Modernizing the AS400 programmer one step at a time!

A command-line interface (CLI) allows users to interact with computer programs by entering text commands. Emerging in the mid-1960s, CLIs provided a more interactive and user-friendly alternative to the non-interactive punched card systems used at the time. In the world of the IBM AS400, iSERIES and even the modern IBM i System the CLI is commonly known as "Green Screen" or "Emulator"

In the IBM i world, a shell is a command-line interface that allows users to interact with the operating system and execute commands. IBM i supports several types of shells, each with its own features and utilities.

If you are used to the green screen world of 5250 sessions and CL commands but want to tap into open source tools like MariaDB on your Power Systems box, understanding SSH and shells is a must. These let you run commands remotely or in a command-line interface right on IBM i, making installs and scripting smoother alongside your RPG, COBOL, or DB2 work. In this lesson, we will demystify the buzzwords like SSH, IFS, Bash, and more, with a focus on how they fit into your IBM i programming workflows. We will use SSH in examples here, setting the stage for things like a MariaDB setup. Let's break it down step by step so you can get comfortable and productive.

NPM is a software registry, package manager and installer for Node.js and other code packages. How does it work on the IBM i System?

The IBM i operating system supports a number of different scripting languages. IBM PASE for i shells and utilities -- IBM Portable Application Solutions Environment for i (IBM PASE for i) includes three shells (Korn, Bourne, and C Shell) and provides many utilities that run as PASE programs. IBM PASE for i shells and utilities provide an extensible scripting environment that includes a large number of industry-standard and defacto-standard commands. Qshell -- Qshell is a command environment based on POSIX and X/Open standards. Net.Data -- Net.Data® is a server-side scripting engine that allows you to easily create dynamic documents using live data from a variety of sources such as relational and non-relational database management systems (DBMSs), including Db2® databases that can be accessed through DRDA, files, and native applications written in programming languages such as RPG, Cobol, Java™, C, C++, and REXX. Node.js -- Node.js is an open source project based on the Google Chrome JavaScript Engine. It provides a platform for server-side JavaScript applications running without browsers. PHP -- Hypertext Preprocessor (PHP) is one of the world's most popular server-side scripting language for building dynamic, data-driven Web applications. Python -- Python is an agile, dynamically typed, expressive, open source programming language that supports multiple programming philosophies, including procedural, object-oriented, and functional. REXX -- These manuals include information about general concepts, specific functions, and instructions about REXX programming.

What are the benefits of storing IBM-i source code in the ifs, compared to traditional source files?

When modernizing systems 36 code what is the equivalent to the workstation ID in a modern IBM-i environment? In this lesson, we’ll break down: What the old S/36 Workstation ID actually represented Why it doesn’t exist in the same form on IBM i The modern equivalents—job attributes, device names, environment variables, and APIs How to retrieve them cleanly in RPGLE and CL How to update your legacy logic so it behaves properly in a modern environment

Today, we’re diving into how to use VS Code tools to effortlessly upgrade your old legacy AS400 code to sleek, modern IBM i RPG Free format. Stick around for pro tips, step-by-step demos, and a transformation that’ll make your codebase sing!

This time we play with the OG RPG Converter which comes in the VSCODE for IBM I bundle. I've used this lots of times over the recent year (while migrating from RDi to the world of VS-Code) and it does a fairly steady job of the heavy uplift.

Today, we’re diving into the ARCAD Transformer RPG, a tool that promises to modernize your legacy AS400 RPG code into sleek, maintainable ILE RPG Free Form. Is it as good as they claim? Is it free? And most importantly, is it worth your time?

Welcome, coders, to Adventures in Automatic RPG Upgrade - Cozzi RPG IV to Free! I’m diving into a free Visual Studio Code extension that claims to magically transform your old-school RPG IV source code into modern free-format RPG. Sounds like a dream, right? But does it actually deliver? Today, we’ll test this tool, explore its features, and see if it’s a game-changer for IBM i developers. Let’s hit the code and find out!

The old column-based RPG (like RPG III or IV) feels like coding on graph paper, every character had to be in the right column, or it was chaos. Free-format RPG ditches that for a clean, flexible syntax that feels like writing modern code. Let's dive into a 30 year old little program and upgrade it manually!

Today we’re putting IBM’s newest AI wunderkind through a proper trial by fire. Not ChatGPT. Not Copilot. Not Claude. Not that seasoned AS400 developer who still swears by SEU and a packet of Hobnobs. Say hello to IBM BOB the confident, AI‑powered assistant built specifically for IBM i, promising to take your most ancient, dust‑covered RPG code and elevate it with modern elegance and machine‑like precision. In this lesson, we’re venturing into the wild: taking a real chunk of 1990s RPG code, from the era of pagers, CRT monitors, and Y2K panic, and asking BOB to bring it into the present day. Will he convert it into clean, readable, free‑format, SQL‑friendly RPGLE? Or will he melt into a puddle of op‑codes, indentation crimes, and passive‑aggressive compile messages? Only one way to find out. Let’s fire up IBM BOB and see whether he truly deserves the crown as the King of IBM i Code Modernization.