API expert Bruce Vining delivers the only comprehensive guide to APIs.

By Jon Paris

Although I have rarely had problems using the C-style APIs from RPG, for some strange reason, the system APIs have always intimidated me. Perhaps it is the arcane terminology that IBM uses to describe them. Perhaps it is the lack of good RPG examples in the manuals. Or perhaps I'm simply API-phobic. Whatever the reason, I have often turned to the experts when I needed to use an API. During my time with IBM, I quickly learned that the expert was Bruce Vining. Bruce was not only involved in the design and implementation of many of the APIs, he was also one of the few in the Rochester Lab who was RPG- and COBOL-literate and could therefore "translate" the arcane terminology of the documentation into something that we mere humans could understand.

As in real life, you may not find what you seek in this virtual world, but you probably will emerge with a smile and desire to return.

By Chris Smith

The big news this week is that there's hope--hope that I may soon have a social life. You see, I joined Second Life this week. The virtual world is one that I had read about in news magazines but had never considered actually spending any time exploring because, well, it sounded too kinky and weird--avatars forming attractions to each other and then consummating their need for intimacy? Get me out of here!

Auditing doesn't need to be scary if you have the right tools.

By Carol Woodbury

We seem to be getting a lot of questions about i5/OS auditing functions lately. I'm guessing it's because several laws and regulations either require or strongly suggest that certain activity and file accesses be "logged." Logging in the i5/OS and "i" world is known as "auditing." So I thought I'd answer some of the questions we're receiving.