1. Using Multiple Member Files with ODBC

Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) is an industry standard that IBM is actively promoting. With a properly configured ODBC driver, you can access data in AS/400 database files from programs on your PC. Some popular programs used with ODBC include Micr

2. ODBC Guide Available

A new publication providing details of using the CA/400 ODBC driver is available from IBM. The title of this manual is Client Access/400 for Windows 3.1 Client for OS/400 ODBC User’s Guide Version 3.1.1 (and the short title isn’t much short

3. An Improved Host Command for Windows

Program Requirements

4. Prevent the Windows 'Insufficient Memory' Error

When you try to run many programs at the same time in Windows, you can get the “Insufficient memory to run application” error. You might be able to work around this condition by altering the order in which you start programs. But sometimes,

5. Copy-and-Paste with the AFP Viewer

The AFP Viewer program, provided with the V3R1M1 Client Access/400 refresh, provides a copy-and-paste function that you might find useful. If you are currently viewing spool files in an emulation program, you might have problems copying the portion o

6. How to Create an Exit Program

What an Exit Program Does

7. Graphical Access for OS/400

It seems that, one way or another, IBM is determined to provide a GUI interface to the AS/400. In addition to the previously introduced Graphical Operations and System Object Access, we now have Graphical Access for OS/400 (GA). GA is available with

8. Visual Basic APIs to Work with Pointers

If you’re working with the PC Support or Client Access/400 APIs to develop Visual Basic programs, you soon discover that you need to be able to pass and dereference pointers. For example, the data transform APIs, used to convert numeric values f

9. Distributed Data Management: From There to Here

Suppose you work with a network of several AS/400s located in different branches of your company. One day, you need to get a several hundred line source program to another machine. What do you do? A. Fax the listing and rekey the source program. B.

10. The Distributed Program APIs

With no fanfare whatsoever, IBM introduced a major new API set for the Windows client of Client Access/400. This set, collectively known as the Distributed Program APIs, is available with the System Object Access function. Simply stated, the APIs let

11. The NSD.INI and PCS.INI Files

The Client Access/400 for Windows client follows the Windows convention of storing program parameters in text files. These are known as INI or initialization parameter files. The files are easily recognized by the three character INI file name extens

12. Understanding Display Station Pass-through

Display Station Pass-through (DSPT) is a system-provided Advanced Program-to- Program Communications (APPC) function that you will need to work with in your AS/400 network. Simply configuring your AS/400s into an Advanced Peer-to-Peer Networking (APP

13. System Object Access--Application or API?

One of the more unusual components of the V3R1 Client Access for Windows 3.1 client is the recently available System Object Access, or SOA. Available now as a suite of PTFs, and scheduled to be shipped with the refresh shipment of CA/400, SOA provid

14. Embedding Database Access GUI Queries in Excel

In the May/June 1995 issue of PC Support Expert, I described the Database Access GUI (DAGUI) program provided with Client Access/400 for Windows 3.1. That program lets you create queries that run against AS/400 database files, using the ODBC driver p

15. Start Multiple PC5250 Sessions

In DOS PC Support, there is an option in WSF to configure a Master Session Profile. The Master Session Profile contains the names of up to five display and printer sessions that you can start as a group.When you convert to the Windows client of Clien

16. The Display Message Text (DSPMSGTXT) Command

The Display Message Text (DSPMSGTXT) command is used to display the text of a message when all you know is the message identifier. This command is useful because OS/400 includes many message files in several different libraries. Unless you are famili

17. Shadowing the SNADS Directory

Brief: Although it is advantageous to have specific directory entries for each remote user, synchronizing directories among machines is difficult if done manually. You can use *ANY entries in the directory to represent remote users, but this approach

18. The Duplicate Message Description (DUPMSGD) Comman

The Duplicate Message Description (DUPMSGD) command allows you to duplicate a message in a message file. The duplicated message can be in the same or different message files. If the message is duplicated to a different message file, the message ID ca

19. The Scan Variable (SCNVAR) Command

QCLSCAN is an IBM-supplied program that allows you to scan a string to see if it contains a particular pattern. The Scan Variable (SCNVAR) QUSRTOOL command provides a command interface to the QCLSCAN program. The SCNVAR command uses the same paramete

20. Designing SNADS Directories

Brief: Two major configuration tasks must be completed before you can use SNADS to send objects between systems. The first task includes defining distribution queues, the routing table, and the secondary system name table. The second is designing the

21. Sending Files with SNADS

Brief: In a previous article, we showed how to configure SNADS so you can send spool files and messages between two systems. This article shows how to send save files and database files with SNADS. Although you use all of the same SNADS components-di

22. The Print AS/400 Calendar (PRT400CAL) Command

This month we present a tool that could be useful to just about anyone in your organization. The Print AS/400 Calendar (PRT400CAL) command prints a year's worth of monthly calendars in an 8.5-by-11 format. You can print a calendar for any year in the

23. Getting Started with SNADS

Brief: OS/400 includes extensive intersystem communication capabilities, built upon a foundation of APPC and APPN. Display Station Pass-through, PC Support, OfficeVision mail and System Network Architecture Distribution Services (SNADS) are examples

24. Menu Design & Implementation w/ Graphical DDS: #2

Brief: When you use GDDS to define menu bars and drop-down menus, you can choose from three types of pulldown menus. The first type is a multiple-choice menu. The second type, the single-choice pulldown menu, is the most commonly used and is easy to

25. The Scramble Bytes (SCRAMBLE) Command

The Scramble Bytes (SCRAMBLE) command can be useful when you want to store sensitive data. The SCRAMBLE command does just what its name implies-it scrambles or unscrambles any character string, up to a length of 256. It doesn't actually encrypt the c

26. Menu Design & Implementation w/ Graphical DDS: #1

Brief: The new Graphical DDS keywords make it very easy to add menu bars and pulldown menus to your AS/400 programs. But when using these keywords to describe a menu, you have many design choices to make. This two-part article presents a working exam

27. The Validate Data Base File (VALDBF) Command

The Validate Data Base File (VALDBF) command is used to validate data in an externally described database file. It includes validating numeric data in numeric fields and verifying fields against DDS validity-checking specifications (e.g., RANGE, VALU

28. The Display Print Spacing (DSPPRTSPC) Command

The OS/400 Display Spooled File (DSPSPLF) command is a convenient way to display and browse through reports at your workstation. You probably use this command often through option 5 of the Work with Spooled Files panel. Although useful, the command m

29. The Check User Authority (CHKUSRAUT) Command

It's a common practice to grant authority to a specific program by adopting the authority of the owner. This way, no matter who is running the program, the user's authority is supplemented by that of the owner. This process takes place at program cre

30. Event-driven Programming with Data Queues

Brief: The buzzword "cooperative processing" is often taken to mean processing between an AS/400 and a PC. However, it is possible to create a cooperative processing application involving two AS/400 programs. This article describes one technique that

31. The CPYFRMOUTQ & CPYTOOUTQ Commands

Offline storage for "text-based" report images made easy. Normally on the AS/400, all printer output is placed into files for later processing. Known as print spooling, this is a great feature which makes report management on the system quite easy.

32. Beyond CPYSPLF - Saving Everything in a SPLF

If you need to save spooled files with complex text or graphics characteristics, you'll need more power than the standard OS/400 commands provide. Brief: The system command CPYSPLF can save a spooled file to a database file. However, it saves only t

33. The Delete Old Spool Files (DLTOLDSPLF) Command

The Delete Old Spool Files (DLTOLDSPLF) command deletes spool files in one or more output queues based upon a user-specified number of retain days. Only spool files with a status of RDY, CLO, HLD or SAV are considered. The user can specify that spool

