• An Alternative to Externally Described Printer Files

  April 14, 2004 Cletus the Codeslinger

  [The code for this article is available for download.]

  

  There is no shortage of ways to build a report from an iSeries database. IBM offers Query/400, Query Management, and SQL/400, but they’re all limited in one way or another. For example, Query/400 has to be told to read the library list, it has no conditional processing, it has limited calculation abilities, and passing parameters to a Query/400 query is hardly intuitive. There are many third-party query packages. Some run on the iSeries; some run on PCs. Many overcome the limitations of IBM’s query offerings.

  Nonetheless, most query

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• Performing Numeric Bitwise Comparisons in SQL and RPG

  April 14, 2004 Michael Sansoterra

  [The code for this article is available for download.]

  In the iSeries world, there isn’t a high demand for propeller-heads to write software that does bit manipulation. I’ve used bit manipulation on the iSeries a handful of times–once while writing a BASE64 routine to create binary e-mail attachments, once while communicating with a shop-floor device, and a few of other times for doing things like fixing decimal data errors.

  

  Each attempt to work with bitwise operations in RPG or SQL resulted in a new frustration. That’s because both environments do their bit manipulation and comparisons against strings,

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• V5R2 Security System Value Lock

  April 14, 2004 Hey, Wayne

  Editor’s Note: Security questions for the Four Hundred Guru are now being answered by Wayne O. Evans, one of the top OS/400 security experts in the world. Wayne designed security features on the AS/400 and S/38 during his 27 years at IBM and is a well-known and highly respected consultant, author, educator, and speaker. His security tips will become a regular item in Guru newsletters.

  The security reference manual for OS/400 V5R2 says, “New for V5R2, you can restrict users from changing several security-related system values. These restrictions can prevent even a user with *SECADM and *ALLOBJ authority from changing

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• OS/400 Alert: iSeries Movies, Tools, and More

  April 14, 2004 Shannon O'Donnell

  If you’ve ever wondered what IBM would do if it had a really great computing platform, a video camera, and a budget of at least six dollars, then have we got some great news for you! IBM has gotten into the movie business by releasing a series of videos showcasing the reliability of the venerable iSeries. Also in this issue, we alert you to a free study offered by IBM that might help you convince management to consolidate all those Linux and Intel-based servers onto the iSeries.

  

  A NEW TOOL TO PROMOTE THE ISERIES

  Being an iSeries professional, you

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• ILE in Practice

  April 7, 2004 Joel Cochran

  [The code for this article is available for download.]

  

  In previous articles I examined the various pieces of an ILE application, covering such topics as service programs, binder source, binding directories, and activation groups (see links to previous articles at the bottom of this page). This article walks through the process from start to finish. The front end application is made up for demonstration purposes, but the security service program and all of the methods demonstrated are being used in my shop today.

  All of the source code, /copy members, and file objects discussed in this article

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• Using Exception Breakpoints in WDSc

  April 7, 2004 Hey, David

  I have only been using WDSc (WebSphere Development Studio client) for a few weeks, so this may be an obvious question. How would you watch a variable in a Java program? Is there some way to trace a value or break when a certain condition is met? I hit F8 to run to my break point and hover the mouse over a variable to see its value. I just spent about two hours repeating this procedure to find out why my program was receiving a null pointer exception, even though I knew from the stack trace exactly what line the

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• Using Filters in the Remote Systems LPEX Editor

  April 7, 2004 Hey, Ted

  I have recently started to use the WebSphere Development Studio client (WDSc) LPEX editor to maintain RPG programs, and so far I am enjoying the experience. I would like to share a tip with readers of Four Hundred Guru who, like me, are working their way through the LPEX learning curve.

  

  –Lynn

  When editing with SEU, I often use the X and XX line commands to exclude lines that I do not wish to see. After issuing these commands, I can use SEU’s Find command or the Find/Change Options menu to display selected lines. LPEX has additional filtering capabilities that

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• Admin Alert: The Joys of Creating User Profile Information Files

  April 7, 2004 Joe Hertvik

  Inside an OS/400 partition, there are always questions about user profiles and how they are configured. These questions, including the last time user passwords were changed, which profiles have expired, and which users have which authorities, may require you to search through dozens of user profiles to get answers. I find it’s helpful to create and maintain a user profile information file for centralizing such information.

  

  A user profile information file contains the complete set of user profile parameters that are defined for one profile, a subset of your OS/400 user profiles, or all of the iSeries or AS/400 user

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• OS/400 Alert: Microsoft Previews Windows XP Service Pack 2

  April 7, 2004 Shannon O'Donnell

  Windows Service Packs come out so rarely that when they do it is a very big deal. The latest Service Pack from Microsoft, Service Pack 2 for Windows XP, is no exception. Microsoft has added a host of new features to this latest Service Pack and is making it available to you right now through a technology preview. Also in this issue we alert you to a cool new search tool from Google. Read on for more details.

  

  WINDOWS XP SERVICE PACK 2 PREVIEW

  If you like to be on the bleeding edge of things, and you are running

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• Step by Step: RPG IV and Interactive Web Pages

  March 31, 2004 Shannon O'Donnell

  [The code for this article is available for download.]

  

  I’m always surprised to talk to AS/400 programmers and discover how many shops still are not taking advantage of the Web. Most shops decide not to move from green-screen applications because they think the learning curve for Java is too steep or that learning CGI concepts and programming is too much work, and no one has offered any clear, simple examples. This article explains how easy it is to use RPG programming skills to build interactive Web pages.

  THE CONCEPT

  The basic concept of this article is to

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