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May 3, 2017

Join This IBM i Community!

It’s July 2020 and time to upgrade this website to something more than just a blog. It’s time to give something back to the wonderful IBM i Community that I’ve enjoyed for so long:


Just who is this bloke?

Nick Litten – AS400 iSeries and IBM i Consultant Nerd.

I’m an IT Consultant and IBM i Software Developer (aka RPG Programmer) primarily working on IBM Power Systems (IBM i, System-i, iSeries, AS400). Thirty years ago (damn that makes me feel even older than I am) I fell into computer programming as a career. Tapping on these IBM keyboards has taken me around the world, and I’ve now settled in sunny Nevada USA. It’s a terrific ride. I believe us older experienced programmers have a responsibility to share the knowledge and help the *freshers* who are stepping foot in the IBM i pond for the first time.

About nick litten dot com 1
English sounding RPG Hippie that looks exactly like me

I started back in the days of IBM System/38 machines, the IBM PC XT was just being conceived, APPLE was working on its APPLE 2E, the internet was a futuristic dream and dialup Bulletin Boards were leading edge social media.

About nick litten dot com 2

My home computer was an IBM PC XT with a modem the size of a shoe box that I plugged into my parents phone line, after disconnecting the bakelite rotary phone.

Working on IBM mainframe/midrange systems has taken me around the world, earning a good salary and, most importantly, doing something that I have really come to love: RPG is a fantastic language, IBM i is a terrific operating system and the hardware is second to none.

My blog is an attempt at sharing the IBM i Love, highlighting some programming techniques and sometimes just waffling about personal lifestyle nonsense.

If you are looking for some professional help, please reach out to me.

If you are looking for some programming or technical tips then get searching.

If you are just here to enjoy to waffle then read on my friend 🙂

About nick litten dot com 3

Learning Something New

“I am always ready to learn although I do not always like being taught.” — Winston Churchill

All courses…
  • All courses…
  • Topics
  • Modernization
  • IBM i | AS400 | iSeries
  • WordPress
  • Access restrictions
  • MEMBERS ONLY
  • Free For All

5 Lessons – Easy

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This presentation is an introduction to the IBM i Power System and a look at the IBM Midrange System’s heritage from the 1970’s up to correct days. From the old pre-internet AS/400 systems, through the iSeries Generation to today’s modern Web2.0 IBM i Power Systems.

24 Lessons – Advanced

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Do you want to learn how to write a webservice on your IBM i System?

13 Lessons – Intermediate

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Which 5250 Screen Emulator shall I use?
The IBM i System, like its predecessors the AS400 and iSeries, uses something called 5250 to stream its data to a terminal, often called a green screen. You’ve seen these clunky old terminals in black and white sci-fi movies. We still use them… sort of… we use terminal emulators (software that emulates the functions of those old terminals) to type commands into a command-line interface using windows/linux/mac whatever.

So which one is best?

4 Lessons – Easy

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IBM i Basics PDM  ( Programming development manager ) is installed as a part of the Applications Development ToolSet (ADT) on most IBM i  systems today. PDM is an environment that lets programmers and/or operators navigate three levels of the PDM: Other “work with” commands for the designated levels of PDM are as follows: WRKLIBPDM  (Library level) WRKOBJPDM  (Object level) WRKMBRPDM  (Member level) PDM allows users to use shortcuts to perform repeated tasks. Using a specified options file (via F16), one can tailor these shortcuts to meet their needs. These shortcuts are limited to two alpha numeric characters, and are entered in the input field immediately preceding the library, object, or member. These shortcuts can be repeated en masse for all entries displayed within the relevant PDM screen via F13. This reduces the time it takes to complete common tasks like assigning authority, changing object ownership and several other functions. PDM also recalls last input parameters on a user basis, making repetition and recall easy. PDM will allow a user to copy or rename libraries, objects and members. In addition, objects may be moved. It will also allow users to edit source members using the SEU function, edit display files via SDA or printer files via RLU. Some other quick commands include saving, restoring, displaying descriptions, deleting, changing, working with, running, changing text, finding a string, creating a program or service program, running a debugger, and comparing. PDM also has a filter tool (F17) which allows a user to narrow their search parameters and limit results by object, object type, attributes, a size range, or by complete or partial text.

14 Lessons – Intermediate

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This course is an introduction into Using and Administering your IBM i System. We will go through signing up for a free account online and logging in and going through some basic usage of the wonderful IBM-i operating system.

56 Lessons – Advanced

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How do we start our modernization project?

The driving idea behind modernizing a legacy IBM AS400 or iSeries application is much more than the simple task of refactoring our old RPG and CLP codebase.

Jump to the Full IBM i Course Catalogue

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