowe Node APIs

Did you know that you can leverage the Zowe Node APIs directly? The Zowe Node APIs are the programmatic APIs that enable Zowe CLI to interface with the mainframe. You can use the APIs to build your own applications or automation scripts, independent of Zowe CLI. For more information and usage examples, see the Zowe CLI readme file.

Support for verifying Zowe release integrity

Zowe now provides a new tool to verify that the code in the Zowe runtime directory installed on your z/OS® system is identical to the released code. The tool comprises a script file zowe-verify-authenticity.sh, plus the files it needs to check the release contents.

If the contents of the Zowe runtime directory have been modified, then it may result in unpredictable behavior. For more information about the tool, see Verify Zowe runtime directory.

New features and enhancements#

The following features and enhancements were added.

Zowe installation#

  • If you are upgrading to Zowe v1.14 from a previous release, and the value of ZOWE_EXPLORER_HOST does not match the host and domain that you put into your browser to access Zowe, you must update your configuration due to updated referrer-based security. See System Requirements for information on updating your configuration.
  • Allow the user to verify the authenticity of a Zowe driver. The script zowe-verify-authenticity.sh will check that a Zowe ROOT_DIR for an installed release matches the contents for when that release was created, which assists with support and troubleshooting. To verify pre-1.14 releases, the script and its associated code are available separately (see #1552). For more information, see the new topic Verify Zowe Runtime Directory that describes the operation of the script.
  • Allow multiple domains (names/IP Addresses) when generating certificates. This also includes SMP/E HOLDDATA for the affected function Zowe Configuration. #1511
  • Included z/OSMF workflows for Zowe z/OS configuration. #1527
  • Added warning if ZWESVSTC runs under user ID IZUSVR. #1534
  • [Docs] Changed the documentation so that SZWEAUTH PDSE load library members should not be copied elsewhere, but instead the original installation target SZWEAUTH PDSE should be APF-authorized and used as the runtime load library. This also includes SMP/E HOLDDATA for the affected function STC JCL as well as changes to topics Installing and configuring the Zowe cross memory server (ZWESISTC) and Installing and starting the Zowe started task (ZWESVSTC).
  • [Docs] Added a new topic Installing and configuring Zowe z/OS components using scripts.

API Mediation Layer#

  • Prevented crashing of API ML when null routes are set. #767
  • Added support to the X-Forwarded-* Headers. #769
  • Improved the configuration validator for the enablers to improve message specificity when one or more parameters required for setup are missing. #760

Zowe App Server#

  • Using a cross-memory server without REUSASID=YES may result in an ASID shortage. This pull-request adds a check that will print a warning if REUSASID=YES is not detected. #145
  • In previous versions, the server used the property InstanceID instead of ZOWE_INSTANCE. In order to maintain backwards compatibility, these properties are now unified when the value of ZOWE_INSTANCE is non-default. Additionally, the server uses these values whenever an instance number is needed, such as in the case of determining profile names for RBAC use #130
  • The packaged size of the Editor has been significantly reduced by removing uncompressed versions of files that have compressed variants and .map files which were used for development debugging. #160
  • The ZSS /unixfile REST API now supports the changing of permissions on a file or folder, similar to chmod, by calling /unixfile/chmod. The behavior is documented in swagger. #195 #132
  • A notification will be displayed when users attempt to upload a wallpaper image that is too large. #254
  • The desktop personalization panel's color selection UI now has an extra highlight around the selected color to make the selection more apparent. #236
  • Users can now recall migrated datasets in the Editor (via the File Tree) by clicking on them. #78

Zowe CLI#

The following features and enhancements were added to the core CLI:

  • Added the command zowe zos-files delete migrated-data-sets to delete migrated data sets. #716
  • Added a new --fail-fast option to the zowe zos-files download all-members command. The option defaults to true, which preserves existing behavior. Set the option to false to continue downloading members if one or more of the downloads fails. #759
  • Updated the Imperative CLI Framework version. #744

z/OS FTP Plug-in for Zowe CLI:

The following enhancement was added to the z/OS FTP Plug-in:

  • The following flags were added to the zowe zos-ftp submit data-set command: #55
    • --wait - Specify a query interval and max times to query as comma-separated, numeric values. For example, specify 5,12 to query the job status every 5 seconds up to 12 times.
    • --wait-for-output - Wait for the job to enter OUTPUT status.
    • --wait-for-active - Wait for the job to enter ACTIVE status.

Zowe Explorer#

The following features and enhancements were added to the Zowe Explorer:

  • Added a webpack that works with localization and logging.
  • Allowed extenders to load the saved profile sessions upon activation.
  • Added an automatic re-validation for invalid profiles.

Also, check out the Zowe Explorer FAQ to learn more about the purpose and function of the VS Code extension.

Bug fixes#

The following bugs were fixed.

Zowe App Server#

  • Bugfix: ZSS will now maintain the connection if users respond to the 404 message with the request Connection: Keep-Alive #147
    • NOTE: The code only recognizes Connection: Keep-Alive. Other "Keep-Alive" properties will be ignored.
  • Bugfix: If a load module is incorrectly copied to STEPLIB, the z/OS loader will fail to load it. In these cases, an available copy in LPA will be used instead, if one is available. The problem with LPA is that any IDENTIFY calls to a module with an incorrect version number may cause serious issues. This pull-request ensures that ZWESIS01 comes from private storage. #146
  • Bugfix: Fixes various issues that would occur when the number in the Content-length response header was different from the actual content length. #150
  • Bugfixes for default plugin config and terminal handler location. This change was made in order to include the _internal folder. storageDefaults other than _internal are already supported. For more information, see the wiki. #229
    • This fix allows the server-side plugin config to exist within its own folder, rather than in the instance directory. As a result, plugins no longer have to perform a copy operation during installation.
    • You can now specify terminal proxy handler overrides within $INSTANCE_DIR, which was previously only possible within $ROOT_DIR. $ROOT_DIR modification is not recommended and not conformant for Zowe plugins.
  • Bugfix: The process of auto-converting untagged USS ebcdic files when using the ZSS /unixfile REST API has been improved by determining if the files are text or binary based on a list of file extensions. The API behavior towards unknown extensions has been changed from assuming text to now assuming binary. This fixed some cases where text files were not readable through the REST API. #148 #152
  • Bugfix: When using ZSS's /unixfile/contents REST API, large files would occasionally cause an incorrect HTTP message to be sent because the content-length header did not match the actual content length. This could result when there is a conversion error. This issue has been solved by updating the API, allowing it to use the transfer encoding type "chunked" instead, which allows these previously broken files to be sent successfully. #150
  • Bugfix: Some file actions in the Editor would generate URLs that included multiple slashes in a row, which may cause errors on servers that receive such requests. In this update, the URI Broker now removes multiple slashes when they are encountered, which may additionally improve behavior in other apps that use the URI Broker for the ZSS REST API /unixfile. #251
  • Bugfix: During ZSS initialization, certain warning log messages were not displayed, such as the warning about lack of permission to use ICSF to generate a random number. This issue has been resolved by initializing the logger responsible for issuing the messages. #143
  • Bugfix: In order to conserve log space, ZSS no longer prints debug information regarding HTTP dispatch. #156
  • Bugfix: In previous versions, the app framework build process referenced webpack incorrectly, leading to an unnecessary build-time error if webpack was not installed globally. This issue has been resolved. #248
  • Bugfix: In previous versions, developing with the app framework would show linting warnings in VSCode. This issue has been resolved by updating tsconfig.json #240
  • Bugfix: Some app server configuration values could not be specified via environment variables due to the limited characters allowed in variables. A new syntax has been made to allow these edge-case configuration values to be specified, and this new syntax is seen here: #230

Zowe CLI#

The following bug was fixed in Imperative CLI Framework:

  • Fix update profile API storing secure fields incorrectly when called without CLI args.
  • Fixed a compilation error when building the CLI from source.#770

Zowe Explorer#

  • Fixed the bug related to saving USS files.
  • Fixed the bug related to the deletion of datasets.

Version 1.13.0 LTS (July 2020)#

Notable changes#

Zowe CLI added the ability to access mainframe services through API Mediation Layer using single-sign on (SSO) and multi-factor authentication (MFA). Use Zowe CLI to log in to API Mediation Layer and receive a token that is used for secure authentication to one or more services. For more information, see Integrating CLI with API Mediation Layer.

The CLI also supports a type of profile named "base profile" that lets you store configuration information for multiple services. For more information, see Using Profiles.

New features and enhancements#

The following features and enhancements were added.

Zowe installation#

  • Updated zowe-configure-instance upgrade to update ROOT_DIR. This allows you to move the Zowe runtime to a different place when you install a new version of Zowe. #1414
  • Updated the port validation logic to reduce false negatives. #1399
  • Updated the Zowe installation and configuration to tolerate ZERT Network Analyzer better. #1124

API Mediation Layer#

  • Added Cross-origin resource sharing (CORS) Headers Support.
  • Introduced an option to set connection timeout for a service.
  • Provided SAF Keyrings support for a ZAAS Client.
  • Introduced Spring Boot enabler configuration validation.

