• Why You Need To Implement Exit Point Security – Now

  June 15, 2020 Rich Loeber

  As everyone knows, the only truly secure computer is one that is not networked to any other system or any client, and that has no users doing anything at all on the system. And if you really want to be honest about it, you should probably turn its power off. Then, it would be perfectly secure – and perfectly useless as well.

  To make any system useful, it has to be opened up so it can be reached by the world, and it may be hard to remember this now, three decades after the client/server and Internet revolutions, but there …

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• Guru: SUBSET on EXECUTE and OPEN

  June 15, 2020 Paul Tuohy

  The DB2 for i Enhancements in IBM i 7.3 Technology Refresh 8 / IBM i 7.4 Technology Refresh 2 just made dynamic SQL, embedded in RPG, a lot easier to use. It includes an enhancement entitled USING SUBSET on EXECUTE and OPEN with Extended indicators. This enhancement provides a simple and effective solution to a problem that I first highlighted in an article I wrote back in September of 2015. (See A First Look At SQL Descriptors.)

  The “problem” we are dealing with is how to handle a variable number of host variables being used in a dynamic …

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• Four Hundred Monitor, June 15

  June 15, 2020 Jenny Thomas

  We survived another week, which in 2020 is probably something to celebrate. And it appears our industry is beginning to wake up as we are starting to see a little more news that isn’t directly related to COVID-19, although it will be some time before the pandemic is out of the conversation and its impact has forever changes the way we will do many things. Travel is still not on the radar for most, but it will be interesting to see what the summer brings. In the meantime, the online game is strong so be sure to check out what’s …

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• IBM i PTF Guide, Volume 22, Number 24

  June 15, 2020 Doug Bidwell

  Another week, and another security bulletin for vulnerabilities in open source software. This time, it is CVE-2020-1927 and CVE-2020-1934 in Apache HTTP Server that affect IBM i. You can read more about it at this link. The PTFs that fix it are:

  • Release 7.4: SI73415
  • Release 7.3: SI72840
  • Release 7.2: SI72748

  Here is the rundown by operating system release level:

  PTF Groups 7.4:

  • HIPERs (High Impact/Pervasive)
  • IBM MQ for IBM i – V7.1.0/V8.0.0/V9.0.0

  PTF Groups 7.3:

  • HIPERs (High Impact/Pervasive)
  • IBM MQ for IBM i – V7.1.0/V8.0.0/V9.0.0

  PTF Groups 7.2

  • Nothing to see here.

  PTF Groups 7.1

  • Nothing to see

  …

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• IBM Wheels And Deals With Solution Edition Booster Pack

  June 8, 2020 Timothy Prickett Morgan

  A few weeks ago, we told you about the double memory and double I/O request for price quote (RPQ) special deals that IBM quietly rolled out in April without putting out any announcement letters and that are still in effect until June 30. So consider this a reminder that these deals are still out there and now is a good time to invest in new Power9 iron if you want to pay less for it than you otherwise might.

  But that is not all you can get. As it turns out, Big Blue is revamping its IBM i Solution Edition …

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• Thoroughly Modern: Top Five Reasons To Go Paperless With IBM i Forms

  June 8, 2020 Stephen Flaherty

  As offices closed and employees began working from home earlier this year, a significant challenge arose for companies that rely on printed spool files and IBM i documents. If employees were not in the office with access to a printer, how would they get checks, invoices and other documents to the people who need them? IT departments were already scrambling to enable employees to work remotely, and suddenly they were faced with the urgent need to electronically distribute documents.

  A lot of organizations weren’t prepared to change the way they do business overnight and much of this burden fell on …

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• Guru: Graphical Debugging Through ACS

  June 8, 2020 Ted Holt

  ACS (IBM i Access Client Solutions) keeps getting better and better. I can’t stay up-to-date with the latest releases of all the software I use, but I do everything I can to keep up-to-date with ACS. One of the handiest of the relatively most recent releases is the ability to access IBM i Debugger through Run SQL Scripts. If you haven’t tried IBM i Debugger, you’re missing out.

  IBM i Debugger (a.k.a. System Debugger) is part of the IBM Toolkit for Java. It’s graphical, and it makes the green-screen debugger (STRDBG) look like something built by cavemen. To show you …

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• Unit Testing Gets A Boost With ARCAD

  June 8, 2020 Alex Woodie

  “If you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it.” The famous management consultant Peter Drucker said those words to relate his philosophy on achieving business success. He didn’t know it at the time, but they would also apply to software development, including the testing of software, which is an area that ARCAD Software knows a thing or two about.

  ARCAD Software has been a leader in IBM i testing for many years. It started with Verifier, the company’s flagship regression testing tool, which forms a part of its suite of DevOps tools for IBM i. Verifier helps developers ensure that …

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• IBM i PTF Guide, Volume 22, Number 23

  June 8, 2020 Doug Bidwell

  Some weeks are crazy when it comes to PTF patches with IBM i, and some weeks are relatively quiet. And thankfully, after a particularly crazy couple of months in the world, the patch load is pretty light this week.

  Here is the rundown by operating system release level:

  PTF Groups 7.4:

  • QMGtools
  • SAP Support Required PTF List

  PTF Groups 7.3:

  • QMGtools
  • SAP Support Required PTF List

  PTF Groups 7.2:

  • QMGtools

  PTF Groups 7.1

  • SAP Support Required PTF List

  The new or updated links in the IBM i PTF Guide sheet this week are:

  • System: Software Servers Table

  This week’s tip …

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• What’s Behind Syncsort’s Rebranding As Precisely?

  June 1, 2020 Alex Woodie

  Syncsort, the company that merged with Vision Solutions three years ago and acquired several IBM i security firms, has changed its name to Precisely. According to chief executive officer Josh Rogers, the new name is a better reflection of what the company has become following its acquisition of Pitney Bowes’ data and software business: laser-focused on data integrity.

  The name change has been a long time in coming, according to Rogers, who took the helm at Syncsort in 2016. While the Syncsort brand has been around for 50 years, the company’s focus has shifted considerably from the early …

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