The weak link in virtually every IBM i RPG application is the green user interface. For years, now, band aids and half-measures have been used to try to fix the problem. But no one solution has really solved the problem appropriately. That’s where ASNA Wings®comes in. ASNA Wings lets you easily create an alternative browser-based user interface for your RPG programs. Wings doesn’t require invasive changes to your RPG and includes a browser-based emulator for use with non-enhanced displays.
While using a queue can be as simple as write and read, sometimes you need a little extra, and that's where keyed data queues come in.
Written by Joe Pluta
On the IBM i, it's easy to create a physical file that has no keys and write to and read from that file (it's a little harder in the non-IBM i SQL world, but it can be done). A simple data queue is like an unkeyed physical file: you add records to the file and then read them off in sequential order. You can jump around by relative record number, but we really don't use that technique a lot these days, at least not in production programs. Instead, we key our files and use those keys to access the data.
ABSTRACT for RDP gives you the ability to create a cross-reference of system objects and procedures, helping you multitask easily and spend less time editing, compiling, and debugging programs. It increases productivity across the development process by making it easier to organize, track, and analyze code.
ABSTRACT also allows you to edit source with a built-in LPEX editor or with IBM's CODE editor, and Tree View gives you quick access to the objects currently loaded into the cross-reference. It also helps document and analyze applications with graphical flowcharting.
Retrieve the subsystem your job is currently in via the undocumented QMNSBS API.
Written by Junlei Li
This article is the first of a series of articles to memorialize Simon Coulter, an outstanding IBM i expert who contributed so much to the prosperity of the IBM i platform. Loved by many developers from the IBM i community, he was one of the giants in the industry, on whose shoulders others could stand and reach for new heights. I deeply appreciate Gwen Hanna, Simon's partner, for providing the biography of Simon at the end of this article.
Written by Joe Pluta
Written by Junlei Li