Four Hundred Monitor, November 29
November 29, 2017 Dan Burger
The modernization of RPG applications begins with modern RPG development skills. There are several ways to upgrade RPG skills or introduce developers to RPG for the first time. One of them is to connect with Jim Buck. He has 15 years of teaching RPG at the collegiate level, co-authored an RPG textbook, and anchored the team that established the RPG certification test.
This week in Monitor, we have the transcript of Paul Tuohy’s interview with Buck, along with articles on the rise container-style application development, dealing with digital transformation disruption, and both sides of the looming FCC decision on net neutrality.
Top Stories From Outside The Jungle
(iTalk With Tuohy) Jim Buck taught RPG at the college level for 15 years and estimates more than 150 of his students are coding RPG professionally. But eventually he thought there must be a better way to teach RPG to more people. Here’s what he’s come up with.
(CBR) In the November 15 issue of IT Jungle, we published a story about gaining IBM i support for the container platform provider Docker. If that story interested you, this one will as well. Docker’s popularity spans a variety of tech roles and says a lot about the way technology has changed during the last five years. And btw, Docker is the number one tool tech professionals plan on learning in 2018
(TechCrunch) It’s clear by now that companies recognize that digital transformation or modernization or whatever you choose to call it is a very real concept that can help stave off disruption. Kodak was certainly an early victim of digital disruption, but the company was not simply passive or unaware.
(Chicago Tribune) Net neutrality is the principle that internet providers should make all content available at the same speed. The FCC is poised to vote next month to repeal it. Here’s a quick look at both sides of the issue to bring you up to speed on the topic that will affect your browsing and streaming experiences.
Redbooks, White Papers, and Other Resources
(IBM) A small library of IBM i videos are available for your viewing pleasure at this website. They are not technical, but they provide valuable insights into what IBM i can do, and is doing, for businesses around the globe. If you need to explain to management how IBM i is built for business, you’ll get help here.
(IBM) Navigator for i provides a range of system management and performance analysis features for IBM i. Compare it to the old System i Navigator and see what there is to gain.
(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) This document provides a basic understanding of IBM i on Power Systems performance concepts, workloads and benchmarks. It includes system sizing and capacity planning, performance tools, and Power8 and virtualization performance.
Chats, Webinars, Seminars, Shows, and Other Happenings
December 12 & 13 — Virtual Conference – Two days of online education hosted by the COMMON user group. The session agenda includes topics such as Db2 for I, security, SQL, cloud adoption, open source, IT strategy, OS upgrade planning, and Watson integration. Registration is free and open to the public. If you can’t attend live, registering will provide you with 30 days of free access to the session recordings.
March 19-22 — Las Vegas, Nevada – Think 2018 is a new IBM conference that highlights topics such as IT transitions to the cloud, data and analytics, application development, IBM research, the Internet of Things, IT infrastructure, mobile, security, collaboration, and Watson. Programs available for C-level executives, IT managers, developers, and academics.
March 20-22 — Dallas, Texas – The twice-a-year, spring and fall, RPG & DB2 Summit returns to the Southwest for its next technical conference with an agenda of in-depth sessions that covers new and traditional topics. In addition to the three-day Summit, an optional fourth day of hands-on workshops provide intensive education into popular IBM i development technologies.
May 20-23 — San Antonio, Texas – PowerUp 18 (formerly the COMMON Annual Meeting and Exposition) is the largest IBM i educational event of the year. It includes more than 300 sessions related to IBM i, as well as AIX and Linux. Open source, high availability, security, DB2, and application development are a few of the popular skill-building topics. The agenda includes all-day pre-conference workshops, open labs, and a wide variety of lecture-type sessions presented by subject matter experts. Pre-conference workshops (May 19) are also planned. An early registration discount ($1,695 for members; $1,995 for non-members) is available through December 31.
