• RDi Debug Without SEPs

  May 17, 2016 Susan Gantner

  I wrote a tip way back in 2007 about how easy it is to start a debug session using Service Entry Points (SEPs). Back then, the tool was still called WDSC, and at that time I mentioned that there were some occasions when SEPs wouldn’t work. So what can you do if you’re in one of those situations? You can’t set an SEP on a program whose member type doesn’t end in LE. For example, with RPG or CLP programs. That’s not to say that you can’t debug non-LE programs when using SEPs–you simply can’t use one of those program

  … Read more

• Build SQL to Define Your Existing Files, Take 2

  May 17, 2016 Ted Holt

  Converting physical files to tables is a good thing to do, but if you work in the sorts of shops where I’ve worked, you already have more than you can do and you don’t have time to fix what isn’t broken. However, if I could make it easy for you, maybe you’d find the time to convert physical files where doing so is to most advantageous. Let me show you how easy it can be. First, you need a place to put the SQL DDL (data definition language) source. crtpf mylib/sqlsrc Second, you need an SQL client. I have used

  … Read more

• DB2 for i 7.2 TR3 and 7.1 TR11 Features

  May 17, 2016 Michael Sansoterra

  I was writing up some exciting stuff on the new IBM i 7.3 features when I realized I never finished reporting about other recent DB2 features! Below are highlights of some newer features offered starting in DB2 for i 7.2 TR3 and 7.1 TR11. Assign A System Name To A Global Variable Recall that when you create a global variable, behind the scenes SQL Server implements the variable’s logic and value retrieval logic as a service program. The following variable definition with a long name (>10 characters): CREATE OR REPLACE VARIABLE DEV.AVENGERS_TOWER VARCHAR(32) DEFAULT (SELECT ADDRESS FROM DEV.HERO WHERE

  … Read more

• AURA Hopes U.S. Modernization Crowd Has Silver Lining

  May 16, 2016 Dan Burger

  AURA Equipements CTO Sylvain Rubele says he knows of 4,000 IBM i shops that are integrating IBM i native applications within Web or desktop applications that run on Windows, Linux, and Unix operating systems. How does he know this? Because, by his count, they are AURA customers. Eighty percent of those reside in French-speaking European countries. He wouldn’t mind if that number was smaller, if the number of IBM midrange customers in the United States was larger. With the increasing emphasis on application and database modernization, Rubele expects to do better in that market. But if wishes were fishes, we’d

  … Read more

• IBM Finally Gets Power8 Machines On SoftLayer Cloud

  May 16, 2016 Timothy Prickett Morgan

  For a company that is so eager to prove the value of the Power processors at the heart of its Power Systems machines, IBM has sure taken its time getting Power8-based systems onto its SoftLayer public cloud. IBM talked about adding Power iron to SoftLayer’s datacenters in the wake of the acquisition of the hoster and cloud provider back in June 2013, and it had bold plans to double the footprint of that cloud and to make Power iron a peer to Xeon-based systems. These promised machines are now available, and they are, in an indirect way, a significant thing

  … Read more

• Free Form RPG Scores IBM i Innovation Award

  May 16, 2016 Dan Burger

  From the time free form RPG was introduced with IBM i 7.1 TR 7, expectations have been high. There’s been much talk about the potential for greatness, but only scattered reports of success. Finally, free form RPG is lighting up the scoreboard. Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corporation (AECC) is showing the way. It’s made free form RPG the cornerstone of future development, and its endeavors led to the 2016 COMMON-IBM Power Systems Innovation Award. The award was presented Sunday at COMMON‘s Annual Meeting and Exposition, which just got underway in New Orleans, Louisiana. AECC is based in Little Rock. It

  … Read more

• Zend Touts 2X Speedup With PHP 7 And New Runtime

  May 16, 2016 Alex Woodie

  The new release of Zend‘s PHP development language and PHP runtime will run twice as fast on Intel Xeon and IBM Power servers than previous versions, the company says. IBM i customers won’t need to do anything to take advantage of the speedup except use the new runtime, which should be available in the coming weeks. Zend, which is now owned by Rogue Wave Software, last week officially announced Zend Server 9, the newest version of the Zend runtime for Intel platforms. Zend Server 9 is based on PHP version 7, the newest version of the language, which

  … Read more

• Jazzing Up IBM i In COMMON’s Quarter

  May 16, 2016 Alex Woodie and Dan Burger

  New Orleans has taken on a decidedly IBM i tint thanks to the start of COMMON‘s Annual Meeting and Expo over the weekend. An estimated 1,100 attendees are in the Big Easy for the four-day show, which began Sunday morning with remarks by COMMON president Kevin Mort, and also featured a glimpse into the future of Power Systems, courtesy of IBM Power Systems executives Steve Sibley and Stephanie Chiras. The spring COMMON conference is still the biggest IBM i show on earth and provides attendees a chance to beef up their skills, socialize with other IBM i professionals, check

  … Read more

• When You Reach Your Break(ing) Point. . . Or Not

  May 10, 2016 Susan Gantner

  I’m always surprised at how well-attended my RDi debugging presentations are. After all, once you know about service entry points, there’s not a huge amount that’s new and radically different about debugging, even with RDi. Then again, I’m constantly learning new things. Here’s something I learned just last week, in fact. Let’s assume that you already have a debug session running on the troublesome program and we’ll look at setting and using breakpoints. The most obvious and common way to set one is to position your cursor on the statement where you want it. From there, you can use

  … Read more

• Sending Escape Messages From RPG, Take 2

  May 10, 2016 Hey, Ted

  In Sending Escape Messages from RPG, your program defines the message data parameter as 80 bytes, but the IBM manual (Send Program Message (QMHSNDPM)) defines the parameter as char(*), with notes saying it can be up to 32767. I would like a variable longer than 80, but instead of coding 100 today, 120 next project, and so on, I’m wondering how I could code it better to take full advantage of the API. –Glenn The short answer is that you don’t have to code the length. Let the compiler figure it out for you. Here’s an illustration that may

  … Read more

Previous Articles Next Articles