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December 21, 2016

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Issue Highlights

December 21, 2016 | Volume 15 Issue 24

LEAD ARTICLE: Gifts to Give Yourself This Holiday

FEATURED ARTICLE: SQL 101: Tools of the Trade - i Navigator’s Run SQL Scripts

NEWS HIGHLIGHT: New Bluemix Services with GitHub and Slack Integration

WHITE PAPER: IBM i Security: Event Logging & Active Monitoring

EVENT: Happy Holidays!

Lead Article - Programming

Gifts to Give Yourself This Holiday

It’s the holiday season, and everyone is in the gift-giving mood. Be sure you don’t forget to invest in your company and career.

Written by Brian May

It’s a special time of the year. Family gatherings for the holidays, football season, and time in the woods all make this one of my favorite seasons. The month of December is also unique for IT departments. December is certainly not business as usual for most of us.

It’s time for budgets. That may mean requesting budget items for next year or spending surplus budget before the end of the year. It’s often when project work slows down a bit as end users, and IT staff alike, take time away from the office. It’s a time when stress is often at its lowest, and it’s just easier to get some things done.

MC Press Bookstore

The time is NOW to get the top books for tech professionals at our lowest prices ever!

Pay only $35 each for our newest titles! You save a whopping 40% to 70% off the regular price.

9 of our best titles for just $25 each!  Perfect gifts for your favorite Power Systems pro! Treat yourself or a colleague!

10 titles 70-85% Off. Get your copies today!  Pay just $15 each for popular books on RPG, PHP, Java, Project Management, DB2, and more. Don’t wait – at these prices, books will sell out soon!

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Give the Gift of Knowledge: Over 50 titles for $5 each!  RPG, IBM i, Security, PHP, Programming, DB2, Analytics, and more. Shop now—at these prices, books are going fast!

MC Press Bookstore

An old dog can learn new tricks! Flexible Input, Dazzling Output with IBM i is full of clever ways to get data into your IBM i system, as well as new techniques to export and present this data in a modern, business-friendly manner. No more boring spreadsheets or ugly printouts! Your DB2 data will look great in program-generated spreadsheets and browser-based, interactive charts. Whether you’re an old dog or not, you’ll get the most out of your ILE RPG programs with the open source, free tools in this smart new release! Order your copy today!

Just $25 during the MC Press Year-End Inventory Blowout!

MC Press Bookstore

This ain’t your mama’s RPG! Time to move on from OPM—with Evolve Your RPG Coding. This comprehensive new book gives you all the tools to move to a more modern, modular, and efficient ILE RPG. The book guides you through the transition at a comfortable pace, making every ILE concept totally accessible. You’ll start with simple, easy-to-understand examples and analogies to OPM, then advance to complete and complex ILE code. Finally, you’ll go beyond ILE with a detailed discussion of SQL, code organization, and structure. Pre-order your copy today!

Just $35 during the MC Press Year-End Inventory Blowout!

Feature Article - Programming

SQL 101: Tools of the Trade - i Navigator’s Run SQL Scripts

A more “modern” alternative to STRSQL, discussed in the last two articles, is the i Navigator’s Run SQL Scripts tool. Let’s explore it together, shall we?

Written by Rafael Victória-Pereira

While STRSQL is a green-screen tool, Run SQL Scripts is part of the i Navigator package. You can access it by choosing the Run SQL Scripts option, either from the bottom-right pane of the i Navigator window after you’ve chosen the Databases tree node from the right panel, as shown in Figure 1, or by right-clicking the database name and choosing the respective option.

MC Resource Centers

IBM i Security: Event Logging & Active Monitoring

A Step by Step Guide

Active monitoring is one of the most critical and effective security controls that an organization can deploy. Unlike many Windows and Linux server deployments, the IBM i can host a complex mix of back-office applications, web applications, and open source applications and services - leaving millions of security events to actively monitor.

This eBook discusses:

  • Real-time security event logging and monitoring
  • Security architecture and logging sources on the IBM i
  • Creating the IBM security audit journal QAUDJRN
  • Enabling IBM security events through system values
  • File integrity monitoring (FIM)
  • A step by step checklist begin collecting and monitoring IBM i security logs

Download your copy today from the MC White Paper Center

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*Some offers may be limited to U.S. and/or Canadian citizens only. Please see the site for details.  

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Book Reviews

Resource Center

  • SB Profound WC 5536 Have you been wondering about Node.js? Our free Node.js Webinar Series takes you from total beginner to creating a fully-functional IBM i Node.js business application. You can find Part 1 here. In Part 2 of our free Node.js Webinar Series, Brian May teaches you the different tooling options available for writing code, debugging, and using Git for version control. Brian will briefly discuss the different tools available, and demonstrate his preferred setup for Node development on IBM i or any platform. Attend this webinar to learn:

  • SB Profound WP 5539More than ever, there is a demand for IT to deliver innovation. Your IBM i has been an essential part of your business operations for years. However, your organization may struggle to maintain the current system and implement new projects. The thousands of customers we've worked with and surveyed state that expectations regarding the digital footprint and vision of the company are not aligned with the current IT environment.

