Database update collisions are a common problem, and qualified data structures provide an easy solution.

Written by Joe Pluta

Database update collisions have been around since the advent of interactive database maintenance. First, we had no record locks. That left us with "last Enter key wins." Let's say I edit a record and you update the same record at the same time. We key in conflicting changes and press Enter. If I hit Enter first, my change is written to the database first; then your Enter is processed, and your change overwrites my change. Last Enter key wins!

Inherited authorities can be a hidden vulnerability if not carefully controlled.

Written by Robin Tatam

Everyone loves an inheritance! Imagine the excitement of discovering that a long-lost uncle has left you a fortune. Or perhaps the recent Royal Wedding has you wondering where you are in the line of succession for the throne of England! While these possibilities are a long shot for most of us, you can inherit power on IBM i using the age-old IBM i facility called "group profiles."

ManageEngine offers licensed utilities to assist the IT administrator in network, server, application, and desktop management, but many apps are also free.

Written by Max Hetrick

ManageEngine is a commercial software management provider that offers many tools and utility suites to assist IT administrators in managing networks and software on Windows desktops. ManageEngine is owned by Zoho Corporation, which is commonly known for providing business and productivity applications. Although much of ManageEngine's software is licensed, the company also offers a free downloads section.

Manta's IBM i Operations Boot Camp is the fastest way to fill in the gaps in your operators' educations.

Written by Dr. William A. Hansen

What's different about the following scenarios?

• You just hired a new operator (Steve) with no IBM i experience.
• You just hired a new operator (Pat) who claims to have extensive "AS/400" experience.
• You have an operations manager (Sally) who has worked for your organization for 20 years but hasn't had formal IBM i operations training.

Probably the biggest—and most dangerous—difference is in what they think they know.

How many tasks do you run through Robot/SCHEDULE?

Written by Tom Huntington

How many jobs or tasks do you launch each day through your job scheduler? Have you been able to reduce your run book? Do you work with end users to bring more into your scheduling solution? Do you allow staff members to use the WRKJOBSCDE command? (My suggestion is to lock down or deactivate WRKJOBSCDE; it only causes problems.) Do you need to run tasks on other machines besides IBM i servers?

Is it possible to manage a legacy system in a modern way?

Written by Steve Kilner

"Legacy applications are a goldmine of valuable business rules and design intelligence."

"Modern developers want nothing to do with RPG or the AS/400 other than get rid of them."

You've probably heard these seemingly conflicting statements.

Help is available! Learn about the handy Function Assist feature available in the DB2 Web Query Developer Workbench tool.

Written by Gene Cobb

DB2 Web Query is loaded with built-in functions to help you transform your raw DB2 for i data into something more meaningful and useful for use in your reports, graphs, dashboards, and compound documents. Some of these functions have multiple parameters and a limited number of acceptable values, so unless you have been working with the product for some time, it may not be obvious how to implement the correct format, syntax, and values to make them work. Wouldn't it be nice if there was an interface complete with help text and examples to guide you through the process of defining these functions?

With MS Access Runtime, users can run Access applications without buying a license.
Written by Michael Sansoterra

Microsoft Access has always been a powerful tool that is easy to use for users of almost any skill. It can store relational data, interact with other Office applications such as Word and Excel, and present users with attractive forms and reports. For IBM i shops, it can even import and export data from other databases such as DB2 for i using ODBC. It can also be used programmatically using Visual Basic for Applications (VBA). However, in spite of it being a useful tool, several major things have hindered widespread adoption of Access: