To build an image for deployment

Note: This topic only applies to using native COBOL applications and native COBOL Unit Test projects in containers. To use JVM COBOL applications in containers you need to use the functionality described in Debugging and Running JVM COBOL Applications in Containers.

Once you have finished debugging your application and are sure it is performing as required you are ready to use the Build Image option to build the application into an image that you can then deploy. By default, the Build Image option builds an image that is based on a Visual COBOL image, so the first time you build a project into an image for deployment you need to perform an additional step to ensure that you use a COBOL Server image instead.

  1. In the project's properties, delete the specification of the DEPLOYBASE build argument from the Build arguments field. See To specify project properties for containers for information on setting a project's properties.

    By default, a project uses the Build arguments field to set DEPLOYBASE to microfocus/vcbuildtools-build, resulting in a Visual COBOL image being used when an image is created for the project. Deleting the build argument from the Build arguments field in this way causes the definition of DEPLOYBASE in the Dockerfile to be used (which is microfocus/cobolserver), resulting in a COBOL Server image being used.

    You should only switch to using COBOL Server images if you have the relevant licenses to create and deploy images based on COBOL Server.

    If you delete the specification of the DEPLOYBASE build argument from the Build arguments field but subsequently decide that you want to revert to building images based on Visual COBOL rather than COBOL Server, you can click Restore Defaults to reset every field on the dialog box to its default setting.

  2. In the Application Explorer view, COBOL Explorer view or Project Explorer view, right-click the project's Dockerfile and click Build Image.

    Docker builds a new image based on the content of the Dockerfile.

    The Dockerfile that was created by Visual COBOL results in the project being rebuilt and the creation of an image containing the project's build output. If you have edited the Dockerfile, however, the results depend on the commands specified in the Dockerfile.

    The name of the image will be the name of the project, and the image will be tagged as "latest". Depending on your organization's procedures and processes, before deploying the image you might need to rename or retag it, or perhaps rebuild it in conjunction with other images.