Four Hundred Monitor, October 4

October 4, 2017 Dan Burger

Prior to the latest Technology Refresh announcements, which were just released yesterday, Tim Rowe, business architect for application development and systems management for IBM i, reviewed what was added to Access Client Solutions earlier this year. He also commented on the partnership between IBM and HelpSystems that resulted in development work on several IBM products being farmed out to the IBM i software vendor.

Inside Monitor this week, you’ll also find articles pertaining to open source database trends, what’s holding back IT hiring, Java technology on IBM i, and IBM’s leading role in Blockchain advancements. The calendar of events has been updated, too.

Top Stories From Outside The Jungle

(iTalk With Tuohy) Tim Rowe, business architect for application development and systems management for IBM i, discusses the latest enhancements for Access Client Solutions and the current and future development of Rational Developer for i now that IBM has farmed out some of the development work.

(IBM Systems Magazine) New computer hardware and enhanced internet interconnectivity don’t simply offer greater power and faster speeds, they allow for new possibilities. It’s in this environment where open-source databases (OSDBs) are increasingly relied upon. Linton Ward, IBM distinguished engineer for OpenPower solutions says, “This trend toward digitalization is causing new sources of data, new representations and new types of data in the database.”

(InformationWeek) IT hiring remains flat even though expectations based on the economy lead us to believe hiring should be on the rise. New technologies and practices that include virtualization, public cloud, software as a service and automation are reducing the need for people, according to the analysts at Computer Economics.

(Open Your i) IBM has been sharing its cutting-edge Java technology with the open-source community. At the same time, Java remains a vital language for IBM i applications and workloads. If you keep watch on Java technology for the platform, you’ve noticed how things are changing. And it probably grabbed your attention when IBM announced there would be Java 9 delivery for IBM i.

(The Coin Telegraphy) A Juniper Research survey indicates IBM is the top provider of Blockchain, a decentralized database technology that allows people to edit a shared ledger. It’s being described as having internet-level disruption potential across all industries. IBM piled up 43 percent of the survey votes. Microsoft was second with 20 percent.

Redbooks, White Papers, and Other Resources

(IBM) An overview of IBM i 7.3 TR3 includes enhanced analytics, new security capabilities, and other new functions in IBM i and associated licensed programs.

(IBM) An overview of IBM i 7.2 TR7 includes enhanced analytics, new security capabilities, and other new functions in IBM i and associated licensed programs.

(IBM) IBM i Access Client Solutions consolidates the most commonly used tasks for managing an IBM i environment into one simplified location. This website includes information on the features, a video intro to the product, and a download of the base package.

(IBM developerWorks) The IBM Rational Developer for i Hub is a place for the RDi community to mingle and discuss all things RDi. It also provides a library of useful RDi information and resources.

(ProData) The need for cross-platform access to remote databases from IBM i is an integral part of the strategy to increase productivity and implement real time processing in a distributed database environment. This paper explains how RPG, CL and COBOL applications can access remote databases using record-level access.

Chats, Webinars, Seminars, Shows, and Other Happenings

October 6 — Coppell, Texas – A one-day advanced SQL seminar is being presented by Birgitta Hauser at the IBM Innovation Center. Sessions topics include generating XML documents, consuming XML documents and Web services, creating and replacing DDS files with DDL files, and other advanced SQL features that reduce application development time and boost performance. Hauser is a software and database engineer focusing on RPG, SQL, and Web development on IBM i. She’s also a trainer for RPG and SQL developers, who frequently speaks at COMMON and other conferences and is the author of two IBM Redbooks.

October 16-17 — Minneapolis, Minnesota – The CIO Summit, an event focused on exploring ways to leverage IBM i investments, is open to a limited number of CIOs. Topics of discussion include common challenges faced by IBM i CIOs and IT directors, managing new technology, evaluating the cloud, hiring the right skills, delivering enhancements, and completing integrations and new applications on time and on budget. Requests for invitations are being handled online.

October 17-19 — Minneapolis, Minnesota – The twice-a-year, spring and fall, RPG & DB2 Summit returns to the upper Midwest for its next technical conference with an agenda that expands to cover new topics such as Python for RPGers, how to bring the power of Watson to RPG applications, and SQL aggregation. It also incorporates sessions that will introduce hidden gems in DB2 for i as well as anticipated Q4 2017 updates to the database. In addition to the three-day Summit, an optional fourth day of hands-on workshops October 16, provides intensive education into four technology areas — SQL, RSE/RDi, Service Programs or PHP. Workshop attendees choose one topic for the “deep dive.” An early registration discount is available through August 31.

October 16-20 — New Orleans, Louisiana – The IBM Power Systems and Storage Technical University agenda will include more than 600 technical sessions delivered by top IBM developers and experts. Topic areas include IBM i, AIX, Linux on Power, Open Power, Power hardware and software, and storage. Sessions and demos are geared to all skill levels. Take advantage of networking opportunities to connect with product developers and industry leaders and join in discussions on real-world IT challenges and successes

October 21 — Costa Mesa, California – IBM i expert and educator, Jim Buck, will lead this workshop on developing an SQL/Service program using free form RPG and RDi. This combined lecture and lab will demonstrate how to take a traditional subfile program and convert the disk I/O to SQL then move the database I/O to a service program. Learning objectives include the utilization of the RDi screen designer, use of free format RPG, use of SQL in an RPG service program, and use of subprocedures, modules and service programs in modern RPG applications. The fee for this one day of training is $50 for OCEAN user group members and $75 for non-members. It includes continental breakfast, lunch, and end-of-session hors d’oeuvres.

October 23–26 — Las Vegas, Nevada – ZendCon offers authoritative sessions, in-depth technical tutorials, exhibit hall activities, and informal opportunities to spotlight the best in enterprise PHP and open source development, focusing on the latest for PHP 7, the evolution of frameworks and tools, API excellence, and innovations on many open source technologies related to the web. It includes a track specifically for IBM i development.

October 24 — Mississauga, Ontario, Canada – A one-day workshop on modernizing RPG applications will be presented RPG subject matter expert Paul Tuohy. This workshop will focus on modern programming practices and tools that can transform old monolithic RPG applications into a modern, modularized form that makes them useful in the years ahead. During this session, attendees will take a sample application and follow it through the conversion process from RPG/400 (basic RPG IV) to RPG IV and ILE features, modularizing the code, adding DB2 UDB features and replacing the green screen with a graphical or browser-based interface. Registration is $249 for Toronto User Group members and $299 for non-members.