• The Four Hundred
  • Subscribe
  • Media Kit
  • Contributors
  • About Us
  • Contact
Menu
  • The Four Hundred
  • Subscribe
  • Media Kit
  • Contributors
  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Get Your Git On, IBM i

    August 8, 2016 Alex Woodie

    Git has officially come to IBM i. Last week, IBM released a program temporary fix (PTF) that includes binaries for an IBM i version of the popular open source change management tool that was announced as part of IBM i 7.3 earlier this year. Along with Git, IBM also released a PTF for Orion, a new Web-based IDE that works with Git and can be used to code free-form RPG from a tablet.

    There’s been a lot of talk about Git in the IBM i community since it was first revealed to be coming to the platform with the launch of IBM i 7.3 way back in March. Last week, the way for an IBM i version of Git officially ended when IBM delivered PTF SI61060. See the Git page on developerWorks for more information on the PTF.

    If you’re not familiar with it, Git is a distributed version control system first released 11 years ago by Linux creator Linus Torvalds, who was frustrated with another distributed version control system called BitKeeper. As an open source project (BitKeeper was proprietary), Torvalds developed Git to be scalable enough to enable his large and distributed team of Linux developers to work on the project without the version control system getting in the way.

    Git has become a huge success since it was first released. That’s due to part to the success of repositories like GitHub, which allows developers to store their code in an open manner, often as part of an open source software project. Now that Git support has come to IBM i, it is expected to gain more traction in the midrange too.

    IBM i professionals who are accustomed to using centralized change management systems, such as CVS or one of the many proprietary tools available from third-party vendors, may find Git’s decentralized approach odd at first. Instead of keeping just a delta of the changes in a local library and keeping the full repository in a centralized server, Git allows the whole development history to be stored in each client, albeit in a super-compressed state.

    Git stores the entire development history on every client, instead of keeping periodic deltas.

    Git’s decentralized approach brings several advantages to development teams, according to Edmund Reinhardt, the architect for Rational on IBM i.

    For starters, having everything stored in a distributed fashion helps to prevent problems that arise over the need to manage a slew of directories and sub-directories. If you wanted to quickly add some external code to a project you’re working on, perhaps from an open source project, “as soon as you touch those subdirectories, then the whole source control is messed up,” Reinhardt says in a recent YouTube video with IBM technical writer James Littlejohn.

    The distributed nature of Git also eliminates a central point of failure. “If the central server goes down, that’s okay,” Reinhardt says. “If James and I are working and my stuff gets blown away, then James has a copy of everything up until the last time things were delivered or pushed.”

    Speed is another advantage over most other source control systems, he says. “Git, counterintuitively, is faster because it . . . has a complete copy for every version,” Reinhardt says. “It uses compression intelligently to actually not take more space. So the space can actually be an improvement, and the speed is definitely an improvement.”

    Because Git enables every developer to have a full copy of the code, the developers can work when they’re disconnected from the network. “I can work on plane and use full source control without having to make any network calls, which makes it easier to work when disconnected, and it also makes the speed much faster because there’s no network calls,” Reinhardt says.

    Git users who are part of a development team are encouraged to synchronize their work with others, or “push” out updates, on a frequent basis. While Git can work in a decentralized manner, many development teams use a central repository, such as GitHub, which is free.

    IBM i shops that don’t want to share source code with the world can pay for a private Git repository, or they can store the repository themselves. This is where IBM’s support for Git comes in. “Of course, the most reliable server of all that you have in your shop is your IBM i, so it would make sense to have your Git repository on the IBM i, where the disk space is managed and backed up and so on,” Reinhardt says.

    IBM i developers can use Git with Rational Developer for i (RDi), the main integrated development environment (IDE) used for creating applications for IBM i. The integration with RDi is through the Git Team Provider, Reinhardt says.

    Enter the ORION

    While RDi may see some of the Git action, there’s another IDE that will likely see most of it: Orion.

    Selected by IBM to be Option 8 in the 5733-OPS project, IBM recently shipped the Orion binaries with PTF number SI60170. See the Orion page on developerWorks for more info on how to get Option 8 and Orion.

    Orion lets you edit RPG code from the comfort of a tablet.

    Orion brings IBM i professionals another way to code for the platform. The software, which is managed by the Eclipse Foundation, provides a full IDE experience to a handful of Web languages and technologies, including JavaScript, HTML, and Cascading Style Sheets (CSS). Developers will find handy features like content assist, code completion, error checking, and a code map when working in these technologies in Orion.

