Susan Gantner
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Guru: RDi V9.6, Part 6 – The New Object Table Gets Even Better
January 20, 2020 Susan Gantner
RDi V9.6 seems to be the gift that keeps on giving. I started this series about this release of RDi almost two years ago. You may have thought my last (fifth) tip in the series was the last on this subject, but it turns out there’s still more!
I wrote an entire tip earlier on the new and greatly improved Object Table view. In a related tip, when discussing the PDM perspective, I said that I thought there were a few enhancements still needed to make the perspective a good tool for easing the transition from PDM for RDi …
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Guru Classic: iSphere Plug-in Expands RSE/RDi Toolset
January 8, 2020 Susan Gantner
My series of three Guru tips on the free iSphere plug-in first appeared in 2015. Since I still find that most RDi users haven’t heard of it, I’ve decided to repeat the series as Guru Classics. I’ve made a few updates to this first one in the series due to enhancements made to both RDi and iSphere in the intervening years.
Followers of my Guru tips know that I’m a big RDi fan. These days I would be lost trying to write or maintain RPG code without things like RDi’s Outline, Error feedback, editor filtering, and Undo. But you know …
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Guru: Code Coverage via CL Command
November 25, 2019 Susan Gantner
This is my third tip on using RDi’s Code Coverage support. In the first tip, we explored setting up a test run using Service Entry Points (a.k.a. SEPs). In the second one, I covered how to create a configuration for the test run. Here we’ll see how to use a CL command to run a Code Coverage test session without requiring interaction with RDi (except for reporting.)
Before seeing how to do it, it may be good to discuss why you may prefer to use this approach. Simply put, it makes it easier to automate the testing process …
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Guru Classic: Everybody Likes Shortcuts! Part 1, Navigation
August 14, 2019 Susan Gantner
I wrote the original version of this tip a few years ago but I still find a lot of RPGers aren’t using keyboard shortcuts as much as I think they should be. Since shortcuts can make you so much more productive, I’m re-visiting this topic with a few updates for changes in more recent versions of RDi. It’s also a follow-on to my last Guru Classic tip on RDi keyboard shortcuts.
I’ve seen a particularly sharp increase in the use of RDi (or Rational Developer for i) by RPGers in recent years. I suspect that has a lot to …
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Guru: RDi Code Coverage Without SEPs
August 12, 2019 Susan Gantner
My last Guru tip provided an introduction to RDi’s Code Coverage tool that you can use to determine how complete your tests are. In that tip I discussed how to run it using Service Entry Points (SEPs). In this follow-on tip, I’ll continue the exploration of this tool with some additional details plus introduce you to an alternative way to run a Code Coverage session.
Before going into the alternative approach to running Code Coverage, there are a few details I didn’t mention in the first tip.
I mentioned that Code Coverage uses the debug engine. What I didn’t mention …
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Guru: How Thorough Was Your Last Test? RDi Code Coverage Can Tell You
July 22, 2019 Susan Gantner
When you’ve made changes to one or more programs, you test all the changes – right? And, of course, you also test all the rest of the code just to make sure you didn’t break anything else. Did you do that with your last set of changes? Did you test ALL the code? Enabling you to answer that last question is what RDi’s Code Coverage facility is all about.
This is an introduction to Code Coverage — the basics of both why and how to use it. Before I go into how to run it, it may pique your interest …
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Guru Classic: My Favorite Keyboard Shortcuts for RSE/RDi
July 17, 2019 Susan Gantner
When using RDi for editing my CL, DDS, RPG, or COBOL code, I find that I can save a lot of time by using keyboard shortcuts for functions that would otherwise require that I take my hands off the keyboard to use the mouse. So I thought I would share a few of my favorites. Many of the shortcuts I use are standard for other applications that I also use for email, spreadsheets or text editing. It’s easy to forget that some of those same shortcuts can be used when we’re editing our RPG code.
A lot has changed on …
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Guru Classic: Giving RDi a Split Personality
June 19, 2019 Susan Gantner
A commonly asked question by RDi newbies is: “How do I view source in split screen like I can in SEU?” The answer is that you can’t do it exactly like SEU, but then why would you want to? The RDi editor offers far greater flexibility.
The original version of my tip on this subject was published back in 2007. Back then, the toolset we know as RDi was called “WDSC”. Quite a lot of other changes have occurred within RDi as well. Originally, a specialized perspective was required to make this feature work well. Today’s RDi works well without …
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Guru Classic: Custom Perspectives In RDi, Part 2
March 6, 2019 Susan Gantner
In my earlier tip I described how to create a custom perspective and I also described one scenario when custom perspectives come in handy. I promised to follow that up with another way to use custom perspectives.
I’m often asked questions such as:
- How do I keep my Outline from disappearing when I’m in full-screen edit?
- How can I see my RPG Indentation view alongside the full-screen editor view of the source member?
Custom perspectives can be used as one answer to both questions.
Of course, when you’re in full-screen edit, you can “peek” at any of your views (such …
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Guru Classic: Who Needs Custom Perspectives In RDi?
February 13, 2019 Susan Gantner
I often talk to people who are confused about RDi perspectives, so I thought this two-part series on why and how to create and use your own custom perspectives would be a good one to update. Very little has changed since the original publication of this first part, but I’ve updated the screen shots and addressed one or two small differences in recent releases. This version assumes you are running at least RDi 9.5
Who needs custom perspectives in RDi? Just about everyone. At least everyone could probably benefit from them. As you know if you’ve read my earlier tips, …
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