Building plugin apps

You can build a plugin app by using the following steps as a model. Alternatively, you can follow the Sample Angular App tutorial.

Plugins can have any build process desired as long as it doesn't conflict with the packaging structure. The basic requirement for a plugin app is that static web content must be in a /web directory, and server and other backend files must be in a /lib directory.

Before you can build a plugin app you must install all prerequisites.

Building web content

1. On the computer where the virtual desktop is installed, use the the following command to specify a value for the MVD_DESKTOP_DIR environment variable:

   export MVD_DESKTOP_DIR=/<path>/zowe/zlux-app-manager/virtual-desktop

   Where <path> is the install location of the virtual desktop.

2. Navigate to /<plugin_dir>/webClient. If there is no /webClient directory, proceed to the Building server content section below.

3. Run the npm install command to install any application dependencies. Check for successful return code.

4. Run one of the following commands to build the application code:

   • Run the npm run build command to generate static content in the /web directory. (You can ignore warnings as long as the build is successful.)
   • Run the npm run start command to compile in real-time. Until you stop the script, it compiles code changes as you make them.

Building app server content

1. Navigate to the plugin directory. If there is no /nodeServer directory in the plugin directory, proceed to the Building Javascript content (*.js files) section below.

2. Run the npm install command to install any application dependencies. Check for successful return code.

3. Run one of the following commands to build the application code:

   • Run the npm run build command to generate static content in the /lib directory.
   • Run the npm run start command to compile in real-time. Until you stop the script, it compiles code changes as you make them.

Building zss server content

1. Clone the zss repository and its submodule zowe-common-c.

2. Make a build script that compiles your C code with -Wc,dll and -Wl,dll, and other flags as seen in this zowe example

3. Include a ZSS .x file to link zss server APIs to your plugin, as seen in this zowe example

4. Ensure that the build output ends up in the /lib folder as a .so file that has the z/OS program control (+p) extended attribute.

Tagging plugin files on z/OS

When Zowe App Framework is installed on z/OS developers should tag their plugin files according to the file content. Tagging files helps programs on z/OS understand how to interpret those files, most importantly to know whether a file is encoded using EBCDIC (Extended Binary Coded Decimal Interchange Code). If you are unsure if a plugin you are using is tagged, it can be checked and set using the chtag command. If you want to set the tags, it can be done in bulk with the help of these programs:

• Autotag: This free, open-source application is not part of Zowe. You can download the binary from here for example https://anaconda.org/izoda/autotag. Source: https://github.com/RocketSoftware/autotag
• The Zowe tagging script: This script tags by file extension. It might not work for all cases, but can be altered to suit your needs. Source: https://github.com/zowe/zowe-install-packaging/blob/master/scripts/tag-files.sh

Building Javascript content (*.js files)

Unlike Typescript, Javascript is an interpreted language and does not need to be built. In most cases, reloading the page should build new code changes. For Iframes or other JS-based apps, close and open the app.

Installing

Follow the steps described in Installing plugins to add your built plugin to the Zowe desktop.

Packaging

For more information on how to package your Zowe app, developers can see Plugins definition and structure.