Zowe App Server#

  • The app server is now able to use more than one certificate authority (CA). This allows the server to validate other server's authenticity by recognizing the CA that another server may have used #128
  • The dispatcher.invokeAction method now returns promise, which provides the ability to wait until dispatcher.invokeAction finishes and handles errors #59
  • The ngx-color picker has been replaced by a custom hue selection bar, lightness swatches bar, and color palette, allowing for a more customizable personalization experience #235
  • In this version, cross-launch via URL has been implemented, allowing for integration between the Application Framework and applications. This feature enables users to bookmark a set of app2app communication actions (in the form of a URL) that will be executed when opening the webpage #234
  • Bookmarking features have been added to the TN3270 emulator #30
    • Users can now save connection preferences on a per-user level. Clicking the floppy disk icon saves user settings to that user's scope.
    • Codepages have been reorganized so that the numbers are shown first, making it easier for users to navigate to their favorites
    • The buttons found in this feature have been realigned
  • Several features have been added to the Zowe Editor #153
    • Globally increased the shortest duration of snackbar notifications from 2 seconds to 3 seconds
    • Added a "Close All" button in the menu (hot key is Alt + W + Shift)
    • A snackbar notification will be displayed when users attempt to open a file that they do not have permission to open
    • Added an "Undo" option to the Close All feature to reopen tabs & files
  • Login activity and session activity is now synchronized across multiple desktop tabs #242
    • When a user logs out of a desktop tab, all other active tabs will also log out
    • When a user performs an action on a desktop tab, the other tabs register this activity, which stops them from timing out

Zowe CLI#

The following features and enhancements were added to the core Zowe CLI:

  • Added the ability to log into and out of API ML using a token. #718
  • Added the --base-profile option to all commands that use profiles to let them make use of base profiles that contain shared values. #718
  • CLI commands now prompt for any of the following option values if the option is missing: host, port, user, and password. #718
  • Added character encoding/code page support for download and upload data set operations in the API library and the CLI. #632
  • Added the --encoding option to the zosmf profile type. #632
  • Introduced an API to delete migrated data sets. #715.

The following features and enhancements were added to the Imperative CLI Framework:

  • Added the ConnectionPropsForSessCfg.addPropsOrPrompt function to store credentials, such as a token, in a session configuration object. #718

    • CLI plug-ins must implement this function to create sessions in order to consume automatic token-handling and prompt for mission options features.

    • Connection information is obtained from the command line in the following order: Environment variables, service profiles, base profiles, or a default option value.

    • If connection information is not supplied to any core CLI command, the user is prompted for:

      • host
      • port
      • user
      • password

      The prompt times out after 30 seconds so that automated scripts will not fail.

  • Added base profiles, a type of profile that can store values and provide them to other profile types, such as zosmf profiles. #402

    The following properties can be stored in a base profile:

    • host
    • port
    • user
    • password
    • rejectUnauthorized
    • tokenType
    • tokenValue

  • Added login and logout commands to retrieve and delete tokens. #405

    • Added a showToken flag to display the token and not save it to the user profile.
    • Added the ability to create a user profile upon login, if no profile of that type existed previously.

  • Added the --dd flag, which lets users create a profile without using the default values specified for that profile. #718

  • If a token is present in the underlying REST session object, Imperative uses the token for authentication.

  • CLI help text includes new options such as tokenValue. Plug-in developers might need to update mismatched snapshots in automated tests.

  • Updated the version of TypeScript from v3.7.4 to v3.8.0.

  • Updated the version of TSLint from v5.x to v6.1.2.

  • Update log4js to improve Webpack compatibility for extenders.

Zowe Explorer#

The following features and enhancements were added to Zowe Explorer:

  • Added a credentials check feature that allows users to update their credentials if they receive an authorization error.
  • Added a star icon that clearly denotes data sets, USS files, and jobs as favorites.
  • Added a profile validation feature that checks whether a profile is valid. The feature is triggered when any action is performed with the profile. Validated profiles are indicated by a green mark.
  • Disallowed case sensitivity for profiles with same names.
  • Enabled editing of search filters.
  • Enabled editing of ASCII files in USS.
  • Improved text in confirmation dialogs.
  • Reorganized the Data Sets context menu to match the order of commands recommended by VSCode.

Bug fixes#

The following bugs were fixed.

ZSS#

  • Bugfix: ICFS error message is not printed. In this version, the issue has been resolved #143

Zowe App Server#

  • Bugfix: Changing editor syntax in the MVS explorer caused a callstack limit exception. This was due to a trap focus conflict between the Orion editor and the modal part within the ui Select component on syntax change. In this version, the issue has been resolved by disabling disableEnforceFocus for the syntax selector #129
  • Bugfix: An Infinite Auth loop would occur on explorer apps due to APIML and z/OSMF auth timeouts mismatch. In this version, the issue has been resolved by adding a force login flag if a datasets request comes back as 401 #124
  • Bugfix: When using the JES Explorer to view Spool files of a job, users cannot open a spool file that has the same name as one already open. This issue has been resolved by adding a unique id to content tabs to allow opening of overlapping names #188
  • Bugfix: The Env var for TERM gets set to "linux", which is not recognized by USS. This issue has been resolved through the removal of rxjs-compat #29
  • Bugfix: NGX-monaco-editor library has been removed in order to fix a bug. This now allows the Editor to open and view files after the second instance of opening them #155
    • Removed use of node-sass, so that native compilation is not required
    • Updated to typescript 3.7 from version 2.7.2
    • Updated to monaco 0.20 from version 0.13. The monaco changelog can be found here

Zowe CLI#

  • Fixed an issue where CLI web help failed to load in Internet Explorer 11. #393.
  • Fixed an issue where the --help-web option did not function on macOS when the DISPLAY environment variable was undefined. #322.
  • Updated Imperative version to include security fixes.
  • Updated Imperative version to fix a problem where users could not use a service profile after storing a token in a base profile.
  • Fixed an issue where optional secure fields were not deleted when overwriting a profile.

Version 1.12.0 LTS (June 2020)#

New features and enhancements#

The following features and enhancements were added.

Zowe installation#

  • Keystore directory generation updated to add new parameters. If you wish to enable SSO for the desktop you need to rerun the zowe-setup-certificates.sh script during the upgrade process, with new values in the zowe-setup-certificates.env file. #1347 / Doc: #1162
  • Added a -l optional parameter to the zowe-support.sh script. This parameter allows you to specify the custom log directory used in installation and configuration when collecting support data. #1322 / Doc: #1165
  • Added the validate only mode of Zowe. This allows you to check whether all the component validation checks of the Zowe installation pass without starting any of the components. #1335 / Doc: #1181
  • Separated ZSS component from the Zowe App Server component. #1320
  • Introduced z/OSMF Workflows that accomplish the following Zowe installation and configuration tasks:
    • Install Zowe runtime using z/OSMF Workflows.
    • Configure z/OS Security Manager.
    • Configure Zowe certificates.
    • Create and configure the Zowe instance directory, and run the Zowe started task.

API Mediation Layer#

  • Provided Zowe Authentication and Authorization Service (ZAAS) client.
  • Refreshed the static client definitions from the API Catalog UI.
  • Switched to sso-auth instead of apiml-auth.
  • Added logout endpoint API documentation.
  • Made jjwt only a test dependency.
  • Fixed the order of fetching the JWT from a request.
  • Implemented request retrying for service instances.

ZSS#

  • ZSS now follows the Zowe Component scheme, as part of the DESKTOP component group #177
  • Read JWT token information from environment variables, if they exist, to further support SSO during a standard installation. #178
  • In previous versions, ZIS did not use the version information provided in zss/version.txt. In this version, the ZIS build uses version.txt the same way that ZSS uses it. #184

Zowe App Server#

  • Added SSO token name and label to convert-env.sh for use with ZSS. #118
  • Script has been updated to allow ZSS to be a separate component. #117
  • The app-server will favor and use a SAF keyring if defined for use in Zowe, rather than a unix file for keys, certificates, and certificate authorities. #116
  • The process for making bundled plugins using ROOT_DIR has been upgraded #123
  • Updates have been implemented for modal keyboard accessibility. #148:
    • Editor now has keyboard navigation in the browsing tree and pop-up modals.
    • Pop-ups can be traversed with Tab/Tab + Shift.
  • Desktop redesign suite and personalization settings have been implemented. #221
  • Right-click context menus have been implemented for the new desktop style. #216
  • A new attribute has been implemented to load plugins from different relative paths. #212

Zowe CLI#

The following features and enhancements were added to the core Zowe CLI:

  • Added the zowe files hrec ds command to recall data sets. #556
  • Made the account option optional in TSO profiles. #709
  • Made user and host options optional in SSH profiles. #709

The following features and enhancements were added to the z/OS FTP Plug-in for Zowe CLI:

  • Added the zowe zos-ftp list data-set-members command to find members in a PDS. #45
  • Added the zowe zos-ftp make uss-directory command. #47

Zowe Explorer#

Review the Zowe Explorer Change Log to learn about the latest features, enhancements, and fixes.

