Modernization Redbook: The Time Has Come

July 7, 2014 Dan Burger

I’d like to tell you Modernizing IBM i Applications from the Database up to the User Interface and Everything in Between is on the IT Jungle Best Seller List. But we don’t have a best seller list and if IBM knew how many of these Rebooks were being downloaded, it’s against Big Blue’s better judgment to release such information.

You’ve heard about this Redbook before if you are a regular reader of The Four Hundred. It was a monumental effort that was first released as a Draft Redbook (Danger: Typographical errors and other bugs have yet to be thoroughly eradicated) in March. As of June 30, it is available in a fully scrubbed, completely approved, and properly updated version. If you’ve yet to set your eyes upon it, further delays are unwarranted. You can find it on the IBM Redbooks page under the category “System i.” This link will lead you to it. But beware of the 27 MB PDF–that’s about four times the average Redbook.

You’ll also find the Modernization Redbook is available as a download on the iBookstore and can be read in Google Books. There’s also a link to order a hard copy, but it was not working last week when I explored that option. I have seen a hard copy of this publication. It’s approximately the size of the bottom tier of a wedding cake and weighs about as much as the average manhole cover.

Fortunately the price per pound is the same on all Redbooks. They are free.

There are 18 chapters in this colossus and it all begins with “Why Modernize.” On your way through it you’ll find chapters on the path to modernization, application architecture, development tools, development languages (including modern RPG), data-centric development, data re-engineering, mobile development, security, globalization, and cloud.

It includes solution guides that explain a variety of ways to implement a modernization strategy.

“It is time to put the past away. Tools and methodologies have undergone significant transformation, improving functionality, usability, and productivity,” according to the description on the Redbooks website. “This is true of the plethora of IBM tools and the wealth of tools available from many Independent Solution Providers (ISVs).”

By all manner of guesswork, there is significant evidence that a great many IBM i shops are still using the same tools and techniques and languages to develop applications and database modeling that have been used for the past 20 years. Although there are indications that more IBM i shops are modernizing, this process remains a conundrum for a great many. The purpose of this book is to create a discussion on topics that needs to be at the top of the IT priority list at many companies. If you are giving consideration to how apps are being accessed by end users and how this has changed in recent years and will continue to change in the years to come, this Redbook should land on your lap. I guarantee that will get your attention.