Is your feature request related to a problem? Please describe.
When the Bob premium add-on PPZ is added and installed, several extensions are also installed that don't appear to be actually required for PPZ to function:
- IBM Z Open Editor (marked required dependency)
- Zowe Editor (transitive dependency)
- IBM Z Open Debug (hidden dependency)
- IBM Compiled Code Coverage (hidden dependency)
- IBM TAZ Early Development Testing (hidden dependency)
Most of these extensions provide z/OS-specific or role-specific capability that not relevant to all PPZ users. Some of these extensions will complain if they are not fully configured. Some cannot be uninstalled or disabled without the PPZ extension also being affected by the same action. The other extensions can be uninstalled or disabled, but a notification after restarting Bob will prompt to install PPZ and reinstall these extensions.
Because PPZ is being marketed to the wider IBM Z userbase, we should not require other extensions that some user cannot or do not want to use.
Describe the solution you'd like
I was informed by the PPZ team that the extensions were being required as a method to bundle recommended extension together for convenience. They were not aware that OpenVSX supports extension packs for this purpose, which VSCode suggests how extensions should be bundled together without impacting any of the base extensions. For example, the IBM Z Open Editor extension does not require Z Open Debug extension as not every user would need it, but have a separate IBM Developer for z/OS Enterprise Edition (IDzEE) extension pack for convenience for those that would want all of these extensions.
The proposed solution is the following:
- Creating a separate extension pack for for bundling recommended z/OS extensions together.
- Removing any extensions that are not truly required for PPZ to function from the extension's dependency list and from being automatically installed by the Bob premium add-on feature.
- Adding PPZ as a Bob premium add-on would only install the PPZ base extension.
- Advertising the new extension pack through the PPZ extension overview page, a Bob welcome page, or some other means that does not negatively impact non-z/OS users.
Describe alternatives you've considered
A mixture of disabling and configuring some of the unused extensions, while ignoring notifications about them when Bob IDE is restarted, has been my current solution. This is not a user-friendly behavior for a paid premium package.
Additional Context
Context from conversation in #bob-premium-package-for-z-questions Slack channel:
https://ibm-systems-z.slack.com/archives/C0BN3PBQ0JZ/p1786045820217819
Is your feature request related to a problem? Please describe.
When the Bob premium add-on PPZ is added and installed, several extensions are also installed that don't appear to be actually required for PPZ to function:
Most of these extensions provide z/OS-specific or role-specific capability that not relevant to all PPZ users. Some of these extensions will complain if they are not fully configured. Some cannot be uninstalled or disabled without the PPZ extension also being affected by the same action. The other extensions can be uninstalled or disabled, but a notification after restarting Bob will prompt to install PPZ and reinstall these extensions.
Because PPZ is being marketed to the wider IBM Z userbase, we should not require other extensions that some user cannot or do not want to use.
Describe the solution you'd like
I was informed by the PPZ team that the extensions were being required as a method to bundle recommended extension together for convenience. They were not aware that OpenVSX supports extension packs for this purpose, which VSCode suggests how extensions should be bundled together without impacting any of the base extensions. For example, the IBM Z Open Editor extension does not require Z Open Debug extension as not every user would need it, but have a separate IBM Developer for z/OS Enterprise Edition (IDzEE) extension pack for convenience for those that would want all of these extensions.
The proposed solution is the following:
Describe alternatives you've considered
A mixture of disabling and configuring some of the unused extensions, while ignoring notifications about them when Bob IDE is restarted, has been my current solution. This is not a user-friendly behavior for a paid premium package.
Additional Context
Context from conversation in
#bob-premium-package-for-z-questionsSlack channel:https://ibm-systems-z.slack.com/archives/C0BN3PBQ0JZ/p1786045820217819