FHG Volume: 7 Archives - Page 5 of 14

I Want My F15 Back!

August 29, 2007 Hey, Ted

I’m trying to get up to speed with WDSc. It’s getting better, but I’m not out of the woods yet. One SEU feature that I really miss is the ability to press F15 and browse another member. Using the Remote Systems Explorer and LPEX editor, I find myself following the navigation tree in order to open a member. Please make my day by telling me that LPEX has a function equivalent to SEU’s F15 key.

–Rick

OK, Rick, I’m going to make your day. LPEX has such a function.

While you are editing, hold down the control and shift keys,

…

Admin Alert: Magical & Mysterious iSeries Access CWB Programs

August 29, 2007 Joe Hertvik

Admin Alert: Magical & Mysterious iSeries Access CWB Programs

IBM‘s iSeries Access for Windows package includes a little advertised set of CWB batch utility programs that extend iSeries Access functions beyond the core package. These DOS-based programs perform many valuable functions including backing up and restoring an iSeries Access installation and caching passwords for automatic system i logons. This week, I’ll examine these two CWB functions and discuss how they can provide additional capability to Windows machines.

What Are iSeries Access CWB Programs?

The CWB batch utility programs have a long history with iSeries Access for Windows, where some

…

If the Compiler Can’t Find the Mistake, Maybe You Can

August 22, 2007 Ted Holt

Programs should not break when people change them, yet they often do. Sometimes programs break when programmers modify only one of two things that have to stay in sync. Compilers can’t always catch such errors, but you often can.

For example, suppose that you are developing a program with a control break. Regardless of what language you are using, you will need a holding variable for each control field in order to test when a control field changes. Here’s an example of such a variable.

D SaveItemNo      s                   like(ItemNo)

ItemNo is a database field. SaveItemNo is defined to be like

…

Commands with Generic Parameters

August 22, 2007 Hey, Ted

A while back you posted a tip regarding DLTF with a generic file name. It works great! I needed to copy a physical file and its related logical files to another library. I decided to prompt the CRTDUPOBJ command and was delighted to find that the OBJ parameter can specify a generic name! The file names were similar, with a slight difference in their suffix, so I was able to duplicate multiple objects with one command. Lesson learned: prompt a command once in a while and read all the parameters. Something may have been missed or added in a

…

Troubleshooting NetServer File Copy Errors

August 22, 2007 Hey, Joe

I just authorized a user for read-write access to an iSeries NetServer file share in the QDLS file system on my system i machine. However, when he tries to copy a text file to that folder, he gets a Windows error saying ‘Cannot copy file: Access is denied. Make sure the disk is not full or write-protected and that the file is not currently in use.‘ I can write to the QDLS folder and he has the same authority that I do. Do you know what’s going on here?

–Bob

It’s been my experience that this error is

…

Let WDSc Help You Format Your Source Code

August 8, 2007 Ted Holt

It’s widely accepted throughout the world of programming that indenting source code to show logical structure makes source code easier to read. Program Indentation and Comprehensibility, a study by Richard Miara, Joyce Musselman, Juan Navarro, and Ben Shneiderman, supports this position. Miara, et al, determined that using a two- to four-space indentation scheme improves comprehension by 20 percent to 30 percent. (That’s for humans, of course. The compiler protested that indentation was of no benefit.) Indenting source code is sometimes a nuisance, but it happens that WebSphere Development Studio client (WDSc) can help you indent source code, and can

…

Which One Is the Culprit?

August 8, 2007 Hey, Ted

I am using the MAX function in a SQL statement to get the maximum value from a few columns. I don’t know which element is producing the maximum value. Is there a way to identify the element that has the maximum value?

–Hisham

Yes, Hisham. Thanks for allowing me another opportunity to show off that most versatile of SQL features: CASE.

For the benefit of the readers, here’s the SQL statement Hisham sent to me.

SELECT max(WK01, WK02, WK03, WK04) FROM SALES

Here’s the sort of results his SQL query generates.

 
MAX 
===
100 
120 
150

He has the maximum

…

Admin Alert: Eliminating Easy-to-Guess User Passwords

August 8, 2007 Joe Hertvik

A chronic System i security problem is that without proper system configuration, users can create easy-to-guess and easy-to-hack passwords when they use the PC5250 Change iSeries Password function, the Change Password command (CHGPWD), or the Change User Profile command (CRTUSRPRF) to change their passwords. This week, I’ll look at some simple system configurations you can perform to ensure that user-created passwords are always sufficiently complex for system security.

What I Mean By Easily Guessed Passwords

Easily guessed passwords include any user password that a middle school student could reasonably guess if they just have a little information about the person

…

Use WDSc to Develop XSL Transformations

August 1, 2007 Ted Holt

I use WebSphere Development Studio client (WDSc) often for editing RPG, CL, command, and DDS source code. I was happy to learn recently that WDSc also works well for the development of XSL transformations. I don’t consider myself a pro at it, but I’m finding WDSc so helpful with my XML projects that I wanted to go ahead and share something of what I’ve learned so far.

First, I need to mention that I am currently using WDSc 6.0.1. I have tried XSL transformations under the full product and WDSc Lite, and both have worked well for me so far.

…

Have Your Cake and Eat It, Too

August 1, 2007 Hey, Ted

Recently one of my superiors walked into my cubicle and asked for some information. I was in the middle of another task and didn’t want to be side-tracked, so I hurriedly ripped out an SQL query to satisfy his request. A little while later he was back in my office asking me to run a fresh copy of the query, and while I was at it, to total some of the columns. This last request threw me for a loop, so I used Query/400. Could I have satisfied his request with SQL?

–D

I thought I had covered this situation

…

Previous Articles Next Articles

Search for: