RPG 101 - Basic old fashioned AS400 RPG Hello World Example

RPG 101: Basic Old-Fashioned AS400 RPG Hello World Example

Welcome to the first episode in the RPG 101 series, a nostalgic throwback to the early days of RPG programming on the AS400. In this video, we fire up the time machine and explore how to write a classic “Hello World” program using RPG III (aka RPG/400), the original flavor of RPG that many IBM i veterans cut their teeth on.

What You’ll Learn

• How RPG source code looked and behaved in its fixed-format glory days

• The structure of a basic RPG/400 program

• How to compile and run a simple Hello World example on an AS400 system

• Why understanding legacy RPG helps you appreciate modern RPGLE

Why It Matters

Even though fixed-format RPG is rarely used today, understanding its roots gives you a deeper appreciation for the evolution of IBM i programming. This lesson sets the stage for future episodes where we modernize this old-school code into sleek, free-form RPGLE.