Users need a flexible query tool that is powerful and easy to use.

Written by Heath Kath

Is your query tool up to date and function-rich? Are you able to build queries that end users, managers, and departments can use? Can it collect data from or send data to other systems or platforms? Does it provide run-time prompting? Does it handle data-mapping errors, especially around numeric date fields? Does it take advantage of SQL Query Engine (SQE) to improve run-time performance? Does it provide multiple interfaces—green-screen, Web browser, and GUI? Can it send query results directly to a PC document (.xlsx, PDF, text, HTML, etc.)?

Use these new functions to easily extend your applications to the web.

Written by Michael Sansoterra

If you've been waiting for a DB2 for i feature that is unprecedented in power and simplicity, get ready to become "unhinged." Further, prepare to hammer on your IBM i admin to install the latest database fixes, because DB2 for i 7.1 Group PTF Level 22 introduces a suite of functions that allow developers to make all manner of HTTP requests. (Actually, Level 22 had a problem, so you should skip right to the latest level, which is currently 23.) Right out of the box and without fancy programming, your apps can easily speak to a cloud server or intranet application server to download a file, contact a web service, or retrieve the source of a web page, to name a few possibilities.

More companies, across all industries, are gathering data in huge quantities. They have determined that data is the key to their business and are using it to guide their organizations.

Written by Mike Stegeman

What is a Key Performance Indicator? Every task can have a KPI, but which information is measured should be unique to your organization. Sales goals, net income targets, production efficiency, and downtime are just a few of the possible areas ready for a KPI. You need to start with an overall organizational KPI or goal for every other measurable KPI to adhere to.

Access Oracle, MySQL, SQL Server, and other databases with IBM i queries.

Written by Mike Stegeman

Where is your business data? Is it all in IBM i DB2, or do you have data in MySQL, Microsoft SQL Server, or Oracle databases? Do you need to consolidate this data across DB2 partitions? Does your current reporting and data access solution consolidate and provide instant access to this remote data? Do your developers need to move or modify data from one database to another?

A new PTF makes it all so easy.

Written by Kent Milligan

The use of DB2 for i stored procedures by IBM i developers is on the rise. With stored procedures entrenched in application environments, developers are quickly learning that an upgraded version of a stored procedure featuring new input parameters requires a number of coding changes to be made. All of the programs that invoke the stored procedure need to be modified to pass values for the new parameters.

Save days of analysis by using this free utility to help gauge the scope and effort involved in migrating your DDS-generated files to SQL DDL.

Written by Resolution Software

By now, almost everyone knows that SQL is the strategic database interface for IBM i. Nearly every DB2 for i enhancement made since V5R1 has been SQL-only, including XML and ROWID data types, automatic key generation with identity columns, OLAP capabilities, column-level and instead-of triggers, autonomic indexes, and self-learning query optimizations.

With this free app, you'll be generating reports in minutes.

Written by PlanetJ Corporation

MS Excel is used in the business world for an unlimited number of reasons—basic accounting, product sales tracking, executive financials, and customer data to name a few. Having a good system to access the data— providing appropriate filters—allows users to limit data returned to what's applicable for any particular report.

Using three-part names, Insert statements can now reference objects from more than one IBM i system.

Written by Kent Milligan

The GA version of the DB2 for i 7.1 release simplified access to DB2 objects on remote systems by eliminating the need for explicit remote connections with the new three-part name support. Instead of developers having to use an extra CONNECT or SET CONNECTION statement to explicitly connect statement, they can now simply run an SQL statement like the following to retrieve data from a table on a different system or partition.