SQL Conference Puts Spotlight on IBM i

April 10, 2012 Dan Burger

Database expertise begins with the ability to analyze database performance and scalability, create new features and functionality, recognize what not to change, and identify where changes are appropriate. And for RPG and COBOL application developers who haven’t already done so, learning SQL and using it to access the DB2 for i (DB2/400) database, is one of the skills that separates the modern programmer from the legacy folks. It’s a foregone conclusion the IBM i shops of the future will have these tools in the shed.

It’s with this in mind that System i Developer put together a two-day technical conference specifically for IBM i developers, database engineers and software providers. The single-focus, database curriculum takes aim at modernizing IBM i-centric reporting and data access, enabling business intelligence, enforcing data integrity, enhancing database functionality and improving performance.

The conference is called the “SQL for i Spotlight,” and is scheduled for June 5 through 8 at the IBM Innovation Center in Waltham, Massachusetts.

Mike Cain, senior technical staff member at IBM’s DB2 for i Center of Excellence, and IBMer Kent Milligan, a database expert, collaborated with System i Developer (creators of the “RPG & DB2 Summit” conferences) to create the curriculum, which includes sessions designed for skill levels from beginner to advanced.

Cain calls SQL the key to getting the most of out of DB2 for i, and realizing more value with less effort. Learning new data-centric techniques is a “critical success factor,” he says.

The conference schedule is set up with a full-day workshop on the front end and another full-day workshop on the back end, with the main tech conference in between. For those with minimal SQL skills (or skills that are somewhat rusty), a full-day foundations in SQL workshop taught by Susan Gantner and Skip Marchesani, is scheduled for the day before the main conference. And on the day after the conference, Milligan will present a lab session on mastering the DB2 for i performance tools. The workshops require separate registrations from the main tech conference.

The conference features two tracks of classroom sessions taught by Cain, Milligan, Skip Marchesani, and Paul Tuohy. The sessions cover: SQL programming, DB2 for i capabilities, performance optimization and query, reporting and business intelligence enablement.

Registration rates start at $1,195 for the core conference ($995 for System i Developer alumni) and $395 per workshop. Registration includes a conference workbook containing handouts for all of the sessions, plus breakfast and lunch each day registered.

For more information on attending the SQL for i Spotlight conference and workshops, visit www.systemideveloper.com, email registration@systemideveloper.com or call 603-924-3769 (toll-free 866-716-5409).