IBM Problem Determination Tools V8 deliver marketingleading development and test support
John Knutson, PD Tools Product Marketing Manager, contributed to this product update.
Approx 1100 words
IBM’s market-leading Problem Determination Tools portfolio helps
to optimize the development of System z applications and maintain
control of critical processes.
The conflicting pressures of the 21st century continue to challenge the IT development
and testing teams. While business management demand more of the new applications
they need to react to fundamental changes like selling innovative products in new
markets, the financial management team tries to put the brake on spending by
demanding greater efficiencies and even lower total cost of ownership.
To help offset some of these pressures, new versions of the IBM Problem Determination
Tools deliver cost-effective and market-leading application performance analysis, source
code debugging, application-abend analysis, and data management . Application
Performance Analyzer, Debug Tool Utilities and Advanced Functions, Fault Analyzer
and File Manager can be used with traditional, Web-based and service-oriented
applications, helping to optimize the development and testing of all System z
applications.
Workstation-based developers and testers can now perform many frequently used File
Manager and Fault Analyzer functions from a common user interface, removing the need
to access 3270 panels, thanks to integration with IBM Rational Developer for System z.
This builds on prior product support in Debug Tool and the technology previews made
available for download earlier this year. Given the changing demography in System z
development, this ability can speed the introduction of ‘new blood’ into the mainframe
development team, which can be an important factor when staffing critical new projects.
Support throughout the PD Tools family for the latest releases of major IBM software
platforms like CICS Transaction Server V3.2, DB2 V9, and IMS V10 along with the
current releases of the System z Enterprise compilers means that customers will not be
held-back from using the many new platform features on offer that assist in building a
modern, service-oriented application infrastructure. Furthermore, features such as data
scrambling (in IBM File Manager and IBM File Export), access control and audit logging,
help to ensure compliance with security and other governance requirements.
In addition, the PD tools have been enhanced significantly to include:
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
Increased support for application environments such as Unix System Services,
WebSphere Application Server and Java

Further support for SOA and Web service applications

Functional enhancements including new commands and new options

Wide range of performance and usability enhancements
IBM Application Performance Analyzer for z/OS V8.1 helps programmers and
systems personnel to identify constraints and to improve the performance of their
applications. It is a non-intrusive performance analyzer that helps with design,
development and maintenance cycles. Its key function is to measure and report how
resources are used by applications running in virtually any IBM z/OS® address space.
V8.1 includes several reporting, performance and usability enhancements designed to
help your developers improve the performance of your applications plus support to
enable the analysis of J2EE and other applications that execute in the Unix System
Services environment.
IBM Debug Tool Utilities and Advanced Functions for z/OS V8.1 and IBM Debug
Tool V8.1 provide debugging capability for applications running in a variety of
environments, such as IBM CICS®, IBM IMS™, IBM DB2® Stored Procedures and
UNIX® System Services. To help customers to modernize their application portfolios, for
example in preparation for Web service enablement, Debug Tool Utilities and Advanced
Functions includes features which not only can locate old OS/VS and VS COBOL II
source code but also help to upgrade the code to IBM Enterprise COBOL.
New commands added to display CICS channels and containers, mean that Debug Tool
can even be used to help debug the very latest Web Services applications. Also new is a
memory window which lets you display and browse and edit objects in memory, while
keeping track of addresses for easier navigation.
IBM Fault Analyzer for z/OS V8.1 provides the information needed to determine the
cause of application and system failures and help to resolve them. Fault Analyzer’s
expanded application coverage can assist composite application abend analysis across
a wide range of platforms, adding Java™ and IBM WebSphere® Application Server for
z/OS to CICS TS, IMS and DB2.
New integration with Rational Developer for System z allows application developers to
work with faults, letting them browse fault entries, link to an abending program’s source
listings and display formatted dump storage directly from the development environment.
Also new is history file authorization management giving greater control over fault entry
create/access/delete rules, allowing the security administrator to control viewing,
updating, and deletion of groups of fault entries in a history file.
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IBM File Manager for z/OS V8.1 offers comprehensive, user-friendly tools for working
with z/OS data sets, or DB2 or IMS data plus access to CICS resources under control of
a CICS transaction. These give the developer the power to create, browse, copy, edit,
print, and format or reformat and otherwise manipulate files in the most popular z/OS file
formats interactively or in batch, with the data mapped COBOL and PL/I record layouts,
for faster and easier test data creation.
New in File Manager V8.1 is integration with IBM Rational Developer for System z which
enables developers to edit and browse datasets without changing user interfaces
helping new developers to access the power of System z without needing to struggle
with 3270-based applications. Customers who adopt an iterative development cycle, for
example as advocated by the Rational Unified Process (RUP), will find that File
Manager’s ability to create test data and prototype SQL early in the life cycle can help
them to deliver their beta and alpha releases ahead of schedule.
File Manager has also been enhanced to provide a "scrambling" algorithm, which
modifies data in a field while maintaining its system data type. Scrambling is intended to
de-identify (or disguise) personal information in different ways for different data types,
with repeatable scrambling maintaining vital application and data relationships, even
after the data has been scrambled.
The IBM Problem Determination Tools were recently compared and positioned against
products from several other vendors by Software Strategies, the independent analyst.
The new edition of their 2007 Strategic Competitive Analysis will help the reader to
understand why IBM’s Problem Determination Tools are a class ahead of the
competition.
IBM Problem Determination Tools for System z™ support the entire enterpriseapplication life cycle, helping to build, integrate, test and manage enterprise solutions,
making the most of System z platform investments and expediting moves to SOA. These
tools can help to transform applications to achieve greater business flexibility and
optimize IT operations while keeping in touch with governance and compliance
requirements. IBM System z tools offer the opportunity to realize business strategy,
providing the potential to develop, maintain and manage core applications more easily
and at a lower cost.
For more information
IBM Problem Determination Tools
http://ibm.com/software/awdtools/deployment/.
The Software Strategies paper is available for download at:
ftp://ftp.software.ibm.com/software/htp/pdtools/PD_Tools_WP_1st-edition_Jul07B.pdf
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3
IBM Problem Determination Tools V8 deliver marketingleading development and test support
John Knutson, PD Tools Product Marketing Manager, contributed to this product update.
Approx 750 words
IBM’s market-leading Problem Determination Tools portfolio helps
to optimize the development of System z applications and maintain
control of critical processes.
As today’s business management demands more new applications needed to react to
fundamental changes like selling innovative products in new markets, the financial
management team tries to put the brake on spending by demanding greater efficiencies
and even lower total cost of ownership.
The new versions of the IBM Problem Determination (PD) Tools can balance these
conflicting pressures on the IT development and testing teams, by delivering costeffective and market-leading application performance analysis, source code debugging,
application-abend analysis, and data management. Application Performance Analyzer,
Debug Tool Utilities and Advanced Functions, Fault Analyzer and File Manager can be
used with traditional, Web-based and service-oriented applications, helping to optimize
the development and testing of all System z applications.
Workstation-based developers and testers can now perform many frequently used File
Manager and Fault Analyzer functions from a common user interface, removing the need
to access 3270 panels, thanks to integration with IBM Rational Developer for System z.
Support throughout the PD Tools family for the latest releases of IBM software platforms
like CICS Transaction Server V3.2, DB2 V9, and IMS V10 and the current releases of
the System z Enterprise compilers means that customers will not be held-back from
using the many new platform features on offer that assist in building a modern, serviceoriented application infrastructure. Furthermore, features such as data scrambling,
access control and audit logging, help ensure compliance with security and other
governance requirements.
In addition, the PD tools have been enhanced significantly to include:

