IBM i, AS400, iSeries, Life

RPG and AS400 awareness test

So, back in the days of Sinclair C5’s, black and white TV licenses and pound notes, RPG was a bright new and vibrant programming language.

/me coughs and splutters slightly

Digging around an old Disk Drive (or perhaps I should say ‘winchester drive’) just looking to see if it was safe to throw away, I discovered some great old word documents that I put together back in the day. One of these was an RPG type test which was used to try to gauge the knowledge of people applying for programming roles within the Software House that I worked for.

I guess this was first written back in 91 and only goes to show how steady RPG is since it’s largely unchanged and still going strong after nearly 20 years:

 

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IBM i, AS400, IFS, iSeries, Programming

IBM Integrated File System – IFS or DLS?

IFS or DLS? The IFS is probably one of my favorite things about IBM i. The Integrated File System (IFS) is a layer of software that lets the rest of your ‘Windows’ World talk directly to that big Black IBM Super Server in the corner. The beauty of it is…. those widows machines don’t even know …

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IBM i, AS400, Authority, iSeries, Programming

IBM AS400 security holes from the golden age

Today, I was talking *techie* to a colleague in I.T. who still calls the IBMi Operating System – ‘The AS/400’. *sigh* We bumped over a few technology sleeping policemen during the conversation. Software is easy to upgrade. Mindsets are sometimes overlooked. This reminded me of the importance of keeping our skill sets current. If we …

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iSeries, AS400, IBM i, Programming, RPG

Upgrade AS400 RPG3 to IBM i RPGLE /FREE and beyond

Upgrade RPG3 before its too late Many IBM Power i machines have been running steadily for years without business interruption. The hardware is incredibly resilient but development environments are in need of upgrading. The nature of the machine means applications written ten to twenty years ago are still running strong, so the need for change …

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IBM i, AS400, iSeries, Life, Programming

The AS400, Dinosaurs, Whizzkids and the Plodders

The IBM System i has a strong following, in part because companies have not generally been required to upgrade hardware or software on an arbitrary schedule. This means that many business are running legacy computer applications (for legacy read ‘old fashioned’) that have typically been running on green-on-black terminals for many years – “if it …

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AS400, IBM i, iSeries, Programming, Webservice

Teaching an old AS400 dog new IBM i Tricks – Webservices

New IBM i Tricks for an old AS400 Dog – Webservices Only ten years late, I’m finally getting involved with some Web Services from the AS400 (sorry IBM i – *cough*). Fantastically exciting stuff after my time in the AS400/Web Wilderness and not getting my hands really deep into any techie goo. Streaming data from …

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IBM i, AS400, iSeries, Programming

“How to send email from the AS400” – Before we had IBM i on a Power System

A few years ago, I found this great article that answered all my questions regarding how to send emails (in this case various CSV spreadsheets) from the AS400 and iSeries machines. I was just discussing it so even though this is 20 years old, why not stuff it in a blog entry: Send E-Mail Messages …

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Programming, AS400, IBM i, iSeries, RPG

How to find if an IBM i (as400) program is interactive or batch – RPG API example

Any program can easily find out the mode it is running in by calling an IBM supplied *API – which will return the status of the job we are running. Basically, we just have to teach our program to shout “Hey Dude – am I running in batch or what?” and then the dark lord …

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AS400, IBM i, iSeries, Programming, SQL

OPNQRYF – Short explanation with some samples.

another snippet from an old document I found in a dim dark and hazy corner of an even older HDD… rather than let it disintegrate, here it is migrating to the web just in the (extreme) off chance that it may be useful to someone out there. Hey.. if YOU are reading this then its …

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IBM i, AS400, iSeries, Programming

IBM i SDLC – System Development Life Cycle

The process for developing software is really simple, it just needs to be burned into your brain. If you are just starting a career in programming you will hear the acronym “SDLC” thrown around. So here is a quick little primer. The SDLC is also known as Classic Life Cycle Model (or) Linear Sequential Model …

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iSeries, AS400, IBM i, Programming, RPG

RPG – IBM i and it’s glorious PSDS Program Status Data Structure

PSDS – Program Status Data Structure A program status data structure (PSDS) can be defined in an RPG program and it makes program exception/error information available to the RPG program. The PSDS must be defined in the main source section; therefore, there is only one PSDS per module. A data structure is defined as a …

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IBM i, AS400, iSeries, RPG, Software Change Management, Website

Projex4i New Version – The Community Edition is coming

So, I’ve decided its time for me to step up to the plate (to use a strange Americanism) and get ready to take my collection of IBM i Software Developer Utilities to the next level… *Deep Breath* PROJEX4I is Ready… nearly 😉 I’m at the final part of a major product re-write for PROJEX4I and …

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