Find out how to transform and extract data and learn the options for saving the output.

Written by Kent Milligan

As the numbers of applications systems and interfaces continues to grow, many IBM i developers face the challenge of getting their DB2 for i data into the right format to meet the requirements of these new interfaces. The format types range can from XML to comma-separated values (CSV) to fixed-file formats.

SQL is a great language to use in these situations.

Save money on printing, but for a limited time, save on BCD's 2010 year-end promotion.

Written by Chris Smith

We don't have detailed demographics on all our MC Press Online readers, but my guess is there aren't too many who were working on computers in the early 1960s when IBM coined the term "spool file." The acronym stands for Simultaneous Peripheral Operation On-Line (SPOOL), but folklore has it that the name actually was conceived after the term "spool" came into widespread use, since a spool is what is used to wind magnetic tape.

Before multitasking was invented, computers could run only one job at a time. So if you wanted to print a job, it would consume the computer's full time until the printing finished.

Lots of development and no controls?

Written by Floyd Del Muro

One benefit of developing software for IBM i is that it's relatively transparent in terms of understanding application architecture. It's always been fairly easy to hire RPG or COBOL programmers to pick up a project where another developer left it. Of course, there's some ramp-up time while the new programmer learns the program and database schemas, but the architecture of most IBM i applications is similar enough to make this a nonissue. Therefore, organizations typically hire, retain, and eliminate many developers over the life of their IBM i applications. The penalty for using this approach has been extremely minor, given the relative stability enjoyed by applications that may have multiple versions lying around.