Four Hundred Monitor, October 11
October 11, 2017 Dan Burger
Prior to the latest Technology Refresh announcements, which were just released yesterday, Tim Rowe, business architect for application development and systems management for IBM i, reviewed what was added to Access Client Solutions earlier this year. He also commented on the partnership between IBM and HelpSystems that resulted in development work on several IBM products being farmed out to the IBM i software vendor.
Inside Monitor this week, you’ll also find articles pertaining to open source database trends, what’s holding back IT hiring, Java technology on IBM i, and IBM’s leading role in Blockchain advancements. The calendar of events has been updated, too.
Top Stories From Outside The Jungle
(IBM Systems Magazine) It’s a challenge to bring young people into the field of enterprise computing and introducing them to IBM i. But take a look at what the COMMON Education Foundation (CEF) is doing. CEF’s strategy is to encourage students and individuals, including those who have business experience and are considering career changes, to seek careers in the information technology industry, while providing them with supplementary educational opportunities along the way.
(CIO) ERP systems have a reputation for difficult installations. By the time they are finally operational, it is not uncommon for implementations to have taken longer and cost more than originally planned. Over time, software from the major ERP vendors has become bloated as it attempts to support multiple industries and business process variations. Upgrading what you have is one consideration and another option is “born in the cloud” software.
(ZDNet) What would an escalation of tensions mean for the future of our relationships with Russian software companies, developers, and strategically outsourced tech talent? Russian software companies have significant market share and widespread use within US corporations. If you thought your Y2K mitigation was expensive, wait until your enterprise experiences the Russian Purge.
(MIT Technology Review) We are surrounded by hysteria about the future of artificial intelligence and robots. Mistaken extrapolations, limited imagination, and other common mistakes that distract us from thinking more productively about the future.
Redbooks, White Papers, and Other Resources
(Fresche) If you are struggling to develop an IT strategy that addresses your backlogged projects and evolves your investment, here’s some useful advice.
(IBM) An overview of IBM i 7.3 TR3 includes enhanced analytics, new security capabilities, and other new functions in IBM i and associated licensed programs.
(IBM) An overview of IBM i 7.2 TR7 includes enhanced analytics, new security capabilities, and other new functions in IBM i and associated licensed programs.
(IBM) This document provides a basic understanding of IBM i on Power Systems performance concepts, workloads and benchmarks. It includes system sizing and capacity planning, performance tools, and Power8 and virtualization performance.
(GitHub) Here’s a collection of helpful and easy to install bash scripts for the IBM i. It includes setup scripts and current tools. Start small and use scripts to automate small tasks. Over time you can build on what you know and wind up doing more and more with scripts.
Chats, Webinars, Seminars, Shows, and Other Happenings
October 12 — Wauwatosa, Wisconsin – Making Two sessions on Rational Developer for i (RDi) are on the agenda at the monthly meeting of the Wisconsin Midrange Computer Professional Association. Guest speaker is Bruce Guetzkow, a programmer/analyst at Liebovich Bros. The first session examines RDi settings and several plug-ins. The second session focuses on using RDi effectively. The meeting begins at 4 p.m. at Alioto’s restaurant located at 3041 North Mayfair Road.
October 16-17 — Minneapolis, Minnesota – The CIO Summit, an event focused on exploring ways to leverage IBM i investments, is open to a limited number of CIOs. Topics of discussion include common challenges faced by IBM i CIOs and IT directors, managing new technology, evaluating the cloud, hiring the right skills, delivering enhancements, and completing integrations and new applications on time and on budget. Requests for invitations are being handled online.
October 17-19 — Minneapolis, Minnesota – The twice-a-year, spring and fall, RPG & DB2 Summit returns to the upper Midwest for its next technical conference with an agenda that expands to cover new topics such as Python for RPGers, how to bring the power of Watson to RPG applications, and SQL aggregation. It also incorporates sessions that will introduce hidden gems in DB2 for i as well as anticipated Q4 2017 updates to the database. In addition to the three-day Summit, an optional fourth day of hands-on workshops October 16, provides intensive education into four technology areas — SQL, RSE/RDi, Service Programs or PHP. Workshop attendees choose one topic for the “deep dive.” An early registration discount is available through August 31.
October 16-20 — New Orleans, Louisiana – The IBM Power Systems and Storage Technical University agenda will include more than 600 technical sessions delivered by top IBM developers and experts. Topic areas include IBM i, AIX, Linux on Power, Open Power, Power hardware and software, and storage. Sessions and demos are geared to all skill levels. Take advantage of networking opportunities to connect with product developers and industry leaders and join in discussions on real-world IT challenges and successes
October 18 — North Attleboro, Massachusetts – Open source software and the perils and pitfalls of prepping native IBM i solutions for the open source distribution model will be the featured topic at the monthly meeting of the New England Midrange Users Group. Guest speaker is Christopher Burns, a specialist in application modernization and developer education. He is the driving force behind Inuendo–an open source project for data virtualization. The meeting begins at 5:15 at the Red Stone Grill located at 120 Chestnut Street.
October 21 — Costa Mesa, California – IBM i expert and educator, Jim Buck, will lead this workshop on developing an SQL/Service program using free form RPG and RDi. This combined lecture and lab will demonstrate how to take a traditional subfile program and convert the disk I/O to SQL then move the database I/O to a service program. Learning objectives include the utilization of the RDi screen designer, use of free format RPG, use of SQL in an RPG service program, and use of subprocedures, modules and service programs in modern RPG applications. The fee for this one day of training is $50 for OCEAN user group members and $75 for non-members. It includes continental breakfast, lunch, and end-of-session hors d’oeuvres.
October 23–26 — Las Vegas, Nevada – ZendCon offers authoritative sessions, in-depth technical tutorials, exhibit hall activities, and informal opportunities to spotlight the best in enterprise PHP and open source development, focusing on the latest for PHP 7, the evolution of frameworks and tools, API excellence, and innovations on many open source technologies related to the web. It includes a track specifically for IBM i development.
October 24 — Mississauga, Ontario, Canada – A one-day workshop on modernizing RPG applications will be presented RPG subject matter expert Paul Tuohy. This workshop will focus on modern programming practices and tools that can transform old monolithic RPG applications into a modern, modularized form that makes them useful in the years ahead. During this session, attendees will take a sample application and follow it through the conversion process from RPG/400 (basic RPG IV) to RPG IV and ILE features, modularizing the code, adding DB2 UDB features and replacing the green screen with a graphical or browser-based interface. Registration is $249 for Toronto User Group members and $299 for non-members.
November 14 — Webinar – File transfers can be time consuming to write and maintain. This presentation will help solve connection issues with trading partners and ensure data is protected every step of the way. It also emphasizes the importance of keeping detailed logs of file transfer activity to meet today’s strict compliance requirements like PCI DSS and HIPAA. Topics for discussion include secure protocols, encryption, and moving files between IBM i and other servers. The session begins at 10 a.m. Central Time.