You can install the latest version of the extension from the Visual Studio Code Marketplace.

Bug fixes#

The following bugs were fixed.

Zowe installation#

  • Minor enhancements to add log directory validation and remove unnecessary log file splitting. #1334, #1300
  • When the automatically detected hostname that Zowe is installed on cannot be resolved, use the IP address instead. This covers the scenario when the USS hostname command returned a system name that wasn't externally addressable. #1279
  • Fixed an issue that could cause an upgraded version of Zowe to try and use an old version of plug-ins, by switching the desktop to use a relative reference to find plugins. #1326

ZSS#

  • Bugfix: Fixed a segfault when no config file is provided by moving all the zowelog invocations to a location where the logging environment is ready. Additionally, cleanup logic has been introduced to ensure that we free the STC base resources before leaving main. #187
  • Bugfix: In previous versions, if a warning message is produced by the compiler, the build process is considered successful. This is often dangerous as warnings can indicate passing the wrong type or redefinition of a #define, which should be considered bugs. The following changes have been implemented to make the build process more strict #188:
    • Make sure there are no warning messages in the current build.
      • Update deps to remove the httpfileservice.c warning message, and pick up a minor type fix.
      • Ensure side-deck file/SYSDEFSD DD by adding the dll option to the linker.
    • Adjust the compiler env variable that controls the severity.
    • Ensure no ZSS binary is created if RC != 0.

Zowe App Server#

  • Bugfix: Logout of sso-auth was not working because it was expecting apiml parameters that should have been there but were controlled by the env var APIML_ENABLE_SSO. In this version, the issue has been resolved. #126
  • Bugfix: In this release, many bugs picked up by the Sonar scan for core Zowe repositories have been resolved #214
  • Bugfix: Plugin api would not respond if a plugin could not load due to a dependency not being met. That plugin would not be placed in the array that checks when the processing has finished, so a response would never be generated. #208
  • Bugfix: Fixed a logout cookie bug and sso-auth behavior bug in order to fully support SSO. Additionally, tokenInjector was removed as it is no longer required with the introduction of SSO. #209
  • Bugfix: Fixed lease information for API ML #218
  • Bugfix: In previous versions, the user was never shown the logout screen when the plugin would detect zss, but not apiml. In this version, this issue has been resolved. #221
  • Bugfix: Fixed issue where localhost & 127.0.0.1 were always used even when not true. Additionally, each worker in the cluster attempted registration even though, from an outside perspective, it is 1 server. In this version, the server uses a real hostname and tries to find the ip that best matches what apiml would be able to use #203

Zowe CLI#

Updated Yargs in Zowe Imperative CLI Framework to fix vulnerabilities.

Version 1.11.0 LTS (May 2020)#

New features and enhancements#

The following features and enhancements were added:

API Mediation Layer#

The following new feature was added to the Zowe API Mediation Layer in this version:

  • The 'Try it out' functionality has been added to test for public and private endpoints.#258

    API ML Changelog

ZSS#

  • A new query parameter (?addQualifiers) which can be appended to /datasetMetadata/ allows for searching that more closely represents the search behavior of 3.4 #108
  • Added support for changing log levels via REST API #173

Zowe App Server#

  • Updated the JES Explorer, MVS Explorer, and USS Explorer apps to support single sign-on from the Zowe API Mediation Layer. #344 #345 #346
  • Modals in the Editor now have an "X" icon to close the modal. #130
  • An event emitter for session changes, login, logout, and sessionExpire for Angular, React, and iFrame applications has been added #210
  • Session events have been added to mvdhosting #53
  • Updates made to generate_zlux_certificates.sh because apiml_cm.sh has been moved into the zowe-install-packaging repo #110
  • Zowe Web browser plugin, which can be used to view webpages that are not Zowe apps, has been added. #194
  • Translations have been added for labels and buttons for password reset forms #215, #218
  • Browser-based apiml token, auth simplification #196:
    1. API mediation layer token is now held in the browser upon login via the Desktop. This also allows for the Desktop to do single-sign-on login with the token if it is already present in the browser.
    2. Auth plugins no longer need to be specified explicitly within the server configuration file, the capability remains for backwards compatibility. The server will now auto-detect the auth plugins that are available
    3. Auth plugins can now be of more than one type, to satisfy environments that have plugins that need access to APIs of similar but different types
  • New shortcuts have been added to navigate the start menu with a keyboard #213
  • Sessions are now maintained based on most recent activity across tabs #219
  • Support for password changing, including expired password changing, has been implemented #193

Zowe APIs#

Zowe Jobs APIs

  • Version 2 APIs now support single sign-on from the Zowe API Mediation Layer #21
  • Updated embedded Spring Boot version #89

Zowe Data Set and Unix Files APIs

  • Version 2 APIs now support single sign-on from the Zowe API Mediation Layer #18
  • Updated embedded Spring Boot version #151
  • Added incomplete connect timeout parameter to prevent Slowloris DOS attacks #158

Zowe CLI#

Reference the appropriate version in each of the following changelogs to learn about CLI features, enhancements, and fixes:

Core CLI Changelogs:

CLI Plug-in Changelogs:

Zowe Explorer#

Review the Zowe Explorer Change Log to learn about the latest features, enhancements, and fixes.

You can install the latest version of the extension from the Visual Studio Code Marketplace.

Zowe installer#

Zowe troubleshooting#

Zowe documentation#

Bug fixes#

The following bugs were fixed:

ZSS#

  • Bugfix: Fixed a below-the-line leak in the QSAM code #138

Zowe App Server#

  • Bugfix: Material dialogs no longer overlap over the login screen #145
  • Bugfix: Re-login to same desktop session would duplicate items in the launch menu. In this version, the session is cleared on logout, fixing the duplication issue #208
  • Bugfix: Bugfix for websockets to prevent server throwing exception on malformed message #189
  • Bugfix: Fixed app server configuration bug where min worker count was ignored when max worker count was not defined #187
  • Bugfix: Added missing pluginID argument for setStorageAll method. #191
  • Bugfix: app-server agent information was not available to plugins if it was specified via command line arguments #111

Version 1.10.0 LTS (April 2020)#

New features and enhancements#

The following features and enhancements were added:

API Mediation Layer#

The following new feature was added to the Zowe API Mediation Layer in this version:

  • Zowe API ML can now use z/OSMF to provide JSON Web Tokens (JWT). #433

ZSS#

  • Fast EBCDIC to UTF8 character translation is now supported by using the TROO instruction with a "EBCDIC 1047 to ISO/IEC 8859-1" translation table. #127
  • Performance improvements in character conversion, JSON and collections code. #162
  • The code now prints fewer warnings when AT-TLS is not set up. #130
  • ZSS logs belonging in the ZSS repo have been refactored so that they now use the Zowe logger and message IDs. #163
  • Config variable names have been updated to stay consistent with IBM terminology. #165

Zowe App Server#

  • The sample-react-app README has been updated to state prerequisites. #20
  • An example of how to use the Zowe Desktop's built-in context menu has been added. #31
  • Sample angular app has been updated for angular 6 best practices use of HttpClient, RxJS #33
  • Simple conda build scripts have been added. #46
  • App server logs now have IDs prefixed, for easy lookup in future documentation. #49
  • Enhancements for plugin adding. #51
  • App server logs now have IDs prefixed, for easy lookup in future documentation #102.
  • App server now defaults to prevent apps from being embedded in an iframe that does not come from the same origin. #104
  • The jes-explorer has been updated to support Single Sign On functionality offered by the api-layer. #160
  • Desktop now has key bindings to minimize (ctrl-alt-down), maximize windows (ctrl-alt-up), and show launchbar menu (ctrl-alt-m). #176
  • App server “router”-type dataservices now have a new Storage API within their context object, for standardized in-server state persistence. #178
  • App server can now add plugins on-demand without a restart, by re-scanning plugins directory via REST API /plugins. #179
  • App server can now be configured to set HTTP headers that will default and possibly override those of the plugins. #180
  • App server /auth API now returns which handler is the default. #183
  • Events and actions for viewports and windows are now accessible to iframe via the standardized window.ZoweZLUX.iframe object. #184
  • Focus on app2app, as well as some package updates. #188
  • 3 features:
    1. Desktop can now filter the list of apps by search query.
    2. Desktop cleanup has reduced the bootstrapping server requests by half.
    3. Desktop now can load new apps added to the server without a page reload. #189
  • Desktop’s DOM now has lang attribute as soon as the language preference is known. #190
  • Desktop login screen updated with new Zowe logo. #204
  • JES, MVS Explorers now have support for APIML’s Single Sign On feature #344

Zowe CLI#

The Secure Credential Store plug-in is now packaged with tools that build dependencies locally. This fixes an issue where the installation could fail at sites with firewall restrictions. #9

Tip: Zowe CLI release notes are now aggregated in changelogs. Reference the appropriate version in each changelog to learn about features, enhancements, and fixes.