  • SB HelpSystems ROBOT Generic IBM announced the E1080 servers using the latest Power10 processor in September 2021. The most powerful processor from IBM to date, Power10 is designed to handle the demands of doing business in today’s high-tech atmosphere, including running cloud applications, supporting big data, and managing AI workloads. But what does Power10 mean for your data center? In this recorded webinar, IBMers Dan Sundt and Dylan Boday join IBM Power Champion Tom Huntington for a discussion on why Power10 technology is the right strategic investment if you run IBM i, AIX, or Linux. In this action-packed hour, Tom will share trends from the IBM i and AIX user communities while Dan and Dylan dive into the tech specs for key hardware, including:

  • Magic MarkTRY the one package that solves all your document design and printing challenges on all your platforms. Produce bar code labels, electronic forms, ad hoc reports, and RFID tags – without programming! MarkMagic is the only document design and print solution that combines report writing, WYSIWYG label and forms design, and conditional printing in one integrated product. Make sure your data survives when catastrophe hits. Request your trial now!  Request Now.

  • SB HelpSystems ROBOT GenericForms of ransomware has been around for over 30 years, and with more and more organizations suffering attacks each year, it continues to endure. What has made ransomware such a durable threat and what is the best way to combat it? In order to prevent ransomware, organizations must first understand how it works.

  • SB HelpSystems ROBOT GenericIT security is a top priority for businesses around the world, but most IBM i pros don’t know where to begin—and most cybersecurity experts don’t know IBM i. In this session, Robin Tatam explores the business impact of lax IBM i security, the top vulnerabilities putting IBM i at risk, and the steps you can take to protect your organization. If you’re looking to avoid unexpected downtime or corrupted data, you don’t want to miss this session.

  • SB HelpSystems ROBOT GenericCan you trust all of your users all of the time? A typical end user receives 16 malicious emails each month, but only 17 percent of these phishing campaigns are reported to IT. Once an attack is underway, most organizations won’t discover the breach until six months later. A staggering amount of damage can occur in that time. Despite these risks, 93 percent of organizations are leaving their IBM i systems vulnerable to cybercrime. In this on-demand webinar, IBM i security experts Robin Tatam and Sandi Moore will reveal:

  • FORTRA Disaster protection is vital to every business. Yet, it often consists of patched together procedures that are prone to error. From automatic backups to data encryption to media management, Robot automates the routine (yet often complex) tasks of iSeries backup and recovery, saving you time and money and making the process safer and more reliable. Automate your backups with the Robot Backup and Recovery Solution. Key features include:

  • FORTRAManaging messages on your IBM i can be more than a full-time job if you have to do it manually. Messages need a response and resources must be monitored—often over multiple systems and across platforms. How can you be sure you won’t miss important system events? Automate your message center with the Robot Message Management Solution. Key features include:

  • FORTRAThe thought of printing, distributing, and storing iSeries reports manually may reduce you to tears. Paper and labor costs associated with report generation can spiral out of control. Mountains of paper threaten to swamp your files. Robot automates report bursting, distribution, bundling, and archiving, and offers secure, selective online report viewing. Manage your reports with the Robot Report Management Solution. Key features include:

  • FORTRAFor over 30 years, Robot has been a leader in systems management for IBM i. With batch job creation and scheduling at its core, the Robot Job Scheduling Solution reduces the opportunity for human error and helps you maintain service levels, automating even the biggest, most complex runbooks. Manage your job schedule with the Robot Job Scheduling Solution. Key features include:

  • LANSA Business users want new applications now. Market and regulatory pressures require faster application updates and delivery into production. Your IBM i developers may be approaching retirement, and you see no sure way to fill their positions with experienced developers. In addition, you may be caught between maintaining your existing applications and the uncertainty of moving to something new.

  • LANSAWhen it comes to creating your business applications, there are hundreds of coding platforms and programming languages to choose from. These options range from very complex traditional programming languages to Low-Code platforms where sometimes no traditional coding experience is needed. Download our whitepaper, The Power of Writing Code in a Low-Code Solution, and:

  • LANSASupply Chain is becoming increasingly complex and unpredictable. From raw materials for manufacturing to food supply chains, the journey from source to production to delivery to consumers is marred with inefficiencies, manual processes, shortages, recalls, counterfeits, and scandals. In this webinar, we discuss how:

  • The MC Resource Centers bring you the widest selection of white papers, trial software, and on-demand webcasts for you to choose from. >> Review the list of White Papers, Trial Software or On-Demand Webcast at the MC Press Resource Center. >> Add the items to yru Cart and complet he checkout process and submit

  • Profound Logic Have you been wondering about Node.js? Our free Node.js Webinar Series takes you from total beginner to creating a fully-functional IBM i Node.js business application.

  • SB Profound WC 5536Join us for this hour-long webcast that will explore:

  • Fortra IT managers hoping to find new IBM i talent are discovering that the pool of experienced RPG programmers and operators or administrators with intimate knowledge of the operating system and the applications that run on it is small. This begs the question: How will you manage the platform that supports such a big part of your business? This guide offers strategies and software suggestions to help you plan IT staffing and resources and smooth the transition after your AS/400 talent retires. Read on to learn: