About Choosing the Best IBM i IDE: A Practical Guide for Modern Developers
Modern IBM i development has evolved far beyond the green‑screen tools many of us grew up with. Today’s developers can choose from a range of powerful IDEs - each offering different strengths, workflows, and productivity boosts. In this lesson, we’ll explore the most widely used IBM i development environments, compare their capabilities, and help you understand which tool best fits your coding style, your team’s needs, and the type of work you do on the platform.
You’ll learn how traditional tools like SEU and PDM compare to modern options such as VS Code for IBM i, CURSOR, BOB and even using simple editing functions within IBM Access Client Solutions. We’ll look at real‑world use cases, performance considerations, extensibility, and how each IDE integrates with source control and modern DevOps practices. By the end of this lesson, you’ll have a clear, practical understanding of the IBM i IDE landscape and the confidence to choose the environment that will make you a faster, happier, and more effective developer.
Module Content
Modern IBM i development has evolved far beyond the green‑screen tools many of us grew up with. Today’s developers can choose from a range of powerful IDEs - each offering different strengths, workflows, and productivity boosts. In this lesson, we’ll explore the most widely used IBM i development environments, compare their capabilities, and help you understand which tool best fits your coding style, your team’s needs, and the type of work you do on the platform. You’ll learn how traditional tools like SEU and PDM compare to modern options such as VS Code for IBM i, CURSOR, BOB and even using simple editing functions within IBM Access Client Solutions. We’ll look at real‑world use cases, performance considerations, extensibility, and how each IDE integrates with source control and modern DevOps practices. By the end of this lesson, you’ll have a clear, practical understanding of the IBM i IDE landscape and the confidence to choose the environment that will make you a faster, happier, and more effective developer.
Introducing 'Integrated Development Environments' for IBM i Systems
MEMBERS ONLY
An integrated development environment is a software application that provides comprehensive facilities for software development. An IDE normally consists of at least a source-code editor, build automation tools, and a debugger.
For modern development on the IBM i System, you have several excellent IDE options: * IBM Project BOB – A vscode‑based, AI enhanced development environment that brings modern tooling, DevOps practices, and cloud‑ready workflows to IBM i development. * VS Code for IBM i – A modern, lightweight, highly extensible editor with open‑source plugins that bring source editing, library management, and Git workflows to the IBM i world. * RDi (Rational Developer for i) – IBM’s flagship Eclipse‑based IDE with powerful refactoring, debugging, and code‑analysis tools for serious RPG, COBOL, and CL development. * IBM Access Client Solutions (ACS) – A versatile administrative toolkit offering Run SQL Scripts, IFS access, 5250 emulation, and database utilities essential for daily IBM i operations. * SEU/PDM (Green‑Screen Tools) – The classic, fast, no‑frills editing environment still used in many shops for quick fixes and legacy workflows. * Merlin (IBM i Modernization Engine) – IBM’s browser‑based development platform designed for cloud‑ready, DevOps‑friendly RPG and COBOL development. These IDEs provide robust tools and features to enhance productivity and streamline the development process on IBM i systems.
The Original IBM IDE : SEU (Source Entry Utility)
MEMBERS ONLY
SEU, IBM's Source Entry Utility (aka Stoneage Editing Utility) is a basic green screen code editor. SEU runs exclusively in terminal mode, offering a solid (if outdated) source code editing tool. It's basic but has a long heritage and some very well known techniques... and some nifty secret tricks...
What is SEU and how do we use it on our Power System? Was it the same back in the AS400 and iSeries days?
Let's play with SEU in the real world. In this example, we can edit some IBM RPG source code using the IBM i Source Entry Utility.
In this lesson, we take a step back into the roots of IBM i development with a look at the classic Source Entry Utility (SEU). Using the video “SEU 101 – OLD SEU to Edit DDS File Source Code” as our guide, you’ll see how developers traditionally created and maintained DDS source members long before modern IDEs like RDi or VS Code existed. SEU may be old, but it remains fast, familiar, and still widely used in many IBM i shops for quick edits and legacy maintenance work. This introduction will help you understand what SEU is, how it works, and why it continues to be part of the IBM i developer’s toolkit. Whether you’re learning it for the first time or brushing up on the basics, this lesson sets the stage for navigating DDS source code the “old‑school” way - directly on the green screen.
What is SDA? It's 'Screen Design Aid' and all of us old AS400 silver-foxes know what this is! SDA gives developers a structured, interactive way to design screen layouts directly on the IBM i system, long before graphical IDEs existed.
Green Screen Alternatives to SEU. Column based source code editing with SEU!
IBM IDE : Rational Developer for IBM i
MEMBERS ONLY
IBM Rational Developer for i (RDi) was IBM’s premier, modern IDE for developing RPG, COBOL, CL, and DDS applications on the IBM i platform. Built on Eclipse, RDi delivers a powerful, graphical environment that dramatically improves productivity compared to traditional green‑screen tools. With features like intelligent code editing, real‑time syntax checking, graphical screen and file designers, and an integrated debugger, RDi streamlines every part of the development workflow. It’s the go‑to choice for teams looking to modernize their coding experience while staying fully aligned with IBM i best practices.
Let's look at how to download, install and fire up RDi from the IBM i Rational Developer website