In a recent tip, I wrote about why I think MySQL is a great benefit to our platform. With its DB2 for i storage engine, MySQL allows yet one more way to access DB2 data. In this article, I’ll go into a few naming gotchas that can arise when using MySQL. But first I’ll describe some scenarios in which developers in today’s RPG shops may find themselves taking advantage of MySQL.

The first scenario is one I touched on in my last tip: the availability of a huge array of open source (i.e., free or nearly free) applications written

I stumbled upon the Inhibit Write (INHWRT) keyword parameter of the Override with Database File (OVRDBF) command recently while I was looking through the help text for something else. How long has the parameter been there? I can think of some ways to put it to work. Can you tell me something about INHWRT and how to go about using it?

–Bill

That parameter has been there forever, Bill, but I don’t think a lot of people know about it. I see it mentioned occasionally in online forums. I don’t consider it a terribly useful feature of i5/OS.

When you

My System i 550 disk space keeps filling up, and now it’s approaching 87 percent utilization. I’m worried it will be a major problem once storage tops 90 percent used. I’ve checked everything I can think of. Do you have any ideas for what could be eating up my disk space?

–Tim

This is a common issue that most shops face at one time or another. Here are some common places to search for memory hogs on your system.

1. Excessive spooled files–Some shops are spooled file pack rats, refusing to delete large numbers of spooled files, sometimes for