Using RPG As Your ASP Language, Part 2

May 5, 2004 Howard Arner, Jr., and Holley Davis

Last week, we ran the first article in this two-part series, which described our experiences in creating a Web application, using RPG as our ASP language. We discussed the project we were attempting to create, its requirements, setting up the environment, and our first programming steps. In this article, we finish the project by adding interactive grids to the browser application, adding an additional drill-down to allow the viewing of physical file fields, and offer our conclusions about developing with ASNA‘s Visual RPG for Visual Studio .NET.

To catch you up, my partner and I had decided to create

Proper CL Error-Handling

May 5, 2004 Hey, Ted

When a CL program produces an unexpected error, we find the problem, fix it, and take option “I” (ignore) or “R” (retry) in response to the error message. However, when a user runs a program and encounters an unexpected error, we run into problems. The user might call us. The user might not call us. The user may pick the wrong option and really mess things up. What can we do?

–Sandra

You can prevent the user from seeing an inquiry message when something goes wrong. The first thing you need is a global monitor message (MONMSG) command that branches

Closing Files in ILE Service Programs

May 5, 2004 Hey, Ted

We’re moving all our new development to RPG IV and ILE, and as part of this process we are looking at putting our commonly used processes into service programs. Many of these functions require access to database files. For example, one function would retrieve the price of an item according to the area in which it is being sold, the date for which the price is applicable, and whether any discounts have been set up. This is quite a complicated procedure, and we want a simple function we can call that will prevent us having to code it separately each

Admin Alert: Hitting the Limits of the QNTC File System

May 5, 2004 Joe Hertvik

In a recent column, I discussed OS/400’s QNTC file system and its ability to treat Windows file systems as targets for ASCII and stream file operations. While QNTC is undeniably a good thing, I was incorrect in stating that QNTC lets you back up Windows data to an OS/400-based tape drive by using the Save Object (SAV) command. You can do this function, but only in one very specific OS/400 configuration.

The experience behind this statement occurred when a Windows network tape drive broke, leaving my shop without a reliable backup solution. “Great,” I thought, “I have an alternative: I

OS/400 Alert: Fix Central Is Now Firewall-Enabled

May 5, 2004 Shannon O'Donnell

This week’s “OS/400 Alert” lets you in on a couple of announcements from IBM. In addition, Microsoft has released a couple of security bulletins that you should be aware of. We’ll tell you where to go to learn more.

ISERIES SUBSCRIPTION SERVICE

One of the cool things about Symantec‘s Norton utilities is its capability to notify itself that new virus definitions are available. This makes it easy for you to keep current on virus protection because you do not have to remind yourself to check for updates every so often. IBM is now offering a similar service for