    But now, Orion also includes more basic support for other languages that are used on IBM i, including PHP, Python, and free-form RPG. “It’s a very powerful, no compromise editor for those native Web languages, and for the other languages we have highlighting,” Reinhardt says.

    So why would an IBM i professional want to use Orion when they can use a more powerful IDE like RDI? Reinhardt has an answer for you. “You can now edit RPG in a browser,” he says. “It doesn’t matter what device you’re on . . . . It can work with a tablet or a phone. James and I have had the pleasure of editing RPG on a tablet.”

    If the idea of editing free form RPG in a Web browser running on your iPad or Android tablet has your interest piqued, then you’re only a few short clicks from making it happen. However, while Orion is available from the open Web, you’ll need to get the IBM version if you want to edit RPG in a tablet. “It’s only the IBM i version of Orion that has . . . free form RPG highlighting. That’s the advantage of getting the IBM i version,” Reinhardt says.

    RELATED STORIES

    IBM i 7.3 Arrives April 15; 7.2 TR4 Follows in May

    A Peek At Upcoming Open Source Enhancements In IBM i

    Git To GitHub

    Share this:

    • Reddit
    • Facebook
    • LinkedIn
    • Twitter
    • Email

    Tags:

    Sponsored by
    Fresche Solutions

    ON-DEMAND SESSION

    Protecting Your IBM i Systems from Ransomware and Other Cyber Threats

    Zero-day attacks and ransomware threats are on the rise and data that resides on IBM i is not immune. Now is the time to learn how to defend it.

    Join Marcel Sarrasin, CPO, Fresche and Pauline Brazil Ayala, VP of Operations, Trinity Guard as they introduce you to TGSuite, the next generation of IBM i security tools and dive into IFS and network security to help you learn how to configure the defenses on your system and guard your valuable data.

    In the session, Pauline and Marcel will discuss:

    • What a secure system looks like in 2022
    • Cybersecurity and auditing, data-level reporting and job activity monitoring
    • Advanced exit point security – knowing and managing who has access to your IBM i
    • Setting up alerts on critical security events as they happen
    • Managing all your LPARs from one centralized web console

    Watch Now!

    Share this:

    • Reddit
    • Facebook
    • LinkedIn
    • Twitter
    • Email

    Sponsored Links

    System i Developer:  RPG & DB2 Summit - October 4-6 2016 in Chicago. Register now!
    COMMON:  Open Source and Systems Management at the COMMON Forum. August 24-25 in Chicago.
    Four Hundred Monitor Calendar:  Latest info on national conferences, local events, & Webinars

    Using Lateral Correlation To Define Expressions In DB2 For i IBM i Requirements: It’s About (To) Change

    One thought on “Get Your Git On, IBM i”

    • Rocket Gits Hip to Emerging IBM i Tech | Zion Tech Group Blog says:
      January 31, 2018 at 8:54 am

      […] introduced Git to IBM i with the release of IBM i 7.3 early in 2016, and by all accounts the software has been a major hit, […]

      Reply

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Volume 26, Number 33 -- August 8, 2016
THIS ISSUE SPONSORED BY:

Maxava
Fresche Legacy
Computer Keyes
Linoma Software
WorksRight Software

Table of Contents

  • IBM i Fundamental Strategy Unchanged, Always Changing
  • Big Blue Adds IBM i To EasyScale MSP Deal
  • Youth, Talent, Creativity Ported To IBM i
  • As I See It: Boob Job
  • Get Your Git On, IBM i

Content archive

  • The Four Hundred
  • Four Hundred Stuff
  • Four Hundred Guru

Recent Posts

  • Guild Mortgage Takes The 20-Year Option For Modernization
  • IBM i Licensing, Part 3: Can The Hardware Bundle Be Cheaper Than A Smartphone?
  • Guru: The Finer Points of Exit Points
  • Big Blue Tweaks IBM i Pricing Ahead Of Subscription Model
  • We Still Want IBM i On The Impending Power E1050
  • DRV Brings More Automation to IBM i Message Monitoring
  • Managed Cloud Saves Money By Cutting System And People Overprovisioning
  • Multiple Security Vulnerabilities Patched on IBM i
  • Four Hundred Monitor, June 22
  • IBM i PTF Guide, Volume 24, Number 25

Subscribe

To get news from IT Jungle sent to your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter.

Pages

  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Contributors
  • Four Hundred Monitor
  • IBM i PTF Guide
  • Media Kit
  • Subscribe

Search

Copyright © 2022 IT Jungle

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.