Written by Kanhaiya Yadav, student at Jaypee Institute of Information Technology
Hi everyone! I’m thrilled to share my experience working with the Open Mainframe Project. The past three months have been both fascinating and filled with incredible learning opportunities.
About Me:
My name is Kanhaiya Yadav from Gorakhpur, India and I’m pursuing a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science and Engineering from Jaypee Institute of Information Technology Noida, India.
Getting Started:
Embarking on a journey with the Zowe – App Store UI project has been nothing short of exhilarating. Under the expert mentorship of Leanid Astrakou, I’ve been given a prestigious opportunity to contribute to an innovative project that aligns perfectly with my interests.
When the acceptance email arrived, it was a moment of pure joy and accomplishment. I knew this was my chance to dive deep into the world of open-source development, expand my skills, and contribute meaningfully to a project that impacts many users. With determination and enthusiasm, I began my preparations, eager to make the most of this incredible opportunity.
Watch my final presentation video here:
Project Overview:
The journey began with understanding the Mainframe and the unique capabilities that Zowe offers. My mentor played a crucial role in helping me grasp the fundamentals through numerous discussions and meetings. His guidance has been invaluable in navigating the initial stages of the project.
Before going forward I would like to familiarize you with what Zowe is. Zowe is an open source software that provides both an extensible framework, and a set of tools that allow mainframe development and operation teams to securely manage, develop, and automate resources and services on z/OS family mainframes. Zowe offers modern interfaces to interact with z/OS and allows users to interact with the mainframe system in a way that is similar to what they experience on cloud platforms today.
Final Milestones:
- Implemented dryRunMode in Zen (Zowe Installation Wizard)
Zen offers a streamlined, user-friendly interface for installing and configuring Zowe, making the process much simpler for users. Setting up Zen locally was surprisingly easy, requiring just a few configurations to get everything running smoothly. My primary task was to develop and integrate a dry run mode into the application.
This feature allows users to preview the application’s workflow and the steps it will take, giving them greater confidence and understanding before proceeding with the actual process.
To accomplish this, I had to delve deep into the existing codebase and grasp its complexities. This required close collaboration with my mentor, whose guidance and feedback were invaluable. We engaged in several back-and-forth discussions to refine the implementation and ensure it aligned with the project’s standards.
Completing this milestone marked the successful fulfillment of my initial task and set the stage for the next phase of my contribution to Zowe.
- Resolving Initial Setup and Local Development Issues of the Zowe App Server
My next goal was to set up the app-server to contribute to the App Store UI, but we encountered a significant issue that needed to be resolved before moving forward. My co-mentee and I collaborated to get the app-server running smoothly by troubleshooting and fixing the problems. It took some time, as the issues were initially challenging for us to understand. Thankfully, our mentor provided invaluable support throughout the process, and without his help, we wouldn’t have been able to resolve them.
After weeks of effort, we finally fixed all the major issues with the app-server and were able to access Zowe successfully.
Conclusion:
The past three months have been an incredible experience for me. I’ve had the opportunity to interact and collaborate with some truly remarkable individuals. This mentorship not only enabled me to contribute to an exceptional project but also provided a rich learning environment where I could expand my skills and knowledge.
At one point in the program, I felt stuck while we were trying to resolve issues with the app-server. However, thanks to my mentor’s guidance, I was able to overcome that challenge and contribute to the organization to the best of my ability.
In closing, I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to the Open Mainframe Project team for making all of this possible. Their support and organization were key in providing such a valuable and enriching experience.
Stay tuned here for more summer mentee blogs and videos.
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