Core CLI Changelogs:

CLI Plug-in Changelogs:

Zowe Explorer#

Review the Zowe Explorer Change Log to learn about the latest features, enhancements, and fixes.

You can install the latest version of the extension from the Visual Studio Code Marketplace.

Bug fixes#

The following bugs were fixed:

Zowe z/OS Installation#

Bugfix: zowe-configure-instance.sh does not allow the -c instance directory location to be an existing Zowe runtime. This caused a deadlock and running out of BPXAS instances. See Unable to create BPXAS instances. #1123

Zowe App Server#

  • Bugfix: subloggers would not inherit message translation maps from parent loggers. #24
  • Bugfix: sample-angular-app could not be run from a folder outside of $ROOT_DIR. #34
  • Bugfix: Menu locations were wrong when multiple apps opened because the numbers used partially came from the previous instance. #36
  • Bugfix: Apps that were the target of app2app communication were not put into focus. #50
  • Bugfix: Developers could not run app-server without a certificate authority. #98
  • Bugfix: App server could not work with self-signed/invalid TLS certificates sometimes used in test/development, because the configuration option broke. The option has been restored. #103
  • Bugfix: App server instance settings initialization had inconsistent write permissions. #105
  • Bugfix: App server no longer issues warning about failure to load undefined log file. #182
  • Bugfix: Fixes unformatted messages when a language is not specified. #186
  • Bugfix: Editor would not work for unix files when used through api mediation layer due to encoded slash. #187
  • Bugfix: App framework’s right click menu could go off screen vertically at the bottom. #200
  • Bugfix: zosmf-auth no longer issues configuration warning during startup. #398
  • Doc Bugfix: Sample react app did not state its dependence on the sample angular app. #405
  • Bugfix: Substitute zosmf-auth for apiml-auth to remove warning. #1232

Version 1.9.0 LTS (February 2020)#

Zowe v1.9.x is designated as the current Zowe Long-term Support (LTS) version.

New features and enhancements#

The following features and enhancements were added:

API Mediation Layer#

The following new features and enhancements have been made to the Zowe API Mediation Layer in this version:

  • Support of special characters has been added to API Mediation Layer core services. In addition, all onboarding enablers now support special characters as well.
  • Custom metadata support has been added to the onboarding enablers. Additional parameters can now be easily added to an expandable parameter array. This feature may be used for security configuration in the future.
  • Passticket support has been added to API ML Core Services and onboarding enablers. This makes it easier to authenticate existing mainframe applications with the API Mediation Layer.
  • New versions of Spring Boot based onboarding enablers (V1 and V2) have been released. These enablers support the new version of the metadata required by the Discovery Service. The new versions of the enablers consume significantly less disk space.

The following bug fixes have been introduced:

  • A fix of a critical authentication issue with some versions of z/OSMF has been applied.
  • A fix has been applied to support multipart requests.
  • A fix has been applied to the z/OSMF authorization header.

Zowe App Server#

  • Added support for Node.js - z/OS V12. See Installing Node.js on z/OS for details.
  • A new endpoint for removing dataservices has been added #62
  • Functionality for removing data sets has been added #65
  • Deletion of data sets and their members is now supported #88
  • Deletion of data sets and their members is now supported #85
  • The following helper functions have been added to test caller's environment #115:
    • A function to test whether the caller is running in SRB
    • A function to test whether the caller is in cross-memory mode
    • A function to test whether the caller is holding a CPU, CMS, CML or local lock
  • The logout endpoint has been re-added for zss #100
  • Added support of SRB and locked callers to the Cross-Memory server's PC space switch routine #153
  • This pull request add the following features #120: Ability to use the lock-free queue intrusively which allows a more flexible storage management on the user's side Functions to copy to/from foreign address space using destination/source keys and ALETs
  • Reformatted the save as modal in zowe editor #129
  • Added snackbar notification for directory error #131
  • Removed language server tab in editor #134
  • Explicitly call zss for logout to make sure cookies are known to be invalid #28
  • The following changes have been made to Zlux server framework logging #174:
    • Added English resource files for messages
    • Added code to all error, warning, debug and informational logged outputs
    • Replaced most console.log calls with logger calls
  • Support for HTTP-Strict-Transport-Security. Custom headers for static content are now available #173
  • Functionality for controlling application access for individual users has been added #216
  • Out-of-band multi-factor authentication is now supported #225

Zowe CLI#

To leverage the new features and plug-ins available in this version, you must follow the steps in Migrating to the LTS version.

The following new CLI plug-ins are added:

The following new features and enhancements are added in this version:

  • Notable Change: The zowe zos-files download ds and zowe zos-files download uf commands no longer put the full content in the response format json (--rfj) output. More information.

  • Notable Change: The --pass option is changed to --password for all commands and profiles (zosmf, cics, etc...). The aliases --pw and --pass still function. To update a profile, issue the zowe profiles update command and use the new option name --password.

  • Notable Change: You can enter PROMPT* as a value for any CLI option to enable interactive prompting. If you wrote scripts in which any option is defined with the exact value PROMPT*, the script will not execute properly in this version. For more information, see Using the prompt for sensitive options.

  • Zowe CLI was tested and confirmed to run on Unix System Services (USS) on z/OS. For more information, refer to blog Installing Node.js on the Mainframe.

    (The IBM Db2 and Secure Credential Store plug-ins for Zowe CLI will not run on z/OS due to native code requirements.)

  • The zowe files copy command was added for copying the contents of a data set or member to another data set or member. #580

  • Zowe CLI now exploits Node.js stream APIs for download and upload of spool files, data sets, and USS files. (#331)

  • The following new commands were added for interacting with file systems:

    • zowe zos-files list fs #429
    • zowe zos-files mount fs #431
    • zowe zos-files unmount fs #432

  • The following new commands were added for creating USS files and directories:

    • zowe zos-files create file #368
    • zowe zos-files create dir #368

The IBM® CICS® Plug-in is updated with the following functionality:

  • Notable Change: The plug-in now uses HTTPS by default when connecting to CMCI. The option --protocol http was added to let you override the default as needed. #77

  • Define, enable, install, discard, disable, and delete CICS URIMaps. #53 #49 #48 #51 #50 #52

  • Define and delete CICS web services. #58 #59

  • Add and remove CSD Groups to/from CSD Lists #60.

Zowe Explorer#

Review the Zowe Explorer Change Log to learn about the latest features, enhancements, and fixes.

You can install the latest version of the extension from the Visual Studio Code Marketplace.

Watch a video on how to work with data sets using Zowe Explorer.

Bug fixes#

The following bugs were fixed:

Zowe App Server#

  • URL encoding with % sign were always returning with authorization:false with RACF #27
  • Users are no longer able to delete the initial “/” in the address bar for selected files #379
  • The search bar text for datasets has been changed from "Enter a dataset" to "Enter a dataset query". The Address bar text for files has been changed from “Enter a directory” to “Enter an absolute path” #60

Version 1.8.1 (February 2020)#

Bug fixes for Zowe CLI#

A bug was fixed where Zowe CLI installation could fail and users could receive the following error message when installing Zowe CLI v1.8.0:

981 verbose stack Error: EPERM: operation not permitted

To install the fix, download the new v1.8.1 package from Zowe.org and retry the installation process.

Version 1.8.0 (February 2020)#

New features and enhancements#

The following features and enhancements were added.

Installation of Zowe z/OS components#

  • The installation now just needs two parameters configured: the USS location of the runtime directory and a data set prefix where a SAMPLIB and LOADLIB will be created. The runtime directory permissions are set to 755 and when Zowe is run, no data is written to the runtime directory.
  • The way to configure Zowe is changed. Previously, you configured Zowe at installation time with the zowe-install.yaml file. This file has been removed and is no longer used in this release.
  • A new directory zowe-instance-dir has been introduced that contains configuration data used to launch Zowe. This allows more than one Zowe instance to be started from the same Zowe runtime directory. A new file instance.env within each zowe-instance-dir directory controls which ports are allocated to the Zowe servers as well as location of any dependencies such as Java, z/OSMF or node. No configuration data is specified at install time. The data is only read, validated and used at launch time. The instance.env file contains a parameter value LAUNCH_COMPONENT_GROUPS that allows you to control which Zowe subsystems to launch, for example you can run the Zowe desktop and not the API Mediation Layer, or vice-versa; you can run just the API Mediation Layer and not the Zowe desktop. The zowe-instance-dir directory is also where log files are collected. Static extensions to the API Mediation Layer are recorded in the Zowe instance directory as well as any plug-in extensions to the Zowe desktop. This allows the runtime directory to be fully replaced during PTF upgrades or moving to later Zowe releases while preserving configuration data and extension definitions that are held in the instance directory.
  • A new directory keystore-directory has been introduced outside of the Zowe runtime directory which is where the Zowe certificate is held, as well as the truststore for public certificates from z/OS services that Zowe communicates to (such as z/OSMF). A keystore directory can be shared between multiple Zowe instances and across multiple Zowe runtimes.
  • All configuration of z/OS security that was done by Unix shell scripts during installation and configuration has been removed. A JCL member ZWESECUR is provided that contains all of the JCL needed to configure permissions, user IDs and groups, and other steps to prepare and configure a z/OS environment to successfully run Zowe. Code is included for RACF, Top Secret, and ACF/2.
  • The Zowe cross memory server installation script zowe-install-apf-server.sh is removed. In this release, the steps for configuring z/OS security are included in the ZWESECUR JCL member.
  • Previously, Zowe runs its two started tasks under the user ID of IZUSVR and admin of IZUADMIN. These belong to z/OSMF and are no longer used in this release. Instead, Zowe includes two new user IDs of ZWESVUSR (for the main Zowe started task), ZWESIUSR (for the cross memory server), and ZWEADMIN as a group. These user IDs are defaults and different ones can be used depending on site preferences.
  • Previously, the main Zowe started task is called ZOWESVR. Now it is called ZWESVSTC.
  • Previously, the cross memory started task is called ZWESIS01. Now it is called ZWESISTC.
  • The script zowe-verify.sh is no longer included with Zowe. Now the verification is done at launch time and dependent on the launch configuration parameters. It is no longer done with a generic script function that zowe-verify.sh used to provide.

