About Visual Studio Code for RPG Programmers
Visual Studio Code is an IDE (Interactive Development Environment)
It's a modern coding tool helping software developers to work with many languages. To write and maintain source code on your IBM i, iSeries or AS400 system, simply download and install the 'Code for IBM i' addon.
Visual Studio Code is the best IDE for extensibility, it works brilliantly and is FREE!
Module Content
Visual Studio Code is an IDE (Interactive Development Environment)
INSTALL and SETUP -- Visual Studio Code for IBM i
What is the IDE called commonly known as 'VS Code'?
What is the IDE called commonly known as 'VS Code'?
What is the IDE called commonly known as 'VS Code'?
What is the IDE called commonly known as 'VS Code'?
Using Visual Studio Code for IBM i in Realtime
Watch some English Bloke Download and Install Visual Studio Code for IBM i
Come on now... You know the answer to this!
Let's make our RPG code beautiful again with 'VSCode for IBM i' magical plugin called "RPGLE Linting" -- Lint is the computer science term for a static code analysis tool used to flag programming errors, bugs, stylistic errors and suspicious constructs.
Come with me, while I load up an old RPG code snippet and run it through the VSCODE FREE FORMAT RPG code uplift function
It's time to grab some old AS400 Physical Files and drag them kicking and screaming into the IBM i SQL Age...
To use a 5250 green screen terminal in Visual Studio Code (VS Code) for IBM i, follow these steps:
Install Code for IBM i:
First, make sure you have Code for IBM i installed in your VS Code. If not, you can find installation instructions here.
Open the Terminal:
In VS Code, click the Terminals button at the bottom of your screen.
A quick-pick menu will appear at the top of your screen. Choose the PASE (SSH) terminal option.
Since you’ve already connected to your system using Code for IBM i, the PASE terminal will log you in automatically.
5250 Terminal Requirements:
To launch a 5250 emulator, you need to have tn5250 installed. This is a terminal client for IBM i that emulates 5250 terminals.
You can install tn5250 via yum.
Customize Your Terminal:
Code for IBM i provides additional settings to configure your terminal. One common setting is the CCSID mapping configuration, which lets you set the encoding for the terminal.
By having both your code and 5250 terminals within the same IDE, you’ll find it more efficient for RPG and open-source development.
Setting the VSCODE IBM i PATH to open source packages on IBM i is beneficial for several reasons:
Ease of Access: By setting the PATH to /QOpenSys/pkgs/bin, you can easily access open source tools and packages without needing to specify their full paths each time. This is similar to how library lists work on IBM i
Efficiency: It streamlines your workflow by allowing you to run commands and scripts directly from the terminal or within VS Code, improving productivity and reducing the chance of errors
Integration: It enhances the integration of open source tools with your development environment, making it easier to use languages and tools like Python, Node.js, and others directly on IBM i
Consistency: Ensuring that the PATH is set correctly helps maintain consistency across different development environments and team members, making collaboration smoother