The platform descriptor editor

Use the platform descriptor editor to work with platform bundles that are not yet installed in a CICSplex. If you do edit a platform bundle for a platform that is already installed, you must stop, discard, reinstall, and restart the platform to implement the changes.

After a platform is installed and active, you can use menus in the CICS Cloud perspective to add and remove individual CICS® regions in region types, and you can add and remove CICS bundles that are deployed with the platform. However, you cannot modify the region types in an installed platform, so use the platform descriptor editor to finalize your region types before installing the platform bundle.

The platform descriptor editor opens automatically after you create a project of that type. To open the editor at a later time, go to the Project Explorer view in the CICS Cloud perspective. Expand the META-INF folder for the project and double-click on any of the .xml files for the platform bundle, except the manifest.xml file. Alternatively, right-click the file, click Open With, then select the name of the editor. When the editor opens, the editor name tab displays the name of the platform.

If you do not have a versioned backup system that enables you to revert to a previous version of the project, instead of editing the existing project directly, you might prefer to copy it to another project and then edit the new copy.

Errors and warnings during the editing process are displayed in the main editor window, the Problems tab in the perspective, or the status field in the workbench.

To reverse one or more of your changes before you save them, use the Undo function. On the workbench menu, click Edit > Undo, or press Ctrl+Z (cmd+Z for macOS).

To save your changes, click the Save icon The save icon, or press Ctrl+S (cmd+S for macOS). If you attempt to close the editor without saving the changes, a dialog is displayed asking if you want to save your changes or close without saving.

The platform descriptor editor has three tabs: Overview, Region Types, and Deployment. The Actions section on the Overview tab explains a process to edit the platform project, and has links to the wizards and tabs to perform each task.

Overview tab in the platform descriptor editor
The Overview tab in the platform descriptor editor shows the ID, description, and home directory for the platform, the region types in the platform, and the CICS bundles that are deployed with the platform. Use the Overview tab for the following tasks:
  • Change the ID, description, or platform home directory for the platform.
  • Add and remove region types for the platform. The Overview tab has basic functions to create new region types, or adopt region types from an existing topology. To modify the region types and work with the CICS regions in them, use the Region Types tab. Double-clicking on the name of a region type takes you to that region type in the Region Types tab.
  • Add and remove CICS bundles that are deployed with the platform. To edit any of these CICS bundles, double-click on the name of the bundle in the list in the platform descriptor editor to open the bundle manifest editor.
The Region Types tab in the platform descriptor editor
The Region Types tab in the platform descriptor editor shows the region types in the platform, and the CICS region definitions in created region types. Adopted region types are marked as Adopted. If a region type is selected, the tab shows the properties and advanced options for the region type. If a CICS region definition is selected, the tab shows the attributes of the CICS region definition, and the region types that include the region. Use the Region Types tab for the following tasks:
  • Add and remove region types for the platform. You can create new region types, or adopt region types from an existing topology.
  • Create new CICS region definitions in created region types.
  • Specify or edit the basic properties for CICS region definitions in created region types.
  • Add and remove CICS region definitions in created region types, and sharing them between created region types. Any orphaned CICS region definition that is not currently in a region type is displayed at the top of the list. Select the region to add it to a region type.
The platform descriptor editor does not connect to the target CICSplex, so you cannot use it to add, remove, or share CICS regions in adopted region types. You can only work with CICS region definitions in created region types.
Use the Deployment tab of the platform descriptor editor to map the CICS bundles that are deployed with the platform to the region types in the platform. Use the switch button The switch button to switch between working with the region types, and working with the CICS bundles.
The Deployment tab in the platform descriptor editor.
The Deployment tab in the platform descriptor editor shows the region types in the platform, and the CICS bundles that are deployed with the platform. The region types are in the first column, and the CICS bundles are in the second column. Select each CICS bundle and use the check boxes to specify the region types where it is to be deployed. Any CICS bundles that are not yet bound to any region type are flagged with an error.