For more information about how to install Zowe z/OS components, see Installation roadmap.

API Mediation Layer#

  • The API Catalog backend has been modified to support the OpenAPI 3.0 version. The API Catalog now supports the display of API documentation in the OpenAPI 3.0 format.

  • A new Eureka metadata definition has been developed to enable service registration that does not require using existing pre-prepared enablers. Both new and old metadata versions are supported by the Discovery Service. Corresponding documentation to onboard a service with the Zowe API ML without an onboarding enabler has also been refactored.

  • The plain Java enabler has been redesigned for simple and straight-forward API service configuration. Configuration parameters have been refactored to remove duplicates and unused parameters, and improve consistency with other parameters. Documentation to Onboard a REST API service with the Plain Java Enabler (PJE) has also been refactored.

Zowe App Server#

  • The app server now issues a message indicating it is ready, how many plug-ins loaded, and where it can be accessed from #355
  • Restructured the App server directories to separate writable configuration items from read-only install content #911 #627 #87 #43
  • Move install-app script to instance directory bin folder for ease of use #966
  • Access control for app visibility 216
  • The following features and enhancements were made in the default apps:
    • UI changes for write support for datasets in editor #340
    • Support for QSAM and VSAM deletion in the ZSS dataset REST API #339
    • Editor: Dataset deletion capability [#229][#337]
    • Editor: File deletion UI changes #338
    • Editor fix: When saving a new file use the opened directory in the dialog #233
    • Editor fix: Disable text area for datasets in the absence of write ability #342
    • Editor fix: When saving a new file use the opened directory in the dialog #233

Zowe CLI#

  • The Zowe CLI REST API now supports the following capabilities for managing data sets:
    • Rename sequential and partitioned data sets. #571
    • Migrate data sets. #558
    • Copy data sets to another data set and copy members to another member. #578
  • The Zowe CLI REST API now supports HTTP ETags in response data. The ETag mechanism allows client applications to cache data more efficiently. ETAgs can also prevent simultaneous, conflicting updates to a resource. #598

Zowe Explorer#

Review the Zowe Explorer Change Log to learn about the latest features, enhancements, and fixes.

You can install the latest version of the extension from the Visual Studio Code Marketplace.

Check the new "Getting Started with Zowe Explorer" video to learn how to install and get started with the extension. For more information, see Zowe Explorer Extension for VSCode.

Bug fixes#

The following bugs were fixed.

Zowe App Server#

  • Use of environment variables (_TAG_REDIR_XXX) required to run Zowe with node v12 #333
  • install-app.sh script would not work without first server run, improper permissions #373

Zowe CLI#

  • Fixed an issue where zowe zos-jobs submit stdin command returned an error when handling data from standard in. #601
  • Updated dependencies to address potential vulnerabilities. Most notably, Yargs is upgraded from v8.0.2 to v15.0.2. #333

Version 1.7.1 (December 2019)#

New features and enhancements#

The following features and enhancements were added.

Zowe App Server#

  • A backup routine for when a non-administrator tries to access the API. Instead of executing privileged commands and failing, it will execute a command to get their profile, and return only the information in their scope. This is a feature that most people won't need, since you'd ideally want to be an administrator if you were using this API, but the functionality is there. (#114)

  • The ability to retrieve profiles only by prefix. This can be done by looking for a profile with a "." at the end. This will act as a wildcard which extracts everything matching that prefix. (#114)

Zowe SMP/E installation#

The pre-release of the Zowe SMP/E build is updated to be based on Zowe Version 1.7.1.

Bug fixes#

The following bugs were fixed.

Zowe App Server#

  • Fixed a bug where the end of an acid is cut off when getting the access list of a group, resulting in invalid output in the response.(#114)

  • Fixed a bug where all of the different administrator suffixes weren't defined, so it was incorrectly returning administrators. (#114)

Version 1.7.0 (November 2019)#

New features and enhancements#

The following features and enhancements were added.

API Mediation Layer#

  • Cleanup Gateway dependency logs (#413)
  • Cleanup Gateway - our code (#417)
  • Cleanup Discovery Service dependency logs (#403)
  • Cleanup Discovery Service - our code (#407)
  • External option to activate DEBUG mode for APIML (#410)

Zowe App Server#

  • Introduced the "SJ" feature to the JES Explorer application (#282)

    You can now right-click a job label and click "Get JCL" to retrieve the JCL used to submit the job. This JCL can then be edited and resubmitted.

    SJ Demo

  • File Explorer now offers a right click Delete option for files and folders (#43)

  • Prevented creation/deletion of files and folders queued for deletion. (#48)

  • Updated back-end API to give more accurate delete responses. (#93)

  • IFrame adapter: added support for plugin definition, logger, and launch metadata. (#174)

  • IFrame app-to-app communication support (#174)

  • Removed unnecessary warning suppression (#23)

  • Dispatcher always sends message, even when context doesn't exist (#174)

  • Support constructor injectables via Iframe adapter (#174)

  • Browser tab for the desktop now includes opened app name. (#175)

  • File Explorer now offers a right click file and folder Properties menu. (#180)

  • File Explorer now offers a right click dataset Properties menu. (#49)

  • Made it possible to specify config properties via command line arguments for the App server. (#81)

  • Allow override of configuration attributes using a -D argument syntax. (#154)

  • Allow specifying environment variables that can be interpreted as JSON structures. (#156)

Zowe Explorer (Extension for VSCode)#

  • The name of the extension was changed from "VSCode Extension for Zowe" to "Zowe Explorer".
  • The VSCode Extension for Zowe contains various changes in this release. For more information, see the VSCode Change Log.

Bug fixes#

The following bugs were fixed.

API Mediation Layer#

Fixed a typo in Gateway startup script. (#427)

Zowe App Server#

Fixed notification click, time stamp, inconsistent notification manager pop up clicks, empty notification bubbles, and safari issue. (#171)

Zowe CLI#

This version of Zowe CLI contains various bug fixes that address vulnerabilities.

Version 1.6.0 (October 2019)#

No changes were made to API ML or Zowe CLI in this release.

What's new in the Zowe App Server#

The following features and enhancements are added:

  • Added two NodeJS issues to the App Framework Troubleshooting section. #786
  • Added a REST API for new core dataservices to administer the servers and plugins. #82
  • Added pass through express router ws patcher in case plug-ins need it. #152, #149
  • Updated security plugins to manage proxied headers so that unnecessary things are not put into the browser.#152, #26
  • Clear cookie on complete logout.#152

What's new in Zowe CLI#

The following enhancement was added:

  • The --wait-for-output and the --wait-for-active options were added. You can append these options to a zowe zos-jobs submit command to either wait for the job to be active, or wait for the job to complete and enter OUTPUT status. If you do not specify --vasc, you can use these options to check job return codes without issuing zowe zos-jobs view job-status-by-jobid <jobid>.

What's new in the Visual Studio Code (VSC) Extension for Zowe#

The Visual Studio Code (VSC) Extension for Zowe lets you interact with data sets and USS files from a convenient graphical interface. Review the Change Log to learn about the latest improvements to the extension.

You can download the latest version from the VSC Marketplace.

Version 1.5.0 (September 2019)#

What's new in API Mediation Layer#

The following features and enhancements are added:

  • The Discovery Service UI now enables the user to log in using mainframe credentials or by providing a valid client certificate.
  • API Catalog REST endpoints now accept basic authentication by requiring the user to provide a username and password.

The following bugs are fixed:

  • A defect has been resolved where previously an authentication message was thrown in the service detail page in the API Catalog when the swagger JSON document link was clicked. The message requires the user to provide mainframe credentials but did not link to an option to authenticate. Now, a link is included to provide the user with the option to authenticate.

What's new in the Zowe App Server#

The following features and enhancements are added:

  • Adds dynamic logging functionality for plugins (#60, #63)
  • Top Secret updates to the security lookup API (#71, #72, #74)
  • Accept basic auth header as an option for login (#80)
  • JSON parsing enhancements for UTF8, and printing to buffer (#67)
  • Optimization, memory bugfix and improved tracing for authentication (#72)
  • Performance optimization for app thumbnail snapshots: Fixed a bug causing slowdown relative to number of apps open (#131)
  • Translations: Added missing language translations about session lifecycle (#137)
  • Logger reorganized for Zowe-wide log format unification. Includes i18n-able message ID support & new info. See #90 (#17, #119, #116, #142, #35, #19, #132, #146, #126, #139, #67, #133, #21)
  • Establish rules & recommendations for conformance (#142)
  • Launchbar menu of apps now has same context menu properties as pinned apps (#140)
  • Properties App now shows the ID of the chosen plugin (#140)
  • Added group permission for plugin access when installing via install script (#125)
  • Updated URIBroker include new parameter for searching datasets with included trailing qualifiers (#34, #138)
  • App2App communication now allows you to target a specific app instance, as well as to request minimization or maximization (#38, #148)
  • Configuration Dataservice now can load plugin defaults from the plugin's own folder (#129)
  • Configuration Dataservice can now support GET like HEAD (#140)
  • Configuration Dataservice can now utilize binaries as opposed to JSON. This mode does not process the objects, just stores & retrieves. (#130)
  • Added a notification menu, popup & API where messages can be sent by administrators to individual or all end users (#36, #144)
  • Doc: Configuration Dataservice Swagger document updated for new features (#136)
  • Desktop now supports loading a custom wallpaper, and the launchbar & maximized window style has been changed to improve screen real estate (#151)
  • The App Server configuration and log verbosity can now be viewed and updated on-the-fly via a REST API (#66, #128)
  • The App Server environment parameters and log output can now be viewed via a REST API (#66, #128)
  • The App Server can now have Application plugins added, removed, and upgraded on-the-fly via a REST API (#137, #69)
  • A dataservice can now import another import dataservice, as long as this chain eventually resolves to a non-import dataservice (#139)
  • You can now open any Zowe App in its own browser tab by right clicking its icon and choosing "Open in new browser window" (#149, #150)
  • Icons improved for datasets that are migrated/archived (#30)
  • Support App2App to open a given dataset (#87, #35)
  • Navigate the editor menu bar via keyboard (#85)
  • Add keyboard shortcuts to open and close tabs (#81)
  • Add loading indicator for dataset loading (#34)
  • Compress the terminals with gzip for improved initial load time, same as was done with the editor previously (#22, #23)
  • Made the following enhancements to the JES Explorer App
    • Add ability to open and view multiple Spool files at once (#99)
    • Migrate from V0 to V1 of Material UI (#98)
    • Migrate from V15 to V16 of React (#98)

The following bugs are fixed:

  • New directories/files from Unix file API would have no permissions (#75)
  • Properties App can now be reused when clicking property of a second app (#140)
  • Logout did not clear dispatcher App instance tracking (#32)
  • Iframe Apps were not gaining mouse focus correctly (#37, #145)
  • Remove placeholder swagger from swagger response when plugin-provided swagger is found (#139)
  • ZSS Dataservices could fail due to incorrect impersonation environment variable setting (_BPX_SHAREAS) (#68)
  • Restore focus of text on window restore (#84)
  • Reposition menu from menu bar on Edge/Firefox (#82)
  • Could not open the SSH terminal in single window mode (#21)

What's new in Zowe CLI and Plug-ins#

The following commands and enhancements are added:

  • You can append --help-web to launch interactive command help in your Web browser. For more information, see Interactive Web Help. (#238)

Zowe SMP/E Alpha (August 2019)#

A pre-release of the Zowe SMP/E build is now available. This alpha release is based on Zowe Version 1.4.0. Do not use this alpha release in production environment.

Version 1.4.0 (August 2019)#

What's new in API Mediation Layer#

This release of Zowe API ML contains the following improvements:

  • JWT token configuration

    • RS256 is used as a token encryption algorithm
    • JWT secret string is generated at the time of installation and exported as a .pem file for use by other services
    • JWT secret string is stored in a key store in PKCS 11 format under "jwtsecret" name

  • SonarQube problems fixed

    • Various fixes from SonarQube scan

  • API Mediation Layer log format aligned with other Zowe services:

    %d{yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss.SSS,UTC} %clr(&lt;${logbackService:-${logbackServiceName}}:%thread:${PID:- }&gt;){magenta} %X{userid:-} %clr(%-5level) %clr(\(%logger{15},%file:%line\)){cyan} %msg%n

  • Added an NPM command to register certificates on Windows. The following command installs the certificate to trusted root certification authorities:

    npm run register-certificates-win

  • Cookie persistence changed

    • Changed the API Mediation Layer cookie from persistent to session. The cookie gets cleared between browser sessions.

  • Fixed high CPU usage occurrence replicated in Broadcom (#282)

    • Changed configuration of LatencyUtils to decrease idle CPU consumption by API ML services

  • API Mediation layer now builds using OpenJDK with OpenJ9 JVM

What's new in the Zowe App Server#

Made the following fixes and enhancements:

  • Added the ability for the App Server Framework to defer to managers for dataservices that are not written in NodeJS or C. The first implementation is a manager of Java servlet type dataservices, where the App Server manages Tomcat instances when Tomcat is present. (#158)
  • Added a tomcat xml configuration file with substitutions for values (ports, keys, certificates) necessary for the App Server to manage one or more instances of Tomcat for hosting servlet dataservices. Also added a new section to the zluxserver.json file to describe dataservice providers such as the aforementioned Tomcat Java Servlet one. (#49)
  • Added Swagger API documentation support. Application developers can include a Swagger 2.0 JSON or YAML file in the app's /doc/swagger directory for each REST data service. Each file must have the same name as the data service. Developers can then reference the files at runtime using a new app route: /ZLUX/plugins/PLUGINID/catalogs/swagger. They can reference individual services at: /ZLUX/plugins/PLUGINID/catalogs/swagger/SERVICENAME. If swagger documents are not present, the server will use contextual knowledge to show some default values. (#159)
  • The following new REST and cross-memory services have been added (#32):
    • Extract RACF user profiles
    • Define/delete/permit general RACF resource profiles (limited to a single class)
    • Add/remove RACF groups
    • Connect users to RACF groups (for a limited set of group prefixes)
    • Check RACF user access levels (limited to a single class)
  • Fixed multiple issues in the File Editor App. (#88)
  • Fixed multiple ZSS file and dataset API issues (#49 #42 #40 #44 #45)
  • Remove several CSS styles from the Desktop to prevent bleed-in of styles to Apps (#117)
  • Fixed incorrect count of open Apps upon logging in more than once per browser session (#123) Add OMVS information API to uribroker (#116)
  • Enhanced auth plugin structure for application framework that lists auth capabilities (#118 #14 #19)
  • Improved searching for node libraries for dataservices within an plugin (#114)
  • Editor & File Explorer Widget Changes
    • Unix directory listing now starts in the user's home directory (#16)
    • JCL syntax coloring revision (#73)
    • Cursor, scroll position and text selection is now kept while switching tabs in editor (#71)
    • Editor now scrolls tab bar to newest tab when opening, and tab scrolling improved when closing tabs (#69)
    • Tab name, tooltip, and scroll fixes (#55 #60 #63)
    • Change in double and single click behavior of file explorer widget (#21)
    • Fix to show language menu on new file (#62)
    • Fix to keep language menu within the bounds of app window (#59)
    • Fix to the delete file prompt (#61)
    • Fix to allow closing of multiple editor instances (#22)
    • Fix to query datasets correctly by making queries uppercase (#65)
  • Fixed issue where the cascading position of new windows were wrong when that application was maximized. (#102)
  • Fixed issue where the file tabs in File Editor app were vertically scrollable, and where the close button would not be accessible for long file names. (#170)
  • Updated the package lock files in all repositories to fix vulnerable dependencies. (#163)
  • Fixed an issue where the Desktop used the roboto-latin-regular font for all text, which would not display well with non-latin languages. Now the fallback font is sans-serif. (#118)

What's new in Zowe CLI and Plug-ins#

You can now explore the Zowe CLI command help in an interactive online format. See Zowe CLI Web Help.

