With the release of Version 7.5 of RDi-SOA, IBM provides the first real vision of the future of IBM i development.

By Joe Pluta

With Something Old

and Something New

They Borrowed the Best

And Turned It Blue

I realize "first real vision of the future" may ring hollow in some of the more jaded ears in our community, what with all the Strategic Directions and Development Roadmaps over the years, but RDi-SOA Version 7.5 is truly unique in the annals of IBM i development. In fact, along with the 5250 and the integrated database, RDi-SOA may be another first in business application programming in general: in this case, the first tool that provides end-to-end support for developing every possible type of application architecture, from green-screen to full thick client.

This version includes a new DB2/400 adapter that makes it easier to access data on IBM i.

By Chris Smith

Developers who were adventurous enough to try to develop Web applications on IBM i using PHP and Zend Framework often ran into a few roadblocks. Those days may be behind us now that Zend has released Zend Framework 1.7 with a native DB2 adapter for DB2/400.

Solve business application needs, jazz up existing applications, create user interfaces, or make applications easily accessible for remote users.

By Laura Ubelhor

Many languages can be used for server-side programming, including Java, JSP, .NET, and PHP. PHP, which stands for PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor, is a scripting language embedded within HTML. Much of PHP's syntax is extracted from C, Java, and Perl, with some unique PHP-specific features. The goal of the language is to allow Web developers to write dynamically generated pages quickly. While PHP is mainly used for server-side scripting, it can also be used from a command-line interface or in standalone GUI applications. In this article, which is an excerpt from HTML for the Business Developer, the focus is on server-side scripting with the business application developer in mind.

The browser is the successor to the 5250, but the rich client is its replacement.

By Joe Pluta

The 5250 turned the midrange computer into the indispensable component of the computer world. You can reasonably argue that interactive screens transformed data processing into information technology as we know it today. Prior to that, computers were about entering data and printing reports--data processing. It wasn't until green-screens made information available instantly to users that the idea of IT came into its own. It was a revolutionary event in the history of computers. We're poised at a similar point: while Web access through thin clients using technologies like JavaServer Faces is a (much-needed) evolutionary step, a true UI revolution is simmering under the surface and is ready to leap into the IT world. The technology has various names, from Web 2.0 to rich client, but the point is not what you call it but what you can do with it and how easily you can transform your existing business logic into new applications.

There's no faster, easier way to become proficient in JavaScript.

By Jan Jorgensen

This book landed on my desk just before my holiday in Greece. I looked at it and thought, "How can anybody cover such a large subject in just 160 pages? That's not possible." But it is possible, and that's the strongest force about this book: It's short, it's down to business, it's concise, and most important, it's full of great and useful examples and sample code that you can download.

XML has become the standard for exchanging complex data, and i is quickly becoming the standard platform for processing it.

By Joe Pluta

Passing business data from one machine to another has always been one of the more difficult issues, but one of the most common standards today is XML. XML has a number of features that make it very powerful for data interchange but that don't mesh with the fixed records and fields of traditional i languages. However, each release of i provides new capabilities that make it easy for i programmers to work in the XML world. In this article, we'll examine some of the features that have been added in recent releases, including Version 6.1.

DHTML is what makes the browser dynamic, and JavaScript frameworks allow mere mortals to make it happen.

By Joe Pluta

JavaScript frameworks are the newest weapons in the Web application arsenal, and they're seriously powerful. Comparing something like JQuery to a JavaScript date picker is like comparing a cruise missile to a slingshot. The problem is trying to decide which one is best for you, and that's going to depend a lot on what you want to do. But suffice it to say that if you want a dynamic application, you will need one of these toolkits.

What's new with EGL, and what's coming?

By Joe Pluta

And I thought my last article started with some bad news. I'll tell you all the good news about EGL, including the amazing new mashup support, but first the bad news.

The i Loses a Hero

Unless you've been living on Mars, you already know that the System i community lost a true hero recently. Al Barsa Jr. was one of the staunchest allies the platform ever had.