• Modern Lessons From A Fresh IBM i Developer

  October 8, 2018 Alex Woodie

  Application modernization is a big nut to crack on IBM i. That is to say, there are many ways to tackle the problem, from the code and business logic to the databases and user interfaces. But when it comes to the type of developers you should look for and how they should spend their time, Kody Robinson has a few pointers that may be worth keeping in mind.

  Robinson was a member of the first batch of “Fresh Faces” that IBM put forward in 2017 to showcase the fact that young people are building careers on the platform, and that …

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• ARCAD Debuts RPG Code Checker

  October 3, 2018 Alex Woodie

  If you write RPG, or know somebody who does, then you realize that mistakes can and will happen. However, beyond the obvious syntax errors, which should be detected immediately by the code editor, are instances where the code is sloppy or just poorly written. Those are the instances where ARCAD Software hopes to help with its new CodeChecker offering.

  ARCAD-CodeChecker, as the product is officially called, does just that: Detect poor quality RPG code before it makes it into production. If you’ve coded a bug into the program, made a design error, or taken 1,000 lines to write something that …

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• Guru: Three Little Words That Simplify Debugging

  August 29, 2018 Susan Gantner

  Author’s Note: The original version of this tip first appeared in March 2007. That was three renames ago for the toolset we now know as RDi. (It was WDSC then). Although RDi has seen many significant enhancements in the intervening years, not much about starting a debug session has changed. But the number of RPGers now using RDi for editing their code has grown dramatically, and many recent converts still struggle with getting a debug session started. So I think this tip bears repeating — with some name changes, updated images and relevant functional updates here and there.

  I had …

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• In Support Of IBM i Technical Competence

  August 20, 2018 Alex Woodie

  The lack of IBM i skills in the midrange community has been debated at great length, in this publication and other venues. Whether there’s a critical shortage of IBM i skills or not, nobody will argue with the fact that it’s important to keep one’s technical abilities up-to-date, which is the focus of a new educational outfit calling itself IBM i Competence that’s holding its first official event this week in Scandinavia.

  IBM i Competence was founded by Power Systems Champion Torbjörn Appehl earlier this year with the goal of providing targeted educational sessions on specific IBM i topics for …

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• CIO Summit Brings Execs Up To Speed On IBM i

  August 6, 2018 Alex Woodie

  The IBM i server is mystery to many. Not only does it run on abnormal hardware – at least compared to “standards-based” X86 computers – but its programming languages, user interfaces, and administrative tasks can seem otherworldly to the uninitiated. For Alan Seiden, the organizer of an IBM i-focused executive get-together known as the CIO Summit, dispelling the platform’s mystery represents something of a personal challenge.

  The next CIO Summit is in about two months, and Seiden, who’s a well-known PHP on IBM i expert as well as the founder and principle of the Seiden Group, is looking forward …

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• PTC Refines Handling Of IBM i Database Logic

  July 18, 2018 Alex Woodie

  More organizations are moving business logic from RPG and COBOL programs into the DB2 for i database, which most community members agree is a good thing. The IBM i server’s core strength is its integrated a database, after all. However, when business logic moves into the database, it requires customers to rethink how they’re managing the code, which is a mantle that PTC has taken up with its Implementer software change management (SCM) tool.

  When it comes to application modernization, fancy HTML5 screens and mobile apps usually grab the spotlight. We’re often moved by the things we can see, and …

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• Guru: Ready or Not! Part 4 of Big Changes in RDi V9.6, PDM Affinity with Object Table

  July 16, 2018 Susan Gantner

  I’m beginning to feel like a broken record — still more new RDi features with V9.6. I’m excited that there are so many great new features to talk about. In this tip, I’ll cover the primary feature added with fix pack update V9.6.0.3 — enhancements to the Object Table for PDM affinity.

  To me, the enhancements to the Object Table view to make it look and feel much more like PDM are the most significant in the release. There are some other smaller — but still very welcome — enhancements as well, which I’ll cover in a later tip.

  Why …

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• Yum, Liam Allan, and the Future of the Platform

  June 20, 2018 Alex Woodie

  It’s hard to believe, but Liam Allan has become a veteran at these things. He might be only 21 years old, but the young Englishman already has become a sought-after speaker on the IBM i event circuit and a respected voice for open source development. At COMMON’s recent POWERUp18 conference in San Antonio, Texas, Allan elaborated on Yum’s arrival on IBM i, his own open source work, and the future of the platform.

  Allan first appeared on the IBM i scene two years ago, when he won the 2016 COMMON Student Innovation Award for his work on the IBM i …

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• Q&A With IBM i’s AppDev Architect

  June 18, 2018 Alex Woodie

  During COMMON’s recent POWERUp18 conference in San Antonio, Texas, IT Jungle got a chance to sit down with Tim Rowe, the IBM i business architect for application development and systems management at IBM, to talk about what’s going on with application development on the platform. Here’s an edited version of that conversation.

  IT Jungle: So what’s happening in IBM i application development? What’s new up there in Rochester?

  Tim Rowe: In between all sorts of fun development stuff that we got going on back in the lab, I spend quite a bit of time talking with customers. We continue to …

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• What HelpSystems Is Up To Now

  June 13, 2018 Alex Woodie

  Thanks to a slew of acquisitions, HelpSystems has become one the largest independent software vendors in the IBM i marketplace, with tools spanning operations, security, backup, high availability, forms management, and capacity planning. A company representative recent sat down with IT Jungle at the recent COMMON PowerUp conference to talk about what’s new.

  HelpSystems didn’t have a single major product launch at the COMMON conference in San Antonio, Texas, two weeks ago. Instead the company used the event to showcase multiple enhancements, and to talk about future products — such as a security information and event management (SIEM) solution and …

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