Increased support for application environments such as Unix System Services,
WebSphere Application Server and Java

Further support for SOA and Web service applications

Functional enhancements including new commands and new options

Wide range of performance and usability enhancements
1923 words
4
IBM Application Performance Analyzer for z/OS V8.1 helps programmers and
systems personnel to identify constraints and to improve the performance of their
applications and includes many reporting, performance and usability enhancements
designed to help developers improve the performance of System z applications.
IBM Debug Tool Utilities and Advanced Functions for z/OS V8.1 and IBM Debug
Tool V8.1 provide debugging capability for applications running in a variety of
environments, such as IBM CICS®, IBM IMS™, IBM DB2® Stored Procedures and
UNIX® System Services
New commands display CICS channels and containers and a new memory window will
display and browse and edit objects in memory, while keeping track of addresses for
easier navigation.
IBM Fault Analyzer for z/OS V8.1 provides the information needed to determine the
cause of application and system failures and help to resolve them. Fault Analyzer’s
expanded application coverage can assist composite application abend analysis across
leading System z platforms.
New integration with Rational Developer for System z allows application developers to
work with faults, letting them browse fault entries, link to an abending program’s source
listings and display formatted dump storage directly from the development environment.
IBM File Manager for z/OS V8.1 offers comprehensive, user-friendly tools for working
with z/OS data sets, or DB2 or IMS data plus access to CICS resources under control of
a CICS transaction. These give the developer the power to manipulate files in the most
popular z/OS file formats interactively or in batch, with the data mapped COBOL and
PL/I record layouts, for faster and easier test data creation.
New File Manager integration with IBM Rational Developer for System z enables
developers to edit and browse datasets without changing user interfaces helping new
developers to access the power of System z without needing to struggle with 3270based applications.
File Manager has also been enhanced to provide a "scrambling" algorithm, which
modifies data in a field while maintaining its system data type. Repeatable scrambling
disguises sensitive information, while maintaining vital application and data relationships.
The IBM Problem Determination Tools were recently compared and positioned against
products from several other vendors by Software Strategies, the independent analyst.
The new edition of their 2007 Strategic Competitive Analysis will help the reader to
understand why IBM’s Problem Determination Tools are a class ahead of the
competition.
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5
IBM Problem Determination Tools for System z™ support the entire enterpriseapplication life cycle, helping to build, integrate, test and manage enterprise solutions,
making the most of System z platform investments and expediting moves to SOA, more
easily and at a lower cost.
For more information
IBM Problem Determination Tools
http://ibm.com/software/awdtools/deployment/.
The Software Strategies paper is available for download at:
ftp://ftp.software.ibm.com/software/htp/pdtools/PD_Tools_WP_1st-edition_Jul07B.pdf
1923 words
6