User Build - no creation of application directory anymore

[friedhelmmuench]

Development environment used

• Z Open Editor version: 2.2.0
• Editor Platform
  • [x] Visual Studio Code
  • [ ] Red Hat CodeReady Workspaces
  • [ ] Eclipse Che
  • [ ] Standalone Theia
• Editor Platform Version: 1.65.2
• Operating System (on which VS Code runs such as Windows 10 2004, otherwise name and version of platform such as OpenShift v4.3): Windows 10
• Java Version (when using VS Code or Theia, execute java -version and paste the details here): 1.8.0_341
• [ ] Related to RSE API?
  • RSE API Plugin version:
  • Zowe CLI version: 7.5.1
  • Node.js version: 14,19.3
• Logs attached (see here how to get them): yes/no

Problem Description

We usually use the DBB user build with git projects in a single root workspace. A developer sometimes works on several projects with no relation between the files or build configuration.

Beginning with version 2.1.1 (support of multi root workspaces) the behaviour of uploading the build files was changed:
Before version 2.1.1 the name of the application directory (from filesystem?) was appended to the configuration value ${zopeneditor.userbuild.userSettings.dbbWorkspace} for creation of the upload directory in USS. The build configuration and source files of the whole project therefore were isolated and several projects could coexist in the dbbWorkspace.

Starting with version 2.1.1 the application should be set to . and the application is not used anymore for the uploaded files. That causes difficulties when building more then one project, because e.g. the build files of different applications are merged in the dbbWorkspace, which possibly leads to unpredictable results of the build.

The only workaround found is to set the dbbWorkspace in the VS-Code user-settings to a directory named like the application and keep the setting of the application for calling the build scripts. But this solution avoids the possibility to reuse the userSettings (from VS-Code), because for every project it would be necessary to change the dbbWorkspace. This is not practicable for the developer.

Maybe it is a solution to enable the configuration of the dbbWorkspace by a settting in the dbb profile in the ZAPP file. As an alternative, the bevaviour of version < 2.1.1 should be restored. In case of a multi root workspace, maybe the name of the workspace can be used as application directory.

1. First step Start a user build for application test and dbbWorkspace configured to /u/xxxx/dbbWorkspace

Observed behavior

• the build files are uploaded to USS in the directory /u/xxxx/dbbWorkspace/

Expected behavior

• the build files are uploaded to USS in the directory /u/xxxx/dbbWorkspace/test/

[phaumer]

We made this change as a quick fix to support multi-root workspaces as part of a fix pack. We are working on some more refinements for some other user requests and an application folder will come back for that. I keep this one open as an enhancement.

For now the application parameter indicates the location of your application-conf folder. So you could support multiple applications with a git repo layout such as

• ./app1/application-conf
• ./app2/application-conf

If your ZAPP is at the top-level (as a peer to the app folders) then you can switch by using either app1 or app2 as the application parameter until we allow multiple profiles.

Here are the updated docs: https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/cloud-paks/z-modernization-stack/2022.3?topic=code-setting-up-user-build