IBM Delivers Node.js Runtime to IBM i 7.1 and 7.2

October 14, 2014 Alex Woodie

Among the many announcements made by IBM last week was the revelation that it has built a Node.js runtime for the IBM i operating system. The move to adopt the cross-platform JavaScript framework is another indication that IBM is working to keep the platform current with the latest Web technologies.

Node.js is essentially a framework designed to take some of the complexity out of building and running scalable, data-intensive Web applications. The framework was created in 2009 by Ryan Dahl, who was tired of the “request-response” paradigm that has characterized the Web and wanted Web apps with “push” capability, like Gmail.

Dahl built Node.js to follow an event-driven paradigm that allows applications to communicate asynchronously via file, socket, and HTTP connections. In short, Node.js basically allows applications to act as a Web server, but without incorporating the overhead and complexity of an HTTP server. Either the client or the server can initiate communications, and the whole enchilada was built for scalability. It’s sort of like programming in Flash or using Java Applets, but without the hassle of going outside Port 80.

So what does this have to do with IBM i? Well if you’re still coding RPG the same way you were in 1985, there’s probably not much for you here. But if you’re among the forward-looking programmers who are adopting new programming languages like JavaScript to push IBM i-resident data out to HTML5-enabled Web browsers and mobile devices, then Node.JS support with IBM i will be important to you. Node.js programs are written in JavaScript, so if you have JavaScript in your big bag o’ skills already, then you’re one step ahead of the game.

According to IBM’s software announcement letters, Node.js for i is based on Google‘s Chrome JavaScript server runtime. IBM did whatever it had to do to get it to run on IBM i 7.1 Technology Refresh 9 (TR9) and IBM i 7.2 TR1, where it’s available via the licensed program 5770-DG1.

On top of the core Node.js functionality, IBM built some extensions to get access to the DB2 for i database, as well as to get access to native IBM i objects, such as programs, commands, data queues, data areas, spool files, user spaces, jobs, system values, and environment values.

So essentially, IBM is giving developers the capability to expand their existing IBM i environments out into the Node.js world. You can write a new app–both front and backend–with Node.js, and connect it to existing RPG-based apps and database files. It’s the best of both worlds frankly.

Node.js gives IBM i developers one more option for programming next-generation apps on the platform, just PHP as and Ruby on Rails support did before (and you can also program in Python and Perl, if you please). While the vast majority of backend business logic will always live in RPG or Cobol, IBM is giving developers the ability to modernize and extend the power of those apps with modern languages designed for the Web, and that’s a very, very good thing.

IBM Drops Tech Refreshes for IBM i 7.1 and 7.2

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CYBER-ATTACKS ON THE RISE. PROTECT WITH THE TRIPLE PLAY.

COVID-19 has not only caused a global pandemic, but has sparked a “cyber pandemic” as well.

“Cybersecurity experts predict that in 2021, there will be a cyber-attack incident every 11 seconds. This is nearly twice what it was in 2019 (every 19 seconds), and four times the rate five years ago (every 40 seconds in 2016). It is expected that cybercrime will cost the global economy $6.1 trillion annually, making it the third-largest economy in the world, right behind those of the United States and China.”¹

Protecting an organization’s data is not a single-faceted approach, and companies need to do everything they can to both proactively prevent an attempted attack and reactively respond to a successful attack.

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Cyber-attacks become more sophisticated every day. The dramatic rise of the remote workforce has accelerated this trend as cyber criminals aggressively target company employees with online social engineering attacks. It is crucial that employees have proper training on what NOT to click on. Cyber threats and social engineering are constantly evolving and UCG’s Enterprise Cybersecurity Training (powered by KnowBe4) is designed to educate employees on the current cutting-edge cyber-attacks and how to reduce and eliminate them.

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Data is a company’s most valuable asset. UCG’s VAULT400 Cloud Backup provides 256-bit encrypted backups to two (2) remote locations for safe retrieval should a cyber-attack occur. This is a necessary component of any protection strategy. Whether a single click on a malicious link brings down the Windows environment or an infected SQL server feeds the IBM i, once the data is compromised, there is no going back unless you have your data readily available.

Recovery is not a trivial task, especially when you factor in the time sensitive nature of restoring from an active attack. This leads to the third play of the Triple Play Protection – DRaaS. Companies have myriad concerns once an attack is realized and a managed service disaster recovery allows employees to keep focus on running the business in a crisis state.

The combination of training employees with secure backup and disaster recovery offers companies the best chance at avoiding financial disruption in an age of stronger, more frequent cyber-attacks.

Reach out to UCG Technologies to discuss your company’s security needs and develop a data protection plan that fits you best.

ucgtechnologies.com/triple-play

800.211.8798 | info@ucgtechnologies.com

^{1. https://theconversation.com/cyberattacks-are-on-the-rise-amid-work-from-home-how-to-protect-your-business-151268}

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