• Avoid an Unnecessary CPYF Error

  September 8, 2010 Ted Holt

  Hey, IBM i Professional: I’ve heard it said that it’s the little things that kill you. Maybe so. I am certain that little errors in computer programs can ruin a good night’s sleep. Today’s tip is an easy one that I’ve published before, but not in this newsletter. I’m running it today because an FHG reader recently told me that this simple, easily avoided error had occurred in the shop where she works. Everyone who writes CL programs needs to know this one. The malfunctioning program had a Copy File (CPYF) command that looked like this: CPYF FROMFILE(AAA) TOFILE(BBB) MBROPT(*REPLACE)

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• Admin Alert: Placing Additional Restrictions on i/OS Passwords

  September 8, 2010 Joe Hertvik

  i/OS password security is very robust and you can set up a number of password composition rules by using it. But sometimes you need to step outside the normal boundaries of password system values and enforce additional restrictions that can’t be created only with standard i/OS password security. That’s where a password approval program comes in handy. A password approval program is a custom-written program that runs after a newly created user password has been validated by your normal password security system values. An approval program is valuable in that it can add organization-specific password validation tests to your system.

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• An Introduction to Python on IBM i, Part 1

  August 25, 2010 Garry Taylor

  Note: All of the files needed for this article are available for in one download here. When we think of programming on IBM i, our minds usually turn to the venerable RPG, or maybe CL. Some of us will think of ILE C, and those who frequently entertain dinner guests from IBM will have the word “Java” seared into their brain, and mistakenly use “EGL” instead of friends’ names. However, ask a UNIX or Linux aficionado to name a scripting language, and they will probably come up with Perl, Ruby, or very likely, Python. Python was created as an

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• DB2 for i: Process Stored Procedure Result Sets as Cursors

  August 25, 2010 Michael Sansoterra

  It eventually happens to every developer. You write a stored procedure to return one or more sophisticated result sets to a Java or .NET client. Everyone is (temporarily) happy. Eventually, a need arises for an RPG or COBOL program to execute this stored procedure and process the result set(s). But, alas, high level language programs have no way to open and process a result set (except when using the cumbersome CLI API). Phooey, that means we’ll need to duplicate the stored procedure code in an RPG friendly manner! But wait, here comes DB2 for i 7.1 to the long-anticipated rescue!

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• Admin Alert: One Year Out–Preparing for Your Next Power IBM i Upgrade

  August 25, 2010 Joe Hertvik

  Recently I wrote several articles about some IBM i upgrades my shop performed this year. Such is the way of things in i shops that I’m already planning for another set of upgrades next year, in July 2011. If you’re in the same situation where new Power i boxes