When IBM Rational Open Access (OAR): RPG Edition was announced, all the buzz was about how it would (or would not) impact the green-screen world. But the possibilities for OAR go far beyond workstations. Perhaps more to the point, while few people have the skills to write their own 5250 handlers, writing handlers for other purposes is well within the grasp of the average RPG programmer.

In this tip I am going to introduce you to the basic mechanics of how an OAR handler works. In a sub-sequent tip, I will put that theory into practice by describing the workings

To be able to create one table that is described exactly like an existing table or view is good. But how you create that table determines whether the new table is exactly like the old one or not. Believe it or not, something as trifling as a pair of parentheses can make a difference.

Small Things Matter

The CREATE TABLE statement has several forms. Here are the two I want to talk about today.

CREATE TABLE xxx LIKE zzz

CREATE TABLE xxx (LIKE zzz)

There’s not much difference–one pair of parentheses. But as amazing as it sounds, the inclusion or

x Support Run Out on April 7, 2015?

I recently performed a best guess analysis on when IBM i5/OS V5R4Mx support will actually run out. My client wanted to estimate how long they could theoretically get IBM support for running on V5R4Mx without having to upgrade. I came up with a possible final end of software support date for i5/OS V5R4Mx of April 7, 2015. Sound crazy? Check my logic and tell me where I’m wrong.

The Challenge

Sadly, this client was considering phasing out their i5/OS ERP environment in favor of an Intel-based platform. However foolish