The ISPF Software Configuration and Library Manager facility (SCLM) is the best software configuration management (SCM) product on the market today, and it is included, at no additional cost, in base z/OS™!
SCLM is really two products: a library manager and a configuration manager
As a library manager, SCLM manages changes to your application data, performs auditing and versioning, and controls the movement of your application from one set of staging libraries to the next (called Promote in SCLM).
As a configuration manager, SCLM knows how all of the pieces of your application fit together. In SCLM, this is not limited to just standard source, object and load modules. You can specify additional relationships in SCLM to associate your other data, such as test cases, publications and JCL, with the application. The SCLM Build function translates your inputs into outputs. In SCLM, this is not limited to just compiling source code and linking object modules. You can use Build to drive most any procedure that translates an input into an output. On a Promote, SCLM ensures that all of your inputs and outputs are in synch. You no longer have to worry about one of your production load modules not matching the source in your production source libraries.
SCLM also provides basic change management and impact analysis capabilities
In SCLM, you can associate a change code with a member and then build, promote and report based on change code(s). SCLM also provides a sample interface to Tivoli Information Management for z/OS. Tivoli Information Management is a full function problem and change management system. It allows problem and change records to be entered and tracked to completion. When using this product with SCLM, a user is required to enter a change code when modifying or creating a member. SCLM will then go out to the Tivoli Information Management database to determine whether or not a problem or change record exists for that change code. If not, then the user will be prevented from updating or creating the member. This interface can be extended to perform additional processing or use additional points of interaction.
SCLM also provides impact analysis. Build and Promote in report mode allow you to do a 'what if' analysis of what would be impacted (for instance, what load modules would be rebuilt for a specific copybook change) by a change before an actual build or promote is performed. The Database Contents Utility allows you to produce customized reports of the contents of your SCLM controlled applications based on a number of different criteria. The Architecture Report provides you with informatin on how all of the pieces of your application are related. WebSphere Studio Asset Analyzer for z/OS (WSAA) can be used to perform additional and more granular impact analyses. WSAA can be used to determine what programs and other elements would be effected by changing the length of a specific data field within a program. For instance, what would the impact be if I were to make the zip code field 10 characters rather than the current 5?
SCLM is part of ISPF
If you are currently using ISPF, then you already know how to use some of the key functions of SCLM! SCLM View and Browse functions are the same as its' ISPF counterparts. The SCLM Edit function is built on top of ISPF Edit. It supports the ISPF Edit macros and commands, language sensitive editing and the new Edit Compare tool. From a user's perspective, an SCLM Edit is no different than an ISPF edit. All of the SCLM processing to verify the group being used and to draw down and lock the member is transparent to the user. An ISPF configuration table option determines whether or not a member can be accessed from outside of SCLM. Even if such access is allowed, SCLM is smart enough to know when the data has been changed and will not allow a build or promote until the member is either edited again from the SCLM editor or migrated back into SCLM using the Migration Utility.
IBM Breeze for SCLM for z/OS, IBM SCLM Suite Administrator Toolkit, IBM SCLM Developer Toolkit, and IBM Enhanced Access Control for SCLM, along with SCLM, make up the IBM z/OS SCLM Family of products. These products, when used together, provide a complete solution for centrally managing all of your application development, including e-business (Java, html, doc) as well as traditional S/390 application development.
Ordering Information
SCLM is a feature of Interactive System Productivity Facility (ISPF) which is included with the z/OS operating system. If you are a z/OS user then you already have SCLM.