The following new commands and enhancements are added:

  • The VSCode Extension for Zowe now supports manipulation of USS files. (#32)
  • You can now archive z/OS workflows using a wildcard. (#435)
  • The z/OS Workflows functionality is now exported to an API. Developers can leverage the exported APIs to create applications and scripts without going through the CLI layer. (#482)
  • The CLI now exploits all "z/OS data set and file REST interface" options that are provided in z/OSMF v2.3. (#491)

The following bugs are fixed:

  • Fixed an issue where examples for zowe files list uss-files were slightly incorrect. (#440)
  • Improved error message for zowe db2 call procedure command. (#22)

Version 1.3.0 (June 2019)#

What's new in API Mediation Layer#

This release of Zowe API ML contains the following user experience improvements:

  • Added authentication endpoints (/login, /query) to the API Gateway
  • Added the Gateway API Swagger document (#305)
    • Fixed the bug that causes JSON response to set incorrectly when unauthenticated
    • Fixed error messages shown when a home page cannot be modified
  • Added a new e2e test for GW, and update the detail service tile (#309)
  • Removed a dependency of integration-enabler-java on the gateway-common (#302)
  • Removed access to the Discovery service UI with basic authentication (#313)  
  • Fixed the issue with the connection logic on headers to pass in the websocket (#275)
  • Fixed the bug 264: Bypass the API Gateway when the server returns 302 (#276)
  • Fixed the issue that causes the API ML Services display as UP, and makes the API doc available in the Catalog regardless whether the API ML Services stop (#287)
  • Fixed the issue that prevents the API Catalog to load under zLux 9 (314)

What's new in the Zowe App Server#

Made the following fixes and enhancements:

  • Added internationalization to the Angular and React sample applications. (#133)
  • Made the following enhancements to the ZSS server:
    • Added support for Zowe on z/OS version 2.4. (#15)
    • Updated documentation for query parameter to file API. (#48)
  • Made the following enhancements to security:
    • App Server session cookie is now a browser session cookie rather than having an expiration date. Expiration is now tracked on the server side. (#132, #97, #81)
    • Added a "mode=base64" option to the unixfile API. (#127)
  • Added a port to the cookie name to differentiate multiple servers on same domain. (#95)
  • Made the following fixes and enhancements to the Code Editor application:
    • Added a menu framework to provide options specific to the current file/data set type. (#131)
    • Added ISPF-like syntax highlighting for JCL. (#48)
    • Fixed an issue by notifying users if the editor cannot open a file or data set. (#148)
    • Fixed an issue with event behavior when a tab is closed. (#135)
    • Fixed an issue with not showing the content of files in Chrome and Safari. (#100)
    • Fixed an issue with files shown without alphabetical sorting. (#85)
  • Made the following fixes and enhancements to the TN3270 application (#96):
    • Fixed an issue where the application could not be configured to default to a TLS connection.
    • Fixed an issue where it could not handle a TN3270 connection, only TN3270E. Improved preference saving. Administrators can now store default values for terminal mod type, codepage, and screen dimensions.
  • Made the following fixes and enhancements for App2App for IFrames (#24, #107):
    • Fixed an issue with an exception when handling App2App communication with IFrames.
    • Added experimental support for App2App communication with an IFrame application as destination.
  • Made the following enhancements to support TopSecret:
    • Added a user-profiles endpoint. (#113)
    • Added an endpoint extraction for groups. (#129)
  • Fixed an issue with app names not being internationalized when translations were present. (#85)
  • Fixed Russian language errors in translation files. (#100)
  • Fixed several issues with using the Application Server as a proxy. (#93)
  • Fixed an issue with the App Server throwing exceptions when authorization plugins were installed but not requested. (#94)
  • Fixed an issue with ZSS consuming excessive CPU during download. (#147)
  • Fixed documentation issue by replacing "zLUX" with "Zowe Application Framework" and "MVD" with "Zowe Desktop." (#214)
  • Fixed an issue with an incorrect translation for word "Japanese" in Japanese. (#108)

What's new in Zowe CLI and Plug-ins#

The following new commands and enhancements are added:

  • Return a list of archived z/OSMF workflows with the zowe zos-workflows list arw command. (#391)

  • Return a list of systems that are defined to a z/OSMF instance with the zowe zosmf list systems command. (#348)

  • The zowe uss issue ssh command now returns the exit code of the shell command that you issued. (#359)

  • The zowe files upload dtu command now supports the metadata file named .zosattributes. (#366)

The following bugs are fixed:

  • Fixed an issue where zowe workflow ls aw commands with the --wn option failed if there was a space in the workflow name. (#356)

  • Fixed an issue where zowe zowe-files delete uss command could fail when resource URL includes a leading forward-slash. (#343).

Version 1.2.0 (May 2019)#

Version 1.2.0 contains the following changes since Version 1.1.0.

What's new in the Zowe installer#

  • Made the following installer improvements:
    • Check whether ICSF is configured before checking Node version to avoid runaway CPU.
    • Warn if the host name that is determined by the installer is not a valid IP address.
    • Fixed a bug where a numeric value is specified in ZOWE_HOST_NAME causing errors generating the Zowe certificate.
  • Made the following improvements to the zowe-check-prereqs.sh script:
    • Improvements for checking and validating the telnet and ssh port required by the Zowe Desktop applications.

What's new in API Mediation Layer#

This release of Zowe API ML contains the following user experience improvements:

  • Prevented the Swagger UI container on the service detail page from spilling.
  • Added a check for the availability of the z/OSMF URL contained in the configuration. z/OSMF is used to verify users logging into the Catalog.
  • Made PageNotFound error visible only in the debug log level.
  • Added zD&T-compatible ciphers and the TLS protocol restricted to 1.2.
  • Introduced support for VSCode development.
  • Introduced a common cipher configuration property.
  • Fixed URL transformation defects.
  • Fixed reporting that the Catalog is down when it is started before the Discovery Service.
  • Removed the bean overriding error message from the log.
  • Fixed the state manipulation mechanism in the Catalog. As a result, no restoring of the application state is performed.
  • Fixed the Catalog routing mechanism for a users who is already logged in so that the user is not prompted to log in again.
  • A timeout has been set for Catalog login when z/OSMF is not responding.
  • A tile change in the Catalog is now propagated to the UI.
  • Fixed a problem with an incorrect service homepage link in the Catalog.
  • The Catalog Login button has been disabled when the login request is in progress.

What's new in the Zowe App Server#

  • Improved security by adding support for RBAC (Role Based Access Control) to enable Zowe to determine whether a user is authorized to access a dataservice.
  • Added Zowe Desktop settings feature for specifying the Zowe desktop language.
  • Added German language files.
  • Fixed a bug by adding missing language files.
  • Enabled faster load times by adding support for serving the Zowe Application Framework core components, such as the Desktop, as compressed files in gzip format.
  • Added support for application plug-ins to serve static content, such as HTML, JavaScript, and images, to browsers in gzip and brotli compressed files.
  • Fixed a Code Editor bug by separating browsing of files and data sets.

What's new in Zowe CLI and Plug-ins#

The Zowe CLI core component contains the following improvements and fixes:

  • The zos-uss command group is added to the core CLI. The commands let you issue Unix System Services shell commands by establishing an SSH connection to an SSH server. For more information, see .

  • The zowe zos-workflows command group now contains the following active-workflow-details options:

    • --steps-summary-only | --sso (boolean): An optional parameter that lets you list (only) the steps summary.
    • --skip-workflow-summary | --sws (boolean): An optional parameter that lets you skip the default workflow summary.

  • Zowe CLI was updated to correct an issue where the zowe zos-workflows start command ignored the -- workflow-name argument.

  • Updated and clarified the description the -- overwrite option for the zowe zos-workflows create workflow-from-data-set command and the Zowe zos-workflows create workflow-from-uss-file command.

  • The CLI Reference Guide is featured on the Zowe Docs home page. The document is a comprehensive guide to commands and options in Zowe CLI.

  • You can now click the links on the Welcome to Zowe help section and open the URL in a browser window. Note that the shell application must support the capability to display and click hyperlinks.

What's new in Zowe USS API#

Made the following enhancements:

  • Chtag detection and ASCII/EBDCIC conversion on GET & PUT requests. For details, see this issue.
  • New optional header on GET Unix file content request to force conversion from ebcdic to ascii. For details, see this issue.
  • New response header on GET Unix file content requests: E-Tag for overwrite detection and validation. For details, see this issue.
  • Reintroduced PUT (update) Unix file content endpoint. For details, see this issue.
  • Reintroduced DELETE Unix file content endpoint. For details, see this issue.
  • Reintroduced POST (create) Unix file or directory endpoint. For details, see this issue.
  • Fixed a problem with incorrect return error when the user requests to view contents of a USS folder they do not have permission to. Now it returns a 403 (Forbidden) error. For details, see this issue.

Version 1.1.0 (April 2019)#

Version 1.1.0 contains the following changes since the last 1.0.x version.

What's new in Zowe system requirements#

z/OSMF Lite is now available for non-production use such as development, proof-of-concept, demo and so on. It simplifies the setup of z/OSMF with only a minimal amount of z/OS customization, but provides key functions that are required. For more information, see Configuring z/OSMF Lite (for non-production use).

