Building plugin apps
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.
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Building web contentOn 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.Navigate to
/<plugin_dir>/webClient
. If there is no/webClient
directory, proceed to the Building server content section below.Run the
npm install
command to install any application dependencies. Check for successful return code.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.
- Run the
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Building app server contentNavigate to the plugin directory. If there is no
/nodeServer
directory in the plugin directory, proceed to the Building Javascript content (*.js files) section below.Run the
npm install
command to install any application dependencies. Check for successful return code.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.
- Run the
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Building zss server contentClone the zss repository and its submodule zowe-common-c.
Make a build script that compiles your C code with -Wc,dll and -Wl,dll, and other flags as seen in this zowe example
Include a ZSS .x file to link zss server APIs to your plugin, as seen in this zowe example
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.
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Tagging plugin files on z/OSWhen 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
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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.
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InstallingFollow the steps described in Installing plugins to add your built plugin to the Zowe desktop.
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PackagingFor more information on how to package your Zowe app, developers can see Plugins definition and structure.