EXECPGM

How to authenticate to the z/OSMF API with a certificate

Post published:September 7, 2019
Post category:z/OSMF
Reading time:2 mins read

This is a brief description of how to use the z/OSMF API with certificate authentication, from a PHP application.

Create a certificate.For example with openSSL:

openssl req -newkey rsa:2048 -nodes -keyout yourdomain.key
 -out yourdomain.csr

Send the certificate to a certificate authority to get it signed.

Add the signed certificate to RACF:

RACDCERT CHECKCERT(CERT)RACDCERT ADD(CERT) TRUST WITHLABEL('yourlabel-client-ssl') ID(your RACF userID) SETROPTS REFRESH RACLIST(DIGTCERT, DIGTRING)

When authentication, the userID in the ID field will be mapped to, and the z/OSMF tasks will run under this userID.

Save the signed certificate on the PHP server in a directory accessible for the PHP server.
The following PHP code will then issue a request with client certificate authentication:

curl_setopt($curl, CURLOPT_SSLCERT, '/<server>/htdocs/<somesubdir>yourdomain.csr');
curl_setopt($curl, CURLOPT_SSLCERTTYPE, 'PEM');
curl_setopt($curl, CURLOPT_VERBOSE, 1);
curl_setopt($curl, CURLOPT_HTTPHEADER, array(
// this is the basic auth commented out: 'authorization: Basic ' . base64_encode($this->userid . ":" . $this->password),
etc for the reast of the header

Compile and run a COBOL program on z/OS – A mini-tutorial

Post published:September 7, 2019
Post category:COBOL
Reading time:2 mins read

With this mini-tutorial you may get a quick start with COBOL on z/OS. It gives you a handson overview of the process to get a COBOL program running on z/OS.

The tutorial will show you how to create a Hello World COBOL program on z/OS, compile it and then run in. You can find the program itseld and the JCL scripts for the compilation and run attached below to this post.

The following video describes the process