What's new in the Zowe App Server#

  • Made the following user experience improvements:
    • Enabled the Desktop to react to session expiration information from the Zowe Application Server. If a user is active the Desktop renews their session before it expires. If a user appears inactive they are prompted and can click to renew the session. If they don't click, they are logged out with a session expired message.
    • Added the ability to programmatically dismiss popups created with the "zlux-widgets" popup manager.
  • Made the following security improvements:
    • Encoded URIs shown in the App Server 404 handler, which prevents some browsers from loading malicious scripts.
    • Documented and support configuring HTTPS on ZSS.
    • For ZSS API callers, added HTTP response headers to instruct clients not to cache HTTPS responses from potentially sensitive APIs.
  • Improved the Zowe Editor App by adding app2app communication support that allows the application to open requested directories, dataset listings, and files.
  • Improved the Zowe App API by allowing subscription to close events on viewports instead of windows, which allows applications to better support Single App Mode.
  • Fixed a bug that generated an extraneous RACF audit message when you started ZSS.
  • Fixed a bug that would sometimes move application windows when you attempted to resized them.
  • Fixed a bug in the "Getting started with the ZOWE WebUi" tutorial documentation.
  • Fixed a bug that caused applications that made ZSS service requests to fail with an HTTP 401 error because of dropped session cookies.

What's new in the Zowe CLI and Plug-ins#

This release of Zowe CLI contains the following new and improved capabilities:

  • Added APIs to allow the definition of workflows
  • Added the option max-concurrent-requests to the zowe zos-files upload dir-to-uss command
  • Added the option overwrite to the zowe zos-workflows create commands
  • Added the option workflow-name to the zowe zos-workflows commands
  • Added the following commands along with their APIs:
    • zowe zos-workflows archive active-workflow
    • zowe zos-workflows create workflow-from-data-set
    • zowe zos-workflows create workflow-from-uss-file
    • zowe zos-workflows delete active-workflow
    • zowe zos-files list uss-files

This release of the Plug-in for IBM DB2 Database contains the following new and improved capabilities:

  • Implemented command line precedence, which lets users issue commands without the need of a DB2 profile.
  • The DB2 plug-in can now be influenced by the ZOWE_OPT_ environment variables.

What's new in API Mediation Layer#

  • Made the following user experience improvements:
    • Documented the procedure for changing the log level of individual code components in Troubleshooting API ML.
    • Documented a known issue when the API ML stops accepting connections after z/OS TCP/IP is recycled in the Troubleshooting API ML.

Version 1.0.1 (March 2019)#

Version 1.0.1 contains the following changes since the last version.

What's new in Zowe installation on z/OS#

During product operation of the Zowe Cross Memory Server which was introduced in V1.0.0, the z/OSMF user ID IZUSVR or its equivalent must have UPDATE access to the BPX.SERVER and BPX.DAEMON FACILITY classes. The install script will do this automatically if the installing user has enough authority, or provide the commands to be issued manually if not. For more information, see Installing the Zowe Cross Memory Server on z/OS

What's new in the Zowe App Server#

  • Made the following improvements to security:
    • Removed the insecure SHA1 cipher from the Zowe App Server's supported ciphers list.
    • Added instructions to REST APIs to not cache potentially sensitive response contents.
    • Set secure attributes to desktop and z/OSMF session cookies.
  • Fixed a bug that caused the configuration data service to mishandle PUT operations with bodies that were not JSON.
  • Fixed a bug that prevented IFrame applications from being selected by clicking on their contents.
  • Fixed various bugs in the File Explorer and updated it to use newer API changes.
  • Fixed a bug in which App2App Communication Actions could be duplicated upon logging in a second time on the same desktop.

What's new in Zowe CLI#

  • Create and Manage z/OSMF Workflows using the new zos-workflows command group. For more information, see Zowe CLI command groups.

  • Use the @lts-incremental tag when you install and update Zowe CLI core or plug-ins. The tag ensures that you don't consume breaking changes that affect your existing scripts. Installation procedures are updated to reflect this change.

  • A CLI quick start guide is now available for users who are familiar with command-line tools and want to get up and running quickly.

  • IBM CICS Plug-in for Zowe CLI was updated to support communication over HTTPS. Users can enable https by specifying --protocol https when creating a profile or issuing a command. For backwards compatibility, HTTP remains the default protocol.

What's new in the Zowe REST APIs#

Introduced new Unix files APIs that reside in the renamed API catalog tile z/OS Datasets and Unix files service (previously named z/OS Datasets service). You can use these APIs to:

  • List the children of a Unix directory
  • Get the contents of a Unix file

What's changed#

  • Zowe explorer apps
    • JES Explorer: Enhanced Info/Error messages to better help users diagnose problems.
    • MVS Explorer: Fixed an issue where Info/Error messages were not displayed when loading a Dataset/Members contents.

Version 1.0.0 (February 2019)#

Version 1.0.0 contains the following changes since the Open Beta release.

What's new in API Mediation Layer#

  • HTTPs is now supported on all Java enablers for onboarding API microservices with the API ML.

  • SSO authentication using z/OSMF has been implemented for the API Catalog login. Mainframe credentials are required for access.

What's new in Zowe CLI#

  • Breaking change to Zowe CLI: The --pass command option is changed to --password for all core Zowe CLI commands for clarity and to be consistent with plug-ins. If you have zosmf profiles that you created prior to January 11, 2019, you must recreate them to use the --password option. The aliases --pw and --pass still function when you issue commands as they did prior to this breaking change. You do not need to modify scripts that use --pass.

  • The @next npm tag used to install Zowe CLI is deprecated. Use the @latest npm tag to install the product with the online registry method.

What's new in the Zowe Desktop#

  • You can now obtain information about an application by right-clicking on an application icon and then clicking Properties.

  • To view version information for the desktop, click the avatar in the lower right corner of the desktop.

  • Additional information was added for the Workflow application.

  • The titlebar of the active window is now colored to give an at-a-glance indication of which window is in the foreground.

  • Window titlebar maximize button now changes style to indicate whether a window is maximized.

  • Windows now have a slight border around them to help see boundaries and determine which window is active.

  • Multiple instances of the same application can be opened and tracked from the launchbar. To open multiple instances, right-click and choose Open New. Once multiple instances are open, you can click the application icon to select which application to bring to the foreground. The number of orbs below the application icon relates to the number of instances of the application that is open.

  • Desktop framework logging trimmed and formalized to the Zowe App Logger. For more information, see https://github.com/zowe/zlux/wiki/Logging.

  • The UriBroker was updated to support dataservice versioning and UNIX file API updates.

  • Removed error messages about missing components.js by making this optional component explicitly declared within an application. By using the property "webContent.hasComponents = true/false".

  • Set the maximum username and password length for login to 100 characters each.

  • Applications can now list webContent.framework = "angular" as an alias for "angular2".

  • Fixed a bug where the desktop might not load on high latency networks.

What's new in the Zowe App Server#

  • HTTP support was disabled in favor of HTTPS-only hosting.

  • The server can be configured to bind to specific IPs or to hostnames. Previously, the server would listen on all interfaces. For more information, see https://github.com/zowe/zlux-app-server/pull/30.

  • The core logger prefixes for the Zowe App Server were changed from "_unp" to "_zsf".

  • Dataservices are now versioned, and dataservices can depend on specific versions of other dataservices. A plug-in can include more than one version of a dataservice for compatibility. For more information, see https://github.com/zowe/zlux/wiki/ZLUX-Dataservices.

  • Support to communicate with the API Mediation Layer with the use of keys and certificates was added.

  • Trimmed and corrected error messages regarding unconfigured proxies for clarity and understanding. For more information, see https://github.com/zowe/zlux-server-framework/pull/33.

  • Fixed the nodeCluster.sh script to have its logging and environment variable behavior consistent with nodeServer.sh.

  • Removed the "swaggerui" plug-in in favor of the API Catalog.

  • Bugfix for /plugins API to not show the installation location of the plug-in.

  • Bugfix to print a warning if the server finds two plug-ins with the same name.

  • Added the ability to conditionally add HTTP headers for secure services to instruct the browser not to cache the responses. For more information, see https://github.com/zowe/zlux-server-framework/issues/36.

  • Added a startup check to confirm that ZSS is running as a prerequisite of the Zowe App Server.

  • Bugfix for sending HTTP 404 response when content is missing, instead of a request hanging.

  • Added tracing of login, logout, and HTTP routing so that administrators can track access.

What's changed#

  • Previously, APIs for z/OS Jobs services and z/OS Data Set services are provided sing an IBM WebSphere Liberty web application server. In this release, they are provided using a Tomcat web application server. You can view the associated API documentation corresponding to the z/OS services through the API Catalog.

  • References to zlux-example-server were changed to zlux-app-server and references to zlux-proxy-server were changed to zlux-server-framework.

Known issues#

Paste operations from the Zowe Desktop TN3270 and VT Terminal applications

TN3270 App - If you are using Firefox, the option to use Ctrl+V to paste is not available. Instead, press Shift + right-click to access the paste option through the context menu.

Pressing Ctrl+V will perform paste for the TN3270 App on other browsers.

VT Terminal App - In the VT Terminal App, Ctrl+V will not perform a paste operation for any browser.

Note: In both terminals, press Shift + right-click to access copy and paste options through the context menu.

z/OS Subsystems App - The z/OS Subsystems application is being removed temporarily for the 1.0 release. The reason is that as the ZSS has transitioned from closed to open source some APIs needed to be re-worked and are not complete yet. Look for the return of the application in a future update.

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