• Free RPG Editor is Open Source, Runs on Linux

  September 15, 2009 Alex Woodie

  RPG programmers who are looking to escape the limitations and fees associated with IBM‘s flagship RPG editor, Rational Developer for i (RDi), now have another option with RPG Next Gen, a free and open source RPG editor that is based on Eclipse and runs under Linux. Created by Mihael Schmidt of Germany, the RPG Next Gen project is still fairly young, but it shows promise as a lightweight and easy-to-use source code editor. RPG Next Gen was released to the public at version 0.5.1 in May, and was updated to version 0.5.1 last month. The software and its

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• New Software Provides CL With Direct Database Access

  September 15, 2009 Dan Burger

  Old habits may die hard, but here’s one (or more) that will pass with few tears being shed or remorse being noted. IBM i programmers in the CL camp take note. All the time consuming grunt work you put into gaining access to database information using RPG, COBOL, or C user interfaces are no longer necessary. A new product called CL for Files (CLF) not only provides direct database access for CL commands, but also support for accessing both display files and print files. That clacking sound you hear are shackles being released. Bruce Vining–an ex-IBMer with enough OS/400 (i

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• Profound Gives a Speed Boost to 5250 Screen Converter

  September 15, 2009 Alex Woodie

  Application modernization is a high priority at many System i shops these days, but few of them have the time or money for a head-to-toe makeover. That leaves tactical green-screen-to-Web modernization tools, such as Genie from Profound Logic, a decent option for those wanting to get moving quickly. Earlier this month, Profound unleashed an upgrade to the on-the-fly modernization tool that brings back-end performance enhancements, as well as new screen customization options on the front-end. Profound unveiled Genie more than two years ago to provide i Power Systems, System i, iSeries, i5, and AS/400 shops with a quick way

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• i OS Twitter Utility from Kisco Gets More Useful

  September 15, 2009 Alex Woodie

  Kisco Information Systems‘s SNDTWEET utility got more useful earlier this month when the company added automatic file monitoring capabilities. The new feature automatically posts a “tweet” to the Twitter Web site whenever a database record is accessed, changed, or modified, providing a handy way to monitor file activity on the System i server. SNDTWEET, which Kisco rolled out in April, turns the Twitter Web service into an extension of an i OS server for systems management and communication purposes. The software basically enables messages, logs, or communications originating from the i OS server to be displayed on the

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• Transoft to Use ASNA’s System i Modernization Tools

  September 15, 2009 Alex Woodie

  Transoft and ASNA, two longtime competitors in the System i modernization and code migration business, are now working together as partners thanks to a technology agreement hashed out by their parent companies, IRIS and BluePhoenix Solutions, respectively. Transoft, which is based in Atlanta, Georgia, has completed hundreds of code migration and modernization projects involving AS/400, VAX, HP3000, and other business systems. The company continues to operate as its own entity, even though it was acquired in 2005 by the British company Computer Software Group, which in turn merged with another private British firm, IRIS Software Group, in a

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• New i OS Security Firm to Offer Multiple Wares, Services

  September 15, 2009 Dan Burger

  Cilasoft an international software company based in France that specializes in security, audit, and compliance software for the IBM Power Systems server (also known as the System i, iSeries, and AS/400) platform, has contracted with IT Security and Compliance Group to build sales in the U.S. market. Cilasoft has clients in more than 40 countries around the globe, ranging from small businesses to large multinational corporations, but has had minimal impact in the USA. IT Security and Compliance Group is a new company led by Dan Riehl, a System i security expert and the founder of PowerTech Group, a

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• ACOM Re-engineers Workflow in EZContent Manager, Hires Channel Master

  September 15, 2009 Alex Woodie

  ACOM Solutions issued a new release of EZContentManager last month that features a completely re-worked workflow module that ACOM claims is more intuitive to use while maintaining full audit controls. The Southern California company also announced the hiring of a new vice president of channels, Joe Torano, who previously worked at FormScape, VillageEDOCS, and IBM. EZContent Manager was launched by ACOM four years ago to fill the entry-level content management and document storage needs of mid-market companies, including IBM System i shops. The software, which delivers index, archiving, and search capabilities to users through a Web browser, is

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• Robot/CONSOLE Manages Logs for Multi i Machines

  September 15, 2009 Alex Woodie

  Help/Systems this month added a new “host mode” capability to its Robot/CONSOLE utility that allows it to manage the messages, logs, and other i OS resources of multiple Power Systems and System i machines from a single display. The update also brings new reports that consolidate the information, including a “good morning” report that shows messages and logs generated overnight. Robot/CONSOLE is an i OS systems management tool that helps to automate System i operations by collecting and filtering thousands of messages generated daily by a typical system. The software does the grunt work of sifting through messages and log

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• Symtrax Updates Archive with Security and Search Improvements

  September 15, 2009 Alex Woodie

  Symtrax, a developer of document management and spool file solutions for the i OS Power Systems server, recently issued a new release of Compleo Archivor, its Windows-based document archive product. With version 4.6, Symtrax has added closer support for Microsoft‘s Active Directory user authentication service, as well as more advanced search options. As its name suggests, Compleo Archivor is an electronic archive for business documents. The software accepts documents in many formats, including i OS spool files and output from JD Edwards and SAP ERP systems, and transforms them into PDFs. Along the way, Archivor generates an index

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• The Feeds and Guessed Speeds of Power7

  September 14, 2009 Timothy Prickett Morgan

  Just before The Four Hundred went on hiatus, I told you that IBM would be making a presentation about the forthcoming Power7 processors at the Hot Chips 21 conference hosted by the IEEE at Stanford University. And indeed, the top techies working on the eight-core Power7 processors did raise the curtains a little bit about the future brains of the Power Systems lineup, which are due in 2010. IBM confirmed to me a little more than a year ago that the Power7 chips would have at least eight cores and would be made using a 45 nanometer process in Big

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