• How To Use the Inhibit Write Keyword?

  February 24, 2010 Hey, Ted

  I stumbled upon the Inhibit Write (INHWRT) keyword parameter of the Override with Database File (OVRDBF) command recently while I was looking through the help text for something else. How long has the parameter been there? I can think of some ways to put it to work. Can you tell me something about INHWRT and how to go about using it? –Bill That parameter has been there forever, Bill, but I don’t think a lot of people know about it. I see it mentioned occasionally in online forums. I don’t consider it a terribly useful feature of i5/OS. When you

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• Hunting Down Storage Hogs

  February 24, 2010 Hey, Joe

  My System i 550 disk space keeps filling up, and now it’s approaching 87 percent utilization. I’m worried it will be a major problem once storage tops 90 percent used. I’ve checked everything I can think of. Do you have any ideas for what could be eating up my disk space? –Tim This is a common issue that most shops face at one time or another. Here are some common places to search for memory hogs on your system. 1. Excessive spooled files–Some shops are spooled file pack rats, refusing to delete large numbers of spooled files, sometimes for

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• Handling Constraint Violations in RPG

  February 17, 2010 Paul Tuohy

  Constraints have been around for a long time but have not quite made it into every programmer’s tool kit. This is partly explained by the fact that implementing constraints in an existing application can be tricky–but it doesn’t explain why constraints are not used extensively in new applications. On a side note, the lack of constraints on a database is one of the reasons I have heard why data should be moved/copied from the i to other database servers, such as SQL server and Oracle, for such things as data warehousing. To a “pure database person,” a lack of constraints

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• CPYTOIMPF Doesn’t Create Column Headers, But You Can

  February 17, 2010 Hey, Ted

  If I use Copy to Import File to build a CSV file in the IFS from a database file, I get data, but no column headings. Lack of column headings confuses the poor soul that opens the file in Excel. Do you have an easy yet effective way to address this omission? –Robert What you need is an easy way to stuff column headings into the stream file before you add the data. Here’s one method: Create a one-record table. Use a file editor–even DFU will suffice–to key in the quote-delimited, comma-separated headings. Use CPYTOIMPF, specifying MBROPT(*REPLACE), to copy the

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• Admin Alert: Six Things Power i Administrators Need to Know

  February 17, 2010 Joe Hertvik

  To become an effective i/OS system administrator, you need to access a lot of information. This week, I’ll look at some of the more valuable pieces of information I frequently use to service my Power i systems and how I retrieve and maintain that information. Perhaps you can use this list as a starting point for collating your own critical i/OS knowledge base. Serial Number, Processor Group, and Machine Type It seems like outside vendors always ask for the serial number of the machine I’m working on. The system Processor Group (otherwise known as P Group, which is used for

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• What a Lifelong DB2 Fanatic Sees in MySQL

  February 3, 2010 Susan Gantner

  In my mind, you can’t beat our database. It’s not only integrated into the operating system, it’s also incredibly flexible. You can use SQL to create and access data just like databases on other systems but you can also use the native DDS, RPG, COBOL and other languages with the same data. No other database out there–not even other members of the DB2 family–has that kind of flexibility. It is currently known as DB2 for i, but I think most of us just think of it as “the database,” which is appropriate because, unlike just about every other system

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• Read a Save File

  February 3, 2010 Hey, Ted

  I had an unusual experience recently and thought other readers of Four Hundred Guru might also find it of interest. A physical file had no active records and three deleted records. We were trouble-shooting a problem and needed to know what data was in the three deleted records. We have two third-party products that are supposed to retrieve deleted records, but they failed us. Here’s what we did. First, we saved the file to a save file that we keep on hand. SAVOBJ OBJ(IBLOCK) LIB($$DATA) DEV(*SAVF) OBJTYPE(*FILE) SAVF(MYLIB/MYSAVF) Next, we ran Display File Description to find the save file’s record

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• Admin Alert: Did You Lose ECS on February 1?

  February 3, 2010 Joe Hertvik

  On February 1, 2010, some i/OS V5R3Mx, V5R4Mx, and V6R1Mx systems lost their ability to call IBM service. On that date, IBM changed some of the Host Names and IP Addresses that i/OS systems use to automatically call service via ECS and ESA. As a result, many iSeries, System i, and Power i systems can no longer automatically contact service unless certain PTFs are installed. Was your system affected? What Happened? I discovered this change too late to publicize it before February 1. But better late than never, and this article tells you how to detect if your partitions have

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• Creating Yes/No Fields in SQL Queries

  January 27, 2010 Hey, Ted

  I want to retrieve a list of customers using SQL. I know how to select the customers I want. What I don’t know how to do is create some columns that are not stored in the database, but must be built from information in other files. For example, I want a column that tells whether or not the customer has an open (unfulfilled) order. I’d also like a column that tells if he has ever bought a certain line of product. There are no fields in the customer master file that store this information. Can you help? –Rick Good question,

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• A Few Excel Export to CSV Tips

  January 27, 2010 Michael Sansoterra

  Comma separated variable (CSV) files are frequently used when exporting DB2 data for use with Microsoft Excel. However, because CSV files contain text without any additional formatting instructions, it can be somewhat time-consuming for users to format their worksheets whenever they get a new export. This tip will address a few of the shortcomings of using CSV files with Excel and present a few possible workarounds to make the lives of your Excel user community easier. Many of these ideas are only applicable to CSV exports intended for Excel usage. If the export file is dual purpose (one for users

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