34. TechTalk: PC Support File Transfer

Give PC applications access to AS/400 data. Brief: The capability of transferring data files between the AS/400 and attached PCs is one of the major PC Support functions. The file download function (AS/400 to PC) in particular gives access to the re

35. The Convert Date and Time Format

Brief: Converting a date from one format to another is a frequently required programming task. In the past, a number of tricks and techniques have been used to accomplish this. V2R2 provides a callable API that you can use to convert dates to differe

36. The Edit APIs

If there's an API for your problem, don't hesitate to use it. Brief: Normally, formatting a numeric field with an edit code or edit word is only practical when done at the time you write the variable (with DDS specs or a HLL specification). With V2R

37. Debugging CL Programs

There are many ways to defeat CL program bugs. Brief: In addition to using the system- supplied debugging commands, you may need to use some other techniques when working with CL programs. Because CL programs are frequently used to establish a job e

38. A First Look at Save While Active

Backups need not be a curse. Brief: The new Save While Active option, available on several of the V2R2M0 system-supplied save commands, lets you save copies of objects while they are being used. There are two ways to use the Save While Active techni

39. Multi-format and Join Logicals

How and when to use them. Brief: Logical files can include data from more than one underlying physical file format. Those logical files are defined as multiple-format logicals or join logicals. Although it is not particularly difficult to define eit

40. Getting Into Outfiles

Steps to analyze the outfile format. 1. Run the command (refer to Figures 1 and 2 for options). 2. Use DSPFFD to view the file structure. 3. Look at the outfile data with CPYF or Query. 4. Run the command with output to the workstation. Use the

41. String Handling in RPG/400 and CL

RPG/400 and CL string handling has been enhanced-make the most of it. Brief: String operations have changed dramatically since the AS/400 was first announced. We'll give you a concise review of the current state of string operations in RPG/400 and C

42. Juggling Jobs

Run up to 32 jobs at once from a dumb terminal! Brief: Group jobs give you multi-session capabilities even on a nonprogrammable terminal. Using group jobs may improve your productivity and response time by making all of your regularly used applicat

43. Introduction to Journaling, Part 2

Part 2 of a 2-part series A review of several recovery processes and the QUSRTOOL journaling commands. In last month's article, I explained the concepts of journaling to you, and also discussed journals, journal receivers and journal entries. I als

44. Introduction to Journaling, Part 1

Deck: Journaling makes data recovery easier Have you ever designed a file, and included fields in it such as the user ID of the last user to update the record, the workstation ID and date and time of the last update? And have you ever actually been

45. A Look at REXX

Here's an introduction to one of the least known AS/400 HLLs--REXX. Of all of the currently available high level languages (HLL) on the AS/400, REXX may be the least known. REXX is installed on your system as part of OS/400, but you may not have ev

46. The Correcting Compiler

Back in prehistoric times, (about 15 years ago when I studied computer programming at the State University), we learned programming on an IBM mainframe. Although we could use any of the compilers we wanted, since we were novices, our classes used a v

47. Gotcha! Likewise, My Friend

I make frequent use of the RPG *LIKE DEFN operation, as I enjoy the increased security of defining work fields properly. There is, however, a very subtle consideration with *LIKE that caused me quite a bit of debugging time. For a recent project, I

48. APIs and the Anatomy of a User Space

Starting with Version 1, Release 3 of OS/400, IBM has made available several openness APIs. An API, or application programming interface, allows you to access several system functions. Types of APIs that IBM is documenting with V1R3 include system

49. A REXXample

One of the sensational, new features of Release 3.0 of OS/400 is the inclusion of REXX (Restructured EXtended eXecutor) language. Articles about REXX have been proclaiming it "the king of languages," or some such hyperbole. I, however, find it diffic

50. TechTalk: Expanding ADDMSGD

I have begun adding help text and messages into applications that I am developing. My preferred method is to store the text for the help in message files. I like this because I can have first and second levels of messages, and also because the prog