A Few More Pointers on Pointers
by Raymond Everhart

It's the last day of our vacation. Now I face the most unpleasant part of the entire trip: trying to fit everything we came with, and everything we bought, into the bags that were too small when I packed them the first time. I'm an RPG programmer. When I'm not sure how much space I need, I define the biggest variable or array possible. Of course, that's like packing a suitcase with empty suitcases. (Don't laugh. I've done that, too.) READ MORE >

ADO/JDBC Performance Using Parameters
by Howard F. Arner, Jr.

A lot of my consulting practice is centered on Web and client/server development against the AS/400. Most of the time, I am called in to diagnose performance issues after systems are designed and deployed. In this article, I want to point out the most common performance problem I find when looking at n-tier systems: the use of dynamic SQL. I will also shed some light on how the AS/400 query optimizer works, and teach you a technique for avoiding dynamic SQL. READ MORE >

The iSeries: A Flexible and Integrated Environment for Linux
by Erwin Earley

The iSeries provides a flexible and integrated platform for exploring and implementing e-business and infrastructure solutions based on the Linux operating system. It has the capability to virtualize all system resources such that Linux can be implemented with as little as 10 percent of a Power-PC processor, 128 MB of RAM, and disk space carved out of the single-level store of the iSeries system. Come explore the possibilities that this flexible environment provides for embracing open-source solutions. READ MORE >

Back to Basics: Self-Extending Subfiles
by Kevin Vandever

Wow! I was blown away by the responses from my last article, "Back to Basics: Introduction to Subfiles." It seems the RPG community is still extremely hungry for subfile information. So much so that I am going to write another article about subfile use. In this article, I will discuss the different types of subfiles and when to use each. For those of you still waiting for the continuation of my Java series, be patient; I will get back to it next month. READ MORE >

Reader Feedback and Insights

Trouble with Tomcat . . . Availability of WDSc for iSeries 5.0 . . . READ MORE >

Easy Does It: Could You Use a GUI to Access DB2?

Have you been to DDL hell or been tormented by the intricacies of UPDDTA? Handling iSeries data doesn't have to be so darn difficult. One tool that claims to provide management and accessibility relief is Linoma's Surveyor/400. We review it and you can read it by clicking here.