IBMcopy222: Catapult Your zOS Application Development Experience From Legacy to Legendary With VS Code Agent Mode and the Model Context Protocol

Project and Program: DevOps

Tags: Proceedings, SHARE Orlando 2026, 2026

In 2026, building enterprise applications without artificial intelligence is like choosing a horse-drawn carriage in the age of high-speed rail. The complexity of modern systems and the demand for rapid innovation require tools that not only assist—but accelerate—development. Large language models (LLMs) from IBM and other vendors have been trained on foundational enterprise languages like COBOL, PL/I, High-Level Assembler, and REXX, transforming them into powerful productivity engines for even the most experienced developers. But the real breakthrough comes with the emergence of the Model Context Protocol—a new standard adopted by leading vendors that supercharges LLMs by giving them contextual awareness of your development environment. In this session, we’ll demonstrate how to unlock the full potential of AI-assisted development by connecting your LLM to VS Code and its z/OS extensions. You’ll see how simple it is to ask your AI to use Zowe to locate data set members, retrieve spool files, open UNIX System Services files, or diagnose issues directly from your Problems view. We’ll also show how it can analyze logs, resolve missing copybooks, and even assist with pipeline integration—all through natural language. Join us to discover how AI, combined with contextual protocols and modern tooling, is reshaping enterprise software development for the next generation.

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