To the traditional IBM i programmer, the Web can be a strange and scary place. It is full of new mysterious terminology and seems to be populated by 12-year-olds.

But the reality is that the Web now plays an integral part in our applications, whether it is in providing a company face to the world or simply for internal systems. So, like it or not, it is a world we have to come to grips with.

In this series of three articles, I hope to help you to navigate your way to the Web, understand some of the

Hey, IBM i Professional:

I’ve heard it said that it’s the little things that kill you. Maybe so. I am certain that little errors in computer programs can ruin a good night’s sleep. Today’s tip is an easy one that I’ve published before, but not in this newsletter. I’m running it today because an FHG reader recently told me that this simple, easily avoided error had occurred in the shop where she works. Everyone who writes CL programs needs to know this one.

The malfunctioning program had a Copy File (CPYF) command that looked like this:

CPYF FROMFILE(AAA) TOFILE(BBB) MBROPT(*REPLACE)

i/OS password security is very robust and you can set up a number of password composition rules by using it. But sometimes you need to step outside the normal boundaries of password system values and enforce additional restrictions that can’t be created only with standard i/OS password security. That’s where a password approval program comes in handy.

A password approval program is a custom-written program that runs after a newly created user password has been validated by your normal password security system values. An approval program is valuable in that it can add organization-specific password validation tests to your system.