December 2024 update

[IgorTodorovskiIBM]

Hi everyone, as the end of the year approaches, we have a few updates to share with you.

Open Mainframe Project - Insights

Thanks to the Open Mainframe Project, we can now gain valuable insights into zopen.

Zopen Package Manager Updates

• We've made a couple of adjustments to the meta zopen package manager. Upgrade meta with zopen upgrade meta -y
  • A new prompt has been added during zopen init, asking if the zopen tools should default to overriding conflicting z/OS /bin tools (e.g GNU awk vs /bin/awk)
    • You’ll also now see a message when sourcing zopen-config, providing more clarity on the overriding behaviour.

New Tools and Enhancements

• Bash-Completion: If you find yourself using man to look them command suboption or subcommands, then bash-completions is a good complement to bash and should help make your developer experience more efficient. Example: git will show the git subcommands. Use zopen install bash-completion -y and follow the caveat instructions. Also make sure git is at the latest version.
• Git-Extras: A collection of useful extra git command to enhance your Git experience. More info in https://github.com/tj/git-extras/blob/main/Commands.md. Example: git summary will output a repo summary. Use zopen install git-extras -y
• Conan: A software package manager for C and C++ developers, great for managing dependencies and pulling C/C++ from Conan Center. This was contributed by @aidanp-21cs. Use zopen install conan -y
• Git Update: Git has been updated to provide completion scripts for bash and zsh and also resolves issues when rendering paths containing national characters.
• Bash kill builtin: The kill command bash builtin has been extended to support the -K option, which sends a superkill signal to forcibly terminate a process. Thanks to @anthony Giorgio for the suggestion!
  Additionally, many tools have been updated. Stay up-to-date by checking the latest releases here: Newly Released Tools

Contributing a new port to the zopen community is now easier

If you are interested in contributing a new port to the zopen community, we’ve streamlined the process with an automated workflow. Just open an issue using this form: New Port Contribution Form. Thank you @v1gnesh for your contributions here.

CICD and Usage Analytics Sub-Domains Are Live

We’ve officially set up the cicd sub-domain, along with a valid CA certificate.

• https://cicd.zopen.community
  Similarly, the usage domain is live here:
• https://usage.zopen.community

What We’re Working on Next

• zEDC Integration into compression tools: We’re working on adding hardware acceleration to our compression tools, starting with gzip and zip, using zEDC technology.
• Tools: We’ve prioritized our upcoming tools. You can check out the full list here: Priority List. If you're interested in contributing, let us know! We’d love your help. We'd also love your opinion on the current prioritization.
• Guild Meetings: We're excited to restart our Guild Meetings under the umbrella of the Open Mainframe Project. Stay tuned for more details about our upcoming meeting in January!