• Comparing RPG and SQL Functionality

  July 22, 2009 Hey, Mike

  Is there a book on how RPG operation codes and built-in functions translate to SQL? I’m trying to leverage my RPG coding skills to write logic in a DB2 stored procedure. That is, I know exactly what to do in RPG, but I don’t know the SQL equivalent. To determine the length of a city name, I would use RPG code like this: Eval CityLength = %Len(%Trim(City)) How would I do the same in a stored procedure SET statement? I have used the following to find a field length, but my field is an input parameter to the stored procedure.

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• Admin Alert: Treating IFS Objects Like Stream File Objects

  July 22, 2009 Joe Hertvik

  Even though AS/400 Integrated File System (AS/400 IFS) folders can contain the same type of stream file data as network file servers do, many administrators still don’t understand how to perform basic file functions such as checking out and checking in files, and changing properties for an AS/400 IFS Root (/) file object. This week, let’s review some basic but important functions you can perform on IFS stream file objects. Changing IFS File Properties The quickest way to change the attributes of IFS PC and Unix stream files is to use the Properties function IBM offers in iSeries Navigator (OpsNav).

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• The Case of the Missing .NET Data Provider for i5/OS in Visual Studio 2008

  July 15, 2009 Michael Sansoterra

  Note: The code accompanying this article is available for download here. Like most people, I hate purchasing something only to find out a piece is missing. If you’ve been merrily rolling along with Visual Studio (VS) 2005 and recently upgraded to 2008, or if you’ve started tinkering with some .NET tutorials with VS 2008, you may have noticed something odd. There’s a piece missing! The .NET Data Provider for i5/OS that comes with V6R1 System i Access does not appear as an option in the Visual Studio 2008 data source configuration wizard. (This tip only applies to the V6R1

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• Are MOVE and MOVEL Obsolete?

  July 15, 2009 Ted Holt

  I’ve been writing free-format RPG calculations for several years now, yet I still find myself missing a couple of old friends. No, I don’t mean GOTO and TAG. I refer to MOVE and MOVEL. Usually I can find a way to avoid them, but occasionally, it gets a bit difficult. For example, suppose I read an eight-digit numeric field that identifies a customer. Into this field are loaded two pieces of information. The first two digits are a company number. The last six digits contain a customer number. (This is by no means far-fetched; we have been doing this sort

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• Restoring Spooled File Data After a System Restore

  July 15, 2009 Hey, Joe

  I recently performed a complete i5/OS system restore, using my weekly system save and a current daily backup. During the restore, I cleared and restored my user libraries from the daily backup, except for the QUSRSYS or QGPL libraries, which were current. However, once we start saving output queues on i5/OS V5R4 (we’re still on V5R3), how should I restore QUSRSYS and QGPL, where our output queues reside? –Rich Although QUSRSYS and QGPL technically aren’t IBM libraries, on most systems they usually contain some user and third-party objects. Looking at one of my systems, here’s what I found in QGPL:

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• Microsoft Virtualization for the i Guys, Revisited

  July 8, 2009 Michael Sansoterra

  Some time ago, in an article entitled Developers Don’t Despair: Virtualize Your PC, I listed the benefits of using PC emulation software such as Microsoft‘s Virtual PC or VMware‘s VMware Workstation. In particular, I discussed why an IBM i specialist may find using a virtualized workstation helpful. These terrific products allow users to create a variety of operating system (OS) and software configurations without having to buy or revamp existing hardware. Best of all, the VMware Workstation is relatively low cost, and Microsoft’s Virtual PC product is free. As a brief reminder about Virtual PC, if you

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• Subqueries vs. Joins

  July 8, 2009 Hey, Ted

  Please settle a disagreement. Another developer claims that it is bad to use an SQL subquery if the same results can be achieved with a join. He says that database management systems can optimize joins better than they can optimize subqueries, which means that joins run faster than subqueries. Is this true? I seem to have heard somewhere that the query engine converts a subquery to a join when possible. –Dee If the other developer is experienced with database management systems other than DB2, than he may be correct. However, when it comes to DB2 for i, you are correct.

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• Admin Alert: Fine Tuning User Access with Application Administration

  July 8, 2009 Joe Hertvik

  Being a robust system developed over several decades, i5/OS has several valuable features that you may not be aware of. For example, the Application Administration function allows you to provide and deny access to many sensitive system functions. This week, I’ll look at Application Administration and demonstrate how it can help you obtain better control over what your users can and cannot do on the system. What is Application Administration? Application Administration is an optional plug-in for iSeries Navigator (OpsNav). It allows you to view and customize the following client- and server-based applications and functions associated with i5/OS processing: iSeries

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• V6R1 Run SQL Scripts: Print and Save Result Sets

  June 24, 2009 Skip Marchesani

  The ability to print a Run SQL Scripts result set and/or save it in Excel spreadsheet format has been on my wish list and that of others for a long time. V6R1 has fulfilled these wishes and by doing so has made Run SQL Scripts more functional and easier to use. Print capability is now a standard function when a result set is displayed. However the Run SQL Scripts option to “Allow Save Results” must be selected to be able to save a result set in Excel or other file format. To select this option, click on Options in the

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• No More Global Variables!

  June 24, 2009 Ted Holt

  Last December, I shared four ways to avoid problems caused by the use of global data in RPG programs. I mentioned that a discussion of i 6.1 (or as I call it, V6R1) data-localization features would have to wait for another day. Well, that day is here. With V6R1, it is possible to write programs that have no global identifiers. (By identifiers, I mean variables and constants. By variables, I not only mean scalar variables, but also arrays and data structures.) You only need to change two programming practices. First, lose the RPG cycle. It breaks my

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