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Perhaps the question is really “Is using AI to write code, or at least using AI as a coding assistant, the Future of IBM i Development?“ Well, I reckon AI is absolutely going to be a big part of the future for IBM i development, but it‘s not (yet) able to wave a magic wand …
Hey there, fellow IBM i RPG Nerds. I was revisiting a couple of old posts about source code commenting and compile directives and it got me thinking about these marvelous, often overlooked features of IBM-i source code. Today, let’s dive into RPG compiler directives! If you have ever stared at a mile-long compiler listing wondering …
The Mysterious “M” in Your DDS: Naming Conventions vs Keyboard Shifts This morning I opened a DSPF and spotted what looked like a data type of “M” against a field that smelled numeric. My first thought? “Since when did IBM i add an M type?” Turns out the original developer had a very correct reason …
(Before You Become a Walking Error Message) If you’re new to the IBM i world, congratulations – you’ve just stepped into one of the most powerful, stable, gloriously quirky computing platforms ever built. But before you can call yourself anything other than “that person who keeps locking QSYSOPR,” you need to memorise a handful of …
“This week I’ve been mostly writing sub-procedures” If you have spent any time writing modern RPGLE on IBM i, you’ve seen small sub-procedures, bloated sub-procedures, simple, complex and plain crazy sub-procedures. Over the last week, I’ve been working hard to modernize a whole bunch of legacy RPG and SQL RPG code into cohesive, reusable sub-procedures …
If you have ever stared at a dusty fixed-format RPG III program from the 1990s and thought “there has to be a better way”, then IBM’s latest AI-powered sidekick might just be your new best friend. Meet IBM BOB (yes, that’s the official name now – Project Bob has grown up). BOB is IBM’s AI-first …
AKA – Taming the wild west of RPGLE/SQLRPGLE source code comments with IBM i BOB, turning cryptic developer scribbles into a perfectly standardized, comment utopia. If you spend any time maintaining IBM i systems like I do, you know how messy legacy RPGLE and SQLRPGLE source can get. One program after another with zero comments, …
One of the most common headaches when you integrate your IBM i with the outside world is converting data between EBCDIC and ASCII. You get a flat file from a PC, pull JSON from a web service, or process input from another platform and suddenly your strings look like garbage. The good news is that …
If you are developing software on IBM i systems then IBM Bob has probably caught your attention by now. This AI powered coding assistant lives right inside your IDE and acts as a smart programming partner that understands your full codebase. It helps you design, refactor, review and modernize code with real expertise in RPG, …
You know the drill. You fire up the IDE full of hope, and immediately get mugged by debugging hell, fossilized 90s RPG that smells of mothballs, pointless documentation, and soul-crushing code reviews. Absolute murder. Enter IBM BOB – my cheeky AI mate who actually enjoys hoovering up all that tedious programming guff for me. In …
Mastering TURNOVER for IBM i: Project and Worklist Management Basics If you’re knee-deep in managing software changes on the IBM i platform, you know how crucial it is to keep things organized, auditable, and efficient. Today on the blog, we’re diving into TURNOVER for iSeries, specifically focusing on project and worklist management. This tool from …
Removing Java 17 from IBM i and Watching BOB Compile Without any Java Log Drama If you have been following my adventures in IBM i land, you know I have been wrestling with some pesky Java issues for a while now. Today, I am thrilled to report a major win: we finally yanked Java 17 …
