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Summer Mentorships 2026: My LFX Mentorship Journey – Contributing to the Zowe Client Java SDK

By | August 12, 2026

Adithe Das

Written by Adithe Das, Open Mainframe Project Summer Mentorship 2026, mentee researcher, guided by mentor Francesco Giordano

Hello everyone! My name is Adithe Das, and I’m currently a senior majoring in Computer Science. This summer, I had the opportunity to participate in the Linux Foundation LFX Mentorship Program under the Open Mainframe Project. It has been one of the most rewarding learning experiences of my journey as a software developer.

How It All Started

I first learned about the Linux Foundation LFX Mentorship Program through one of my professors, who shared the opportunity with our class. After reading about the Open Mainframe Project and the Zowe Client Java SDK, I decided to apply. Although I had little experience with IBM z/OS and mainframe technologies, I saw it as an opportunity to learn something completely new and contribute to a real open-source project. A few days after submitting my application, I received an interview invitation from my mentor. Shortly after the interview, I was excited to receive the news that I had been selected as an LFX mentee. That moment marked the beginning of an incredible learning experience.

Getting Started

Before writing any code, I spent time understanding what Zowe is and why it is important. Zowe is an open-source framework that simplifies working with IBM z/OS systems by providing modern APIs, command-line tools, and SDKs. One component of the project is the Zowe Client Java SDK, which allows Java applications to communicate with z/OSMF REST APIs. Although I had experience with Java and REST APIs, enterprise mainframe development was completely new to me. There were many new concepts to learn, from z/OSMF services to the project’s coding standards and testing framework. The first week was mostly about reading documentation, exploring the repository, building the project locally, and understanding how different components fit together.

My Contributions

My first two assigned issues focused on expanding the workflow capabilities of the Zowe Client Java SDK. Issue #473 – Delete a Workflow API Once I became familiar with the project, I was assigned my first issue: implementing support for deleting a z/OSMF workflow instance. The task involved creating a new Java class that sends a DELETE request to the appropriate z/OSMF REST API endpoint. While the implementation itself wasn’t extremely large, I quickly realized that contributing to an open- source project is much more than just writing code. I had to follow the project’s coding conventions, write clear Javadoc’s, validate input parameters, create comprehensive unit tests, and make sure everything integrated cleanly with the existing SDK. After opening my pull request, I received detailed review comments from my mentor. I updated the implementation several times based on feedback, learning how professional code reviews improve both code quality and developer skills. Seeing my first contribution to moving through the review process was a huge milestone for me.

Figure 1. GitHub Issue #473 – Delete a Workflow API

Issue #475 – Archive a Workflow Instance API

After completing the Delete Workflow feature, I started working on another enhancement: adding support for archiving workflow instances. This feature required implementing another REST API endpoint using a POST request while maintaining the same coding style and architecture used throughout the SDK. Because of everything I learned during my first contribution, I felt much more confident. I was able to understand the existing codebase more quickly, write cleaner code, and develop the required unit tests more efficiently. It was rewarding to see how much I had grown in just a few weeks.

Figure 2. GitHub Issue #475 – Archive a Workflow Instance API

Lessons Learned

This mentorship has taught me far more than just writing Java code. I’ve learned how to:

  • Navigate a large open-source codebase.
  • Read and understand enterprise REST API documentation.
  • Follow professional coding standards.
  • Write meaningful unit tests.
  • Work with Git and GitHub using feature branches and pull requests.
  • Respond to code review feedback and continuously improve my code.
  • Contribute to software used by developers around the world.

Looking Ahead

Although I’ve already learned a tremendous amount, I know there’s still much more to explore. I’m excited to continue contributing to the Zowe Client Java SDK, take on more challenging issues, and deepen my understanding of mainframe technologies and enterprise software development. Participating in the LFX Mentorship Program has strengthened both my technical skills and my confidence as an open-source contributor. I’m incredibly thankful to my mentor, the Open Mainframe Project community, and the Linux Foundation for making this experience possible.

 

Stay tuned for more mentee blogs as our Summer Mentorship Program continues!

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