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Four Hundred Monitor, June 12
June 12, 2023 Jenny Thomas
One of the many nice things about the IBM i ecosystem is how we all try to look out for each other. Take reader Michael D. Mayer. Michael is a IBM i Power System Admin who developed and manages an “IBM i Reference Page” blog. He recently shared it with us in hopes that we could spread the word about this free resource, which is his contribution to the IBM i community. The blog is updated often and “It’s something I wished I had when I was working my way through the early days of the AS400, iSeries, i5, etc.,” …
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Rewriting IBM i RPG Software Is Almost Always A Bad Idea
October 13, 2021 Roger Pence
There are perils and pitfalls in attempting to rewrite your IBM i-AS/400 RPG applications. While there are some cases where such an attempt may be a good idea, you need to consider the big rewrite option carefully from every angle. It is often the worst step you can take.
As you start to realize that your IBM i RPG software, at least in its current form, is nearing the end of its useful life, rewriting your RPG application is an obvious alternative. We implore you to give this option very serious consideration before you jump into it. Rewriting a large, …
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Unit Testing Automation Hits Shift Left Instead of Ctrl-Alt-Delete Cash
March 3, 2021 Nick Blamey
In this time of the coronavirus pandemic, with its dual pressures of the uncertainty of the economy at a small and global scale and the fever pitch need to rapidly modernize applications, it is hard to know where to start. Given this scale of change, as a supplier of application modernization tools that are derived from both a strong IBM i heritage and the youth and strength of open source, you might think that ARCAD Software would be most interested in selling customers its entire toolbox.
Not necessarily – the answer all depends on your starting point. There is an …
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These ISVs Are Moving To Support IBM i 7.4
June 5, 2019 Alex Woodie
We’re just over halfway between the announcement of IBM i 7.4 and general availability. That means that IBM i 7.4 and all of its features – including the much-anticipated Db2 Mirror – are actually still in beta. IBM is hustling to take care of last-minute changes to the release before shipping the software, which is planned for June 21. Many of the independent software vendors sailing the IBM i waters are also gearing up for GA.
CNX will support IBM i 7.4 with Valence, its framework for developing modern IBM i applications, on June 21. “CNX will support it on …
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Guru: Refactoring RPG – Indicators
July 30, 2018 Ted Holt
Occasionally I hear someone comment about how terrible indicators are. I don’t think they’re bad. Indicator-laden RPG helped me graduate debt-free with a computer science degree and housed, clothed, and fed my family for several years. I prefer to say that indicators were good for their time, but now we have better programming techniques that I much prefer to use.
Refactoring code to reduce or even eliminate the use of predefined indicators (not indicator variables) can pay off big in benefits. The fewer indicators a program uses, the easier it tends to be to read, understand, modify, and debug that …
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Navigator For IBM i On A Zigzag Journey
October 30, 2017 Dan Burger
Navigator for IBM i provides system administrators with tools that prevent them from losing their marbles, or at least delaying that outcome until the boss mentions that grounds maintenance and window washing have been added to the list of sys admin responsibilities.
Navigator continues to receive updates and enhancements, mostly based on filling in holes in the features and functionality that the product it replaced already possessed. IBM also takes requests from current users, which also find their way into future enhancement. But for the unskilled user trying to climb the learning curve, Navigator can be a frustrating stumble from …
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Navigator For IBM i On A Zigzag Journey
October 28, 2017 Timothy Prickett Morgan
Navigator for IBM i provides system administrators with tools that prevent them from losing their marbles, or at least delaying that outcome until the boss mentions that grounds maintenance and window washing have been added to the list of sys admin responsibilities.
Navigator continues to receive updates and enhancements, mostly based on filling in holes in the features and functionality that the product it replaced already possessed. IBM also takes requests from current users, which also find their way into future enhancement. But for the unskilled user trying to climb the learning curve, Navigator can be a frustrating stumble from …
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Mad Dog 21/21: Vulcan’s Fury
August 15, 2016 Hesh Wiener
… Read moreWhen Vulcan gets riled, steer clear of volcanos. Be nice. Show him some respect. Admire his metalworking skills. Celebrate his holiday, Vulcanalia, on August 23. Don’t hurt Vulcan’s feelings as Pompeii apparently did. In 79 AD, Pompeii was buried alive in ash and lava. Vulcan is obviously implicated: Vesuvius erupted on August 24, right after Vulcanalia.
IBM, which has supported a huge study of Pompeii’s destruction, should know better than to trifle with Vulcan. But Big Blue has been vexatious, deprecating the hardware business. Vulcan is surely offended; he could strike at any moment. Watch out!
Pompeii And
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IBM Gearing Up For October Power Announcements
September 21, 2015 Timothy Prickett Morgan
… Read moreThe word on the street is that Big Blue is getting ready to make some announcements for the Power Systems platform in October, so brace yourself for more stuff. We are not sure exactly what IBM is gearing up to do, but we have heard some rumblings that will affect the IBM i customer base tangentially and perhaps, if we have our way, directly.
IBM likes to tie announcements to specific events, and personally, I would like for the new hardware, software, and services to be launched at the Power Systems and System Storage Technical University in Cannes, France, which
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BI On IBM i: A Fish Out Of Water
August 17, 2015 Dan Burger
… Read moreA fish discovers it needs water when it is no longer in it. A business discovers it needs data when it can’t get it. Or, in many cases, it can’t get the data it wants, when it’s wanted, and how it’s wanted. In the IBM midrange, the term “operational reporting” has been around forever. Because we have a habit of changing the names of old things to make them sound new, the term “business intelligence” is more favored. What matters is getting information in a timely manner and in a friendly format.
The underlying infrastructure doesn’t matter. Operational reporting is
