MkDocs, the dynamic static site generator, or how I built a website without writing any HTML.
By Joe Pluta
In my last article, I introduced MkDocs, a wonderful static site generator. Today I’m going to show you what I consider to be the most important feature of MkDocs: the dynamic debugging mode. But to get there, we have to build a page. Along the way, I’ll briefly present a few of the fundamental features of MkDocs, features that we’ll address in more detail later.
MkDocs may be the shortest path from tribal knowledge to IT portal.
By Joe Pluta
During my continuing foray into open-source software (OSS), I ran across a very interesting tool named MkDocs. Richard Schoen mentioned it on the Midrange mailing lists. I was a little concerned—not because it was open source, but because it used the dreaded Python language. Personally, I’ll program in any language; I wrote a lot of Lisp back in the ‘80s when it was the primary language for programmable synthesizers. But Python and its reliance on the number of spaces at the beginning of a line of code has always given me the heebie-jeebies. That being said, the concept of MkDocs became more intriguing the more I read, and it seemed like I wouldn’t really have to learn much about Python to make it work. (Yeah, that was wrong, but still.)
MMAIL is another fantastic open-source project that fills a hole in IBM's standard offerings.
By Joe Pluta
In my previous article, I introduced you to Thomas Raddatz's iSphere, one of the most robust enhancements to Rational Developer for i (RDi) out there and one that happens to be open source. In so doing, I made a passing reference to another open-source utility, Giovanni Perotti's MMAIL. MMAIL is an absolutely phenomenal piece of native software for the IBM i that is also open source.
Although adopting open-source technology usually involves developers learning a new language, several IBM i experts in open source point out that adding it to an enterprise’s solutions toolkit is more of a business-cultural change.
By John Ghrist
While the concept of open-source technology on the IBM i has been around for years now, as with many “new waves” in technology over the platform’s history, a large number of enterprises have been relatively slow to adopt it. According to HelpSystems’ 2019 IBM i Marketplace Survey Results report, a top concern at 50 percent of the participating survey sites was “application modernization,” and 71 percent of respondents report running more than half their core business apps on the i. Open source is a path to the modernization goal, but from the outside, the issues surrounding its adoption can appear daunting, even though many companies already use it in some form.
Add MySQL, the most prevalent free database in the Linux world, to your development machine. MySQL completes the LAMP stack.
By Joe Pluta
The previous article on PHP guided you through the first part of Catherine Gaughan-Smith’s third video tutorial on installing the Ubuntu LAMP stack. That part of the video focused on PHP, leaving the remaining five minutes or so to cover the installation of MySQL. Today, we’ll work through that portion. We’ll configure MySQL, and we’ll also add a new SQL plug-in called DBeaver to our PHP Development Tools (PDT) environment.
P stands for PHP, the programming language of LAMP.
By Joe Pluta
Two earlier articles of this series (here and here) walked you through the first two videos from Catherine Gaughan-Smith's fantastic tutorial series on installing a virtual Ubuntu LAMP stack. The third video in her series walks you through configuring both PHP and MySQL. These are both relatively large, important steps that most of us green-screen folks have never even had to think about, so I'm going to devote one article to each step. Today, we focus on configuring PHP.
The next piece of the LAMP stack is the Apache Web Server.
By Joe Pluta
In the first article of this series, I implied I didn't know much about Apache. To be precise, I said I can barely speak Apache. That may have been a bit of a misstatement; I've done a fair amount of work with Apache over the years. But it's been a long time since I did any serious Apache configuration, so a lot of it is as new to me as it may be to you. But once again, we're rescued by the glorious YouTube videos from Catherine Gaughan-Smith.
In this case, we'll follow along with video number two in the Ubuntu series. As I did with the first video, I'll follow much of what Catherine did, but because of my unique requirements, I'll diverge a little from her path. When I do, I'll make sure to let you know what I did and why.
Eclipse provides many pre-configured IDEs, and PDT is perfect for managing Linux.
By Joe Pluta
This is the second in an ongoing series of articles meant to help you create a virtual Linux environment right on your desktop or laptop. As I noted in the first article in the series, I built this series on a set of fantastic video tutorials by Catherine Gaughan-Smith (aka CGS), which can all be found here: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4. This article, though, is a complete departure from that curriculum. CGS uses ssh from her Mac desktop to access the virtual machine, but I’m going to show you how to use Eclipse—and more specifically, the Eclipse PHP Development Tools (PDT)—to access your shiny new virtual machine.
If your business is thinking about modernizing your legacy IBM i (also known as AS/400 or iSeries) applications, you will want to read this white paper first!
Download this paper and learn how Node.js can ensure that you:
- Modernize on-time and budget - no more lengthy, costly, disruptive app rewrites!
- Retain your IBM i systems of record
- Find and hire new development talent
- Integrate new Node.js applications with your existing RPG, Java, .Net, and PHP apps
- Extend your IBM i capabilties to include Watson API, Cloud, and Internet of Things
Read Node.js for Enterprise IBM i Modernization Now!
More than ever, there is a demand for IT to deliver innovation.
Your IBM i has been an essential part of your business operations for years. However, your organization may struggle to maintain the current system and implement new projects.
The thousands of customers we've worked with and surveyed state that expectations regarding the digital footprint and vision of the companyare not aligned with the current IT environment.
Get your copy of this important guide today!
2022 marks the eighth edition of the IBM i Marketplace Survey Results. Each year, Fortra captures data on how businesses use the IBM i platform and the IT and cybersecurity initiatives it supports.
Over the years, this survey has become a true industry benchmark, revealing to readers the trends that are shaping and driving the market and providing insight into what the future may bring for this technology.
Brunswick is the leader in bowling products, services, and industry expertise for the development and renovation of new and existing bowling centers and mixed-use recreation facilities across the entertainment industry. However, the lifeblood of Brunswick’s capital equipment business was running on a 15-year-old software application written in Visual Basic 6 (VB6) with a SQL Server back-end. The application was at the end of its life and needed to be replaced.
With the help of Visual LANSA, they found an easy-to-use, long-term platform that enabled their team to collaborate, innovate, and integrate with existing systems and databases within a single platform.
Read the case study to learn how they achieved success and increased the speed of development by 30% with Visual LANSA.
Progressive Web Apps allow you to reach anyone, anywhere, and on any device with a single unified codebase. This means that your applications—regardless of browser, device, or platform—instantly become more reliable and consistent. They are the present and future of application development, and more and more businesses are catching on.
Download this whitepaper and learn:
When it comes to creating your business applications, there are hundreds of coding platforms and programming languages to choose from. These options range from very complex traditional programming languages to Low-Code platforms where sometimes no traditional coding experience is needed.
Download our whitepaper, The Power of Writing Code in a Low-Code Solution, and:
Business users want new applications now. Market and regulatory pressures require faster application updates and delivery into production. Your IBM i developers may be approaching retirement, and you see no sure way to fill their positions with experienced developers. In addition, you may be caught between maintaining your existing applications and the uncertainty of moving to something new.
In this white paper, you’ll learn how to think of these issues as opportunities rather than problems. We’ll explore motivations to migrate or modernize, their risks and considerations you should be aware of before embarking on a (migration or modernization) project.
Lastly, we’ll discuss how modernizing IBM i applications with optimized business workflows, integration with other technologies and new mobile and web user interfaces will enable IT – and the business – to experience time-added value and much more.
Having trouble getting management approval for modernization projects? The problem may be you're not speaking enough "business" to them.
This Developer Kit provides you study-backed data and a ready-to-use business case template to help get your very next development project approved!
IT managers hoping to find new IBM i talent are discovering that the pool of experienced RPG programmers and operators or administrators is small.
This guide offers strategies and software suggestions to help you plan IT staffing and resources and smooth the transition after your AS/400 talent retires. Read on to learn:
Have you been wondering about Node.js? Our free Node.js Webinar Series takes you from total beginner to creating a fully-functional IBM i Node.js business application. In Part 2, Brian May teaches you the different tooling options available for writing code, debugging, and using Git for version control. Attend this webinar to learn:
In this session, IBM i security expert Robin Tatam provides a quick recap of IBM i security basics and guides you through some advanced cybersecurity techniques that can help you take data protection to the next level. Robin will cover:
Don't miss this chance to take your knowledge of IBM i security beyond the basics.
In today’s threat landscape, upper management is laser-focused on cybersecurity. You need to make progress in securing your systems—and make it fast.
There’s no shortage of actions you could take, but what tactics will actually deliver the results you need? And how can you find a security strategy that fits your budget and time constraints?
Join top IBM i security expert Robin Tatam as he outlines the five fastest and most impactful changes you can make to strengthen IBM i security this year.
Your system didn’t become unsecure overnight and you won’t be able to turn it around overnight either. But quick wins are possible with IBM i security, and Robin Tatam will show you how to achieve them.
Malicious programs can bring entire businesses to their knees—and IBM i shops are not immune. It’s critical to grasp the true impact malware can have on IBM i and the network that connects to it. Attend this webinar to gain a thorough understanding of the relationships between:
There are a number of ways you can minimize your exposure to viruses. IBM i security expert Sandi Moore explains the facts, including how to ensure you're fully protected and compliant with regulations such as PCI.
DB2 Field Procedures (FieldProcs) were introduced in IBM i 7.1 and have greatly simplified encryption, often without requiring any application changes. Now you can quickly encrypt sensitive data on the IBM i including PII, PCI, PHI data in your physical files and tables.
Watch this webinar to learn how you can quickly implement encryption on the IBM i. During the webinar, security expert Robin Tatam will show you how to:
Despite the many options IBM has provided to protect your systems and data, many organizations still struggle to apply appropriate security controls.
In this webinar, you'll get insight into how the criminals accessed these systems, the fallout from these attacks, and how the incidents could have been avoided by following security best practices.
You will learn the steps you can take to avoid the mistakes made in these examples, as well as other inadequate and misconfigured settings that put businesses at risk.
When it comes to creating your business applications, there are hundreds of coding platforms and programming languages to choose from. These options range from very complex traditional programming languages to Low-Code platforms where sometimes no traditional coding experience is needed.
Download our whitepaper, The Power of Writing Code in a Low-Code Solution, and:
Have you been wondering about Node.js? Our free Node.js Webinar Series takes you from total beginner to creating a fully-functional IBM i Node.js business application.
Part 1 will teach you what Node.js is, why it's a great option for IBM i shops, and how to take advantage of the ecosystem surrounding Node.
In addition to background information, our Director of Product Development Scott Klement will demonstrate applications that take advantage of the Node Package Manager (npm).
Watch Now.
The Biggest Mistakes in IBM i Security
Here’s the harsh reality: cybersecurity pros have to get their jobs right every single day, while an attacker only has to succeed once to do incredible damage.
Whether that’s thousands of exposed records, millions of dollars in fines and legal fees, or diminished share value, it’s easy to judge organizations that fall victim.
Join this webinar to learn about the biggest errors made when securing a Power Systems server.
This knowledge is critical for ensuring integrity of your application data and preventing you from becoming the next Equifax. It’s also essential for complying with all formal regulations, including SOX, PCI, GDPR, and HIPAA
Watch Now.
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Robot automates the routine tasks of iSeries backup and recovery, saving you time and money and making the process safer and more reliable. Automate your backups with the Robot Backup and Recovery Solution. Key features include:
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Managing messages on your IBM i can be more than a full-time job if you have to do it manually. How can you be sure you won’t miss important system events?
Automate your message center with the Robot Message Management Solution. Key features include:
- Automated message management
- Tailored notifications and automatic escalation
- System-wide control of your IBM i partitions
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- Seamless product integration
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Robot automates report bursting, distribution, bundling, and archiving, and offers secure, selective online report viewing.
Manage your reports with the Robot Report Management Solution. Key features include:
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- View online without delay
- Browser interface to make notes
- Custom retention capabilities
- Seamless product integration
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For over 30 years, Robot has been a leader in systems management for IBM i.
Manage your job schedule with the Robot Job Scheduling Solution. Key features include:
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