1. Bogus: Simplify Encryption with the Use of RPG Reusable Procedures

Bogus: Simplify Encryption with the Use of RPG Reusable Procedures Secure your data using encryption/decryption APIs within RPG. Written by Tom Snyder The encryption/decryption APIs can be difficult to work with, so let's create some procedures to

2. Harnessing the Power of Control Language Programming for IBM i

Learn how to execute commands in batch using SBMJOB in this excerpt from the MC Press book Control Language Programming for IBM i. Written by Jim Buck, Bryan Myers, and Dan Riehl The SBMJOB (Submit Job) CL command lets you submit a batch job to a j

3. A Visual Guide to Cost-Effective Testing on the iSeries

By bringing practical tools and advanced techniques to how you test, the costs and risks associated with testing can be reduced dramatically. Written by Databorough Services The following article is an extract from the white paper "A Visual Guide t

4. Practical RPG: Handling Abnormal Termination in Servers

One of the hard parts of any server-based architecture is knowing when your server has been canceled; this article shows you how to address that. Written by Joe Pluta I saw an email message in the midrange.com mailing lists the other day about the

5. Prompted SQL DDL Creation

Not familiar with SQL CREATE TABLE syntax? No problem! There's a really easy way to create SQL DDL (Data Definition Language) statements. Written by Sam Lennon IBM i developers are becoming more comfortable exploiting the power of SQL to retrieve a

6. The CL Corner: Letting the User Know What's Right and Wrong

Use a message subfile to return error information to the user. Written by Bruce Vining Anyone who has been following this column for a while probably knows that I believe in using messages whenever possible. Messages are a wonderful way of keeping

7. Get the Day of the Week, Full Text Date Values, and More Within RPG Using SQL

Create useful date-centric service programs with embedded SQL. Written by Tom Snyder Welcome to 2012! All of our year-end processes are complete, and it's the beginning of a new year with a clean slate. 2011 was a very clean year date-wise because

8. The API Corner: Renaming and Moving Objects Doesn't Have to Be Difficult

The Rename Object API offers flexibility above and beyond just renaming. Written by Bruce Vining In last month's article, Deleting Objects, we reviewed a rather general-purpose API: Delete Object (QLIDLTO). This month, we'll look at another general

9. What Are the Differences Between DB2 for i and SQL Server SQL Syntax?

Avoid headaches and wasted time by learning the major differences between DB2 for i and T-SQL dialects. Written by Michael Sansoterra It's apparent by emails I've received that some SQL Server developers are having an opportunity to delve into the

10. Practical CL: Extracting a Bit

Extracting a bit can be done a number of ways, but the code in this article uses only the basic arithmetic capabilities of CL. Written by Joe Pluta This article is sort of the antithesis of what we normally do in RPG Developer. Sometimes, you need

11. Maximize the Abilities of the LDA

Store pointers in a job's Local Data Area. Written by Junlei Li The Local Data Area (LDA) is a user-domain, permanent space object (with MI object type code/subtype code hex 19CE) that is allocated to each IBM i job by the system when the job becom

12. Using Binding Directories with Your Service Programs

Make compiling easier for service programs with the use of binding directories. Written by Tom Snyder With the end of the year comes time to close out my series of articles on service programs. In previous articles, I discussed how to create a serv

13. The API Corner: Deleting Objects

The Delete Object API offers flexibility in terms of removing unneeded objects. Written by Bruce Vining As a new year approaches, many of you may be looking at general house-cleaning of your i. This activity might include deleting those objects tha

14. Practical SQL: UDFs and Service Programs, Part II

With a little creativity, SQL allows you to add a form of overloading to RPG that can really extend your toolkit. Written by Joe Pluta In the previous article in this series, I created a simple user-defined function (UDF) that acted as an SQL inter

15. Want to Know All the MI Object Types Supported by Your IBM i?

Retrieve the exact table of MI object types via the undocumented API QLICNV. Written by Junlei Li On IBM i, historically there are two flavors when referring to objects. At the MI level, MI objects are categorized by a 2-byte MI object type code (1

16. Need a Quick App Deployed to the Web? Try RapidBiz from VACAVA

An affordable cloud-based development environment for SMBs, the solution promises to be a quick Web application builder for business users and one that developers can utilize to shave hours off time spent programming. Written by Chris Smith In our

17. Is a Graphical Debugger for IBM i Really an Improvement?

You can try one at no charge since it's already included with the operating system. Written by Chris Smith A study a few years ago concluded that software bugs cost the U.S. economy alone more than $59 billion annually and that more than a third of

18. Features and Cautions of the Binding Language

Find out how to support multiple signatures and what to be aware of when changing service programs. Written by Tom Snyder I initially intended on just doing a three-part series that worked its way toward binding directories, but I feel as though I

19. Curious About Finding Errors in SQL Statements?

With the help of the QSQCHKS API, you can easily and quickly find where errors occur. Written by Andrew Shelestov A lot of people run SQL statements often, but few of them can find the place where an error occurs in those statements. In this articl

20. Subfiles and Data Queues: A Perfect Combination

Provide your users with everything they've ever wanted in a subfile program. Written by Kevin Vandever Editor's Note: This article is an excerpt from the book Subfiles in Free-Format RPG published by MC Press.   If you've ever looked at Program

21. Case Study: ASNA Wings: Re-imagining Modernization at INFOCON, Both Ways

Modernizing for a GUI doesn't mean you have to give up the power of RPG. Written by Thomas M. Stockwell Fueled by the talent of more than a dozen IBM RPG programmers, and an overall staff of 50, INFOCON is an IBM Business Partner with a vision of e

22. Practical SQL: UDFs and Service Programs, Part I

In this installment of our continuing series on using SQL in real business applications, we introduce the concept of invoking service programs from within SQL. Written by Joe Pluta We continue to provide you with examples of integrating SQL with tr

23. Uncover the Secret of the Changed Object List (COL)

Discover the essence and usage of the COL associated with a library. Written by Junlei Li In the reply post in 2009 to a question called "Best Way to Check if a Library Has At Least 1 Changed Object" in the midrange-l mailing list, CRPence mentione

24. QuickLook: PlanetJ Web Object Wizard Community Edition (WOW CE) V7.0

Create database-interfaced Web applications for IBM i in five minutes—for free! Written by PlanetJ Corporation WOW CE 7.0 is a free rapid application development (RAD) tool for IBM i that can build robust Web applications or serve as a query and

25. The API Corner: The Case of the Missing Stream Files, Part II

Process the data returned by the QjoRetrieveJournalEntries API. Written by Bruce Vining Last month, in "The Case of the Missing Stream Files," we saw how to call the QjoRetrieveJournalEntries API, documented here, in order to access all journal ent

26. Using Binding Language with Your Service Programs

Do you know how to recompile your service programs without having to recompile all programs using the service program? Written by Tom Snyder I have to admit that the binding language was a late discovery for me, and I've struggled for quite awhile

27. The Future of Application Modernization

It's time to rethink how we develop applications. Written by David Shirey "Application modernization" is a pseudo marketing term that is often used when we talk about the future of legacy systems. It pops up a lot these days, and that's fine becaus

28. The CL Corner: Getting Additional IFS File Information

Let's look at some additional stat APIs. Written by Bruce Vining In last month's column, "Dependency and Validity-Checking of Command Parameters," we looked at how a validity-checking program could be used to detect the use of conflicting parameter

29. Practical SQL: Three Ways to JOIN

JOINing tables is one of the fundamental tasks in SQL, and this article explains three basic syntactical approaches. Written by Joe Pluta SQL is the tool of choice for querying relational data, and the whole idea behind relational data is that the

30. Book Review: Subfiles in Free-Format RPG

Whether you're a newbie or a seasoned pro, this book has something for you. Written by Mike Faust For System i developers, mastering the ability to develop subfile applications is an absolute must! In Subfiles in Free-Format RPG, Kevin Vandever tak

31. RPG Display Modernization Gets Wings

Convert old 5250 screens to modern GUI formats in a few easy steps. Written by Thomas M. Stockwell Last year, ASNA introduced its ASNA Wings modernization tool, which quickly and efficiently converts the old 5250 green-screen legacy display files i

32. Flash Builder for PHP Offers Common Code Base for Dissimilar Mobile Platforms

Zend Technologies and Adobe Systems integrate a pair of Eclipse-based tools, giving developers a single interface for building both Web and mobile apps. Written by Chris Smith If you've been waiting to figure out a strategy to handle native mobile

33. How to Create, Compile, and Use Service Programs

Did you know you can create service programs from commonly used procedures? Written by Tom Snyder I am a big advocate of encapsulation and modular programming to build solid code from reusable components. One of the capabilities that ILE gives us t

34. The API Corner: The Case of the Missing Stream Files

The QjoRetrieveJournalEntries API offers flexibility in terms of tracking IFS usage. Written by Bruce Vining Earlier this month, a question was posed over on MIDRANGE-L related to a user having trouble with IFS objects mysteriously disappearing. Th

35. CNX Upgrades Valence but Keeps Community Edition Free

V3.0 supports mobile devices, has a newly designed portal and, in the paid enterprise edition, includes a fast new source editor. Written by Chris Smith Sitting in the CIO session at last summer's OCEAN technical conference, I couldn't help but ta

36. Using APIs to Extend RPG: The C Runtime APIs

Many APIs are available on the IBM i that will enable you to extend your RPG applications; the C Runtime APIs provide a wide range of added functions. Written by Joe Pluta In a previous article, I demonstrated how you could use the CEE APIs to prov

37. Create an Auto-Extend User Space

Editor's Note: This article is an excerpt from RPG TnT: 101 Dynamite Tips 'n Techniques with RPG IV. Written by Robert Cozzi The User Space is an interesting object. User Spaces have been around on this architecture for nearly 20 years, and yet ma

38. Cool Things: SQL Functions and List APIs

Two functionalities that work perfectly together. Written by Mike Faust One of my favorite programming techniques is linking together functionality to make even-more-powerful functionality. An example of this is wrapping an SQL user-defined table f

39. The CL Corner: Dependency and Validity-Checking of Command Parameters

Today, we extend the USEDIRPGM command. Written by Bruce Vining In last month's column, "Clearing, Rather than Deleting, an IFS File," we implemented a CLRSTMF command. Today, we will start to incorporate this command into the USEDIRPGM command tha

40. QuickLook: Magic Software uniPaaS V2.0

Build the application once, have it work on a mix of different platforms and output devices. Written by Magic Software Enterprises Ltd. UniPaaS is an application platform that can enable enterprises, ISVs, and system integrators to successfully bu

41. New Graphical Database Editor neuEdit Gives IBM i Programmers the Big Picture

With components running on both the server and PC, the snappy editor automatically formats reports, retrieves deleted records, and allows for viewing user-defined file relations that otherwise would be hidden in obscurity. Written by Chris Smith Ev

42. Don't Be Misled by SETLL *LOVAL

Be careful when using SETLL *LOVAL on keyed access paths containing numeric key fields. Written by Junlei Li Almost every RPG programmer has become accustomed to setting the file pointer to the starting position of a logical file by specifying the

43. The API Corner: Determining the Last Spool File Created

The QSPRILSP API can simplify your access to a job's most recent spool file. Written by Bruce Vining Last month, in "Just How Many Spool Files Do You Have?," we looked at the Retrieve Spool Information API QSPSPLI. I received quite a bit of feedbac

44. TechTip: Exploring the GeoNames Free Web Services, Part II: Country Info

This TechTip series explores the useful yet simple Web services of GeoNames. We started with the time zone API, and now we'll combine two other Web services in order to retrieve data about a country, using an address or set of GPS coordinates as a st

45. Building Mobile Apps with ToolboxME for iSeries

With minimal Java skills, you too can build an application to access IBM i resources from a wireless device. Written by Chris Smith With all of the iPhone, Android, and BlackBerry applications available today, and many of the major banks and retail

46. Using APIs to Extend RPG: The CEE APIs

RPG is a fantastic language for business calculations, but sometimes it needs a little help with the more esoteric computations, and that's where APIs come in. Written by Joe Pluta I recently had an opportunity to program some electrical formulas (

47. Analyzing the MI Instruction Stream of an OPM Program

Simon Coulter leaves us a gift before he departs. Written by Junlei Li As you probably know, Simon Coulter, a knowledgeable and versatile IBM i expert, passed away in October 2010. Simon was loved by many IBM i developers because he was one of the

48. The CL Corner: Clearing, Rather than Deleting, an IFS File

Here's the command IBM should have given you but didn't. Written by Bruce Vining In recent articles, starting with "Trying to Get a Handle on Your IFS?," we've seen how to automate the deletion of an IFS stream file when a file has not been used wi

49. Does Your Shop Participate in Code Reviews?

Produce better code and exchange knowledge with code reviews. Written by Tom Snyder One of the most typical obstacles with the adoption of modern programming techniques in RPG shops is the fact that everyone is at a different level of knowledge in

50. The API Corner: Just How Many Spool Files Do You Have?

The QSPSPLI API can tell you. Written by Bruce Vining Have you ever wondered how many spool files are on your system (or more accurately, on a given auxiliary storage pool which, for many companies, is the same thing)? What about the number of spoo