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6 New Articles

November 16, 2016

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Issue Highlights

November 16, 2016 | Volume 15 Issue 22

• LEAD ARTICLE: IBM i Staff Changes: The End of the World as We Know It?

• FEATURED ARTICLE: SQL 101: Tools of the Trade – Old, Reliable STRSQL, Part 2

• NEWS HIGHLIGHT: Maxava and Meridian IT Reaffirms Strategic Partnership for Disaster Recovery Services

• MC BUYER'S GUIDE: TLAForms

• EVENT: [Webinar series] DevOps for IBM i: On Git, SVN, RTC or TFS

Lead Article - Programming

IBM i Staff Changes: The End of the World as We Know It?

Another topic that seems to be topping the charts these days is the bemoaning of the retirement of RPG talent. But is it really one of the signs of the coming apocalypse?

Written by Dave Shirey

A certain amount has been written lately about all the RPG talent that is getting ready to retire or die and what impact that will have on those of us who are still hanging on. Maybe it all started with a webinar (the recording's available) "Strategies for Overcoming IBM i Skills and Staffing Shortages"  given by Rob Rheault, Director of Application Services, and Marcel Sarrasin, VP of Corporate Marketing and Business Development, at Fresche Legacy. This webinar kicked off a certain amount of discussion in the RPG/AS400 Developers group on LinkedIn under a post by Kimberley Chan.

Fresche Legacy

Top 10 things you can do to address your IBM i IT backlog today

For most people, IT backlog is a build-up of IT requests from business users for enhancements, fixes and new projects that grows over time. Keeping up with the workload has its challenges: Constant re-prioritizing, competing projects and few resources are among some of the biggest issues that IBM i IT departments struggle with.

IT backlog can even create perceptions that IT isn’t supporting the organization and that IBM i is outdated.

So how can IT address these challenges and start reducing the backlog to deliver on key business needs?

Download a list of the top 10 things you can do to start addressing your IBM i IT backlog today.

 

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!

 

MC Press Bookstore

Written to address the special disaster recovery planning issues of System i, this book is your step-by-step guide to developing an effective, workable plan to protect your company's assets should the unthinkable happen.

Businesses today are more dependent than ever on information technology. And, faced with threats from natural disasters to terrorism, IT managers must be prepared. To be ready, you must have an effective IT disaster recovery plan in place, and now is the time to create it.

Don't wait until it's too late. Use this handy guide to establish your System i disaster recovery plan today.

 Save 35% off the Sale Price Enter Promo Code "2-Day-5083" at Checkout

Promo Code valid 11/15/2016 from 12:01am till 11/16/16 at 11:59 pm MDT Only

 

Feature Article - Programming

SQL 101: Tools of the Trade – Old, Reliable STRSQL, Part 2

Ready for more tips on STRSQL? Even if you’re familiar with this old and venerable tool, this article might show you something new.

Written by Rafael Victória-Pereira

The previous article started to discuss STRSQL and stopped short of explaining a very important set of features. So I’ll just pick up where I left off: I’m going to explain what Option 1 of the Interactive SQL Session Services screen, reachable by pressing F13 on the main screen, can be used for. This option brings up the Session Attributes screen, depicted in Figure 1.

MC SCBG Featured Product

TLAForms by TL Ashford converts your traditional IBM i spool files into high quality, professional forms.

Use a GUI Designer to create forms using data from a spool file and data from your IBM i files. Forms can be designed with true-type fonts, bar codes – including QR Code and Datamatrix, color images, overlays, lines, boxes and ellipses all in full color.

The software generates your forms as PDF documents that are archived to the IFS, automatically emailed and/or printed. Forms can be printed to IBM i PostScript printers, any printer connected to the network, or any printer connected to a PC. IFS locations, email addresses, and printers can be variable based on data within the spool file, data within the IBM i file or spool file attributes.

No programming is required to generate the new forms from your existing ERP, WMS or in-house application software.

The experienced TL Ashford technical support team will provide any pre-designed templates like the VICS Bill of Lading, and make sure working with the software is as easy and productive as possible!

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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: