A few weeks ago, I walked you through some of the enhancements that IBM has made in the SQL programming language and its DB2/400 database with the i5/OS V5R4 release, which came out in January. As I explained in the first part of this story, I have been watching SQL enhancements like a hawk since OS/400 V4R2 was announced many years ago. I am always eager to put the improvements IBM has given us into practice. The SQL in V5R4 has lots of new stuff.

But before I get into that, I want to remind you that IBM has a

The code for this article is available for download.

I’ve used the feature rich and reliable AS/400 ODBC driver for quite a while in my applications. When creating new applications, I would often switch to the alternative OLE DB providers to see if performance and features were comparable. However, I would always run into a limitation of some sort with the OLE DB provider (e.g., not being able to use the system naming convention) that would put me back to using ODBC. I’m happy to report as of V5R4 it looks like many of these limitations are gone.

In

Recently, I posted an experimental technique for the automatic deletion of inactive profiles. I cautioned my readers, however, to approach this task carefully, lest they accidentally delete needed profiles. I also invited any willing reader to fill in the gaps in the technique, and to point out where it needed improvement.

Several readers responded, uncovering a few nasty trap doors in what I had created. Here’s what they had to say and how I think the technique can be improved to meet their concerns.

The technique itself is too long to reprint here, so be sure to read the