Top OS/400 Stories from Around the Web

(IT Jungle) Midrange, midmarket, midway, middle of the road, fair to midland . . . it all seems neither here nor there, so that leaves us somewhere in between. It's not so much a question of where is the midrange today. It's more a question of what is the midrange today. Our vocabulary may have deleted the word "midrange," but the technology employed by companies too small to be in the top 500 and too big to be mom and pop shops still supports business objectives--just like it always has. The main difference is the emphasis on integration today. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Oh, the Power chip line is a mighty fine road. Oh, the Power chip line is the road to ride . . . If you know the old "Rock Island Line" song, you can keep singing, but I'm just trying to point out that the Power chip train has left the Power6 station and is on the way to Power7. Grab a seat and get comfortable, the scenery is already getting pretty good. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) "I'd like to see you do that again," I said to a friend who shot a quarter out of midair with his pistol. And, damn if he didn't do it. I might have said the same thing last year when IBM recorded a stellar second quarter, and damn if it didn't do it again. These two events have tempered my overall skepticism, but just slightly. IBM still uses some funny business when it computes its System i/Power Systems revenue. Read about it here. And my friend with the pistol . . . I never make any bets with him any more. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Overall, the U.S. economy lost 438,000 jobs since the beginning of 2008. That's not a number I pulled out of thin air. It can be attributed to reports by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Given that statistic, what would be your expectations for the IT job market? I'm going to claim the IT sector added nearly 90,000 jobs, and you'll have to read this article to know whether I'm making it up or not. READ MORE >

(Search400) The CIO of a major food distribution company looks over his green-screen BPCS-based applications with the idea of moving to a Web-based interface. He considers replacing BPCS ERP software with SAP or JD Edwards from Oracle. He also considers modernizing the existing BPCS apps by integrating them with a Microsoft .NET framework and using X86 blade servers to run them. What would your choice be? READ MORE >

(MCPress) Open source software is a ball of confusion. That's not a knock on the software, which is increasingly found in enterprises around the globe. However, it's an apt description of what people don't know about open source and, to some extent, what people think they know about open source. What is the risk of using open source software? And are the promises of low costs, hands-on modification to suit your purposes, and the detachment from expensive proprietary software playing out as expected? READ MORE >

Vendor Announcements, Promotions, and Deals

(IT Jungle) It's not unusual for the topic of application speed to work its way into discussions involving Java applications running on IBM System i servers. In the past, Java took its lumps for displaying less than blinding speed, if you get my drift. If you've grown accustom to unflattering comments about Java, here's something that might change your mind. It's about RPG developers creating Web 2.0 style interfaces with a JavaScript that may be new to you. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Because the relational database management system in the System i and its predecessors was built into the operating system, access to RPG and COBOL applications was native. It was also unique. Databases were built using methods that were not exactly industry standards. Some System i shops have been moving to SQL databases to achieve better integration--that includes converting older databases. It hasn't been easy, but better tools are now on the scene. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Cross-platform identity management systems have a great deal of appeal in shops where authentication methods proliferate like rabbits in fields of clover. And for companies that are building service oriented architectures and Web 2.0 applications, the idea of software that can be called as a Web service is particularly sweet because user access security in SOA environments can be a juggling act. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Proof that it takes time to build castles comes from this article on developments since Micro Focus purchased NetManage. Most NetManage products have continued along their previous development paths and integration into Micro Focus is taking place. It's a different story, however, for NetManage's green-screen application modernization tool known as OnWeb. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Back in the day, a road trip often meant putting in some after-dark driving. Maybe you remember some of the roadside cafes. Many times they were marked by neon signs that simply said "EAT." If you were hungry, you ate. You never knew when the next opportunity would come. This silly introduction has a point. It's that IBM has opened the EGL Café, a place where you can fill up on the EGL programming language. I can almost see the neon sign in the darkness. EAT. READ MORE >

Redbooks, White Papers, and Other OS/400 Resources

(inFORM Decisions) Making an assessment on whether it pays to replace paper-based documents with electronic documents seems like an easy enough task, but the key is covering all the bases. Most organizations can achieve efficiencies, secure critical information, or cut processing costs by implementing document automation. This report points to places where this most commonly occurs and the methodology used to get these projects planned and implemented. READ MORE >

(IBM) Database modernization has to do with defining databases, screens, and reports so that applications can use SQL as the database access method. Most System i users are familiar with the built-in relational database management system (RDMS) that uses data description specifications (DDS) to define the database physical and logical files. This Redbook provides tips and techniques for modernizing applications to use SQL data definition language (DDL) as the database access method. READ MORE >

(MKS) This white paper explores management issues surrounding application modernization and offers ways to minimize the impact organizations and IT infrastructure. It emphasizes management and process controls to ensure the successful implementation of modernized applications READ MORE >

(BCD) This white paper discusses PHP as a technology and as a productive method for transforming legacy applications to Web applications or creating new Web applications from square one. It explains the popularity of PHP, how it is different from other technologies, and uses the company's WebSmart PHP as the focal point for Web application development. READ MORE >

Chats, Webinars, Seminars, Shows, and Other Happenings

See our full calendar of events at
http://www.itjungle.com/fhm/fhm-calendar.html

July 24 -- Webinar - Real-time monitoring of IBM i (System i, iSeries, and AS/400) security events will be discussed in this online session hosted by the security software and services vendor, PowerTech. Topics of discussion will include gathering network information that detects inappropriate or anomalous activity, identifying possible security breaches, integration with SIM and IDS consoles, and complying with SOX, HIPAA, PCI, and other regulatory guidelines. A preview of PowerTech's cross-platform security monitoring software is also on the agenda. Two sessions will be presented--one at 9 a.m. PDT and the other at 11 a.m. PDT. LEARN MORE >

July 24 -- Webinar - Getting up to date on expense-controlling options and managing document output more efficiently will be the topic of this session hosted by Quadrant Software, a paperless process management software vendor. Content in this session is appropriate for department managers, purchasing and accounting personnel, customer service personnel, controllers and CFOs, and MIS and IT project leaders. LEARN MORE >

July 29 - Webcast - PHP application development for i5/OS will be the topic of this session presented by Mike Pavlak, customer sales engineer, at Zend Technologies. Increasing developer productivity, shortening the time to production, and improving PHP application performance by taking advantage of investments in people and hardware, will be the focus of this presentation. Pavlak is the former director of IT at Tripp Lite, a Chicago area System i shop that put PHP to use. His presentation begins at noon EDT. LEARN MORE >

July 30 -- Webcast - This online presentation examines one of the most difficult systems management tasks: gaining visibility into multi-tier applications. It focuses on supporting users, diagnosing problems, improving performance, and passing security audits, as well as the tools and techniques for monitoring and auditing database server jobs used by Java, Web applications, .NET access, and Excel. The discussion also will include the pros and cons of IBM's Navigator, i5/OS APIs and commands, and tools from Centerfield Technology, the vendor that is hosting this Webcast. The session begins at 7 p.m. CDT. LEARN MORE >

August 6 -- Jacksonville, Florida - IBM's Host Access Transformation System (HATS) with an emphasis on altering green-screen applications to get the look and feel of a graphical user interface will be the featured topic at the Jacksonville iSeries User Group meeting. Within this presentation will be a discussion of topics such as creating Web services from legacy RPG applications and creating portlets without coding. This session will be presented by Doug Piner, a senior architect at Sirius. The meeting begins at 5:30 p.m. at the IBM Offices, in Deerwood Park North. For additional details and to register for the event, email: benbrower@comcast.net LEARN MORE >