Category: Featured
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A guide to RPG definitions
I would like to take you through the process of defining variables and files in RPG programs. In an effort to promote totally free-form RPG, all the examples shown in this article detail the latest enhancements. Additionally, I will show you equivalents to RPG in other programming languages. I hope that this will give a…
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Are IBM i Services the future of systems management?
IBM i Services are perhaps the best kept secret of managing and monitoring IBM i. Relatively few users of our favourite platform know what they are and even fewer use them regularly. This is a crying shame as they are truly remarkable. IBM i Services can tell you in seconds what it takes a skilled…
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AIX tech tip: Bye-bye loops – use the ‘apply’ command instead
One of the best kept secrets of the AIX command line is the “apply” command. Never heard of it? Well, welcome to the club. Two colleagues and I had over 60 years’ combined experience on AIX and, between us, we had never once come across “apply”. So, what does it do and why should you…
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Are you using the correct disk driver for your Storwize storage?
With so many customers now using Storwize and SVC storage in their Power environment with VIOS, it is important that we get the configuration of the system correct and supported. In the last few months, I have been involved with customers who already have their Power and Storwize systems up and running. Something I’ve found…
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Opinion – Give British IBM i users a SWMA amnesty
As you will all know, IBM has an annual charge for its software maintenance (SWMA) for IBM i. This maintenance gives you access to IBM support, fixes, new functions and features (in the form or PTFs) and, of course, free upgrades to newer IBM i releases. What you may not realise is that if you…
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Get started with the RPG debugging alternative
I wish to take you through the debugging of RPG programs or service programs with a tool some readers may not have come across called IBM System Debugger. It is a client-based tool that has the following advantages over the Rational RDi debug facility: • It is part of the base IBM i operating system,…
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Tips for a happy Zend Server on IBM i
We looked in my last article at how to get started with PHP on IBM i. Server side, this involved installing Zend Server – the PHP engine that makes things happen. In this article, I’m going to share some tips with you that relate to configuring this fine software to avoid problems and get the…
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Opinion: Why IBM Power Systems are like Lego
I like Lego. Always have. We had a load of bricks when I was growing up and I built loads of robots, spaceships and other models. Now I have children of my own and I get to build Lego sets with them too. I built the Lego Millennium Falcon with my eldest, which took a…
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How to delete directories from your IFS
This article was inspired by a recent support call I received. It made me realise that many of you may not have noticed that IBM added a handy parameter to the RMVDIR (remove directory) command back in v6.1 called SUBTREE. Let me set the scene and you can work out whether this is something that…
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Storwize CLI masterclass: executing multiple commands
In earlier articles, we’ve become familiar with running one-off CLI commands or sequences of commands. Quite often, though, it is useful to be able to execute a set of CLI commands from a server/desktop/laptop to instruct the Storwize system to carry out a number of tasks. A common requirement is to have Flashcopy commands sent…
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Tutorial: using wizards with RPG and Rational Developer for i
I’m going to run through some of the shortcuts/wizards we can employ with RPG using Rational Developer for i (RDi). Nowadays, it is all about productivity. Gone are the days when we had a DPM (data processing manager) looking over our shoulders to ensure that we were thrashing out code (we didn’t have fancy job…
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The end of IBM i Access for Windows
It has been known as many things over the years: PC Support, Personal Communications, Client Access, iSeries Access. Now its latest name, IBM i Access for Windows, would seem to be its last. Love it or hate it, over the last 20 years we have all grown used to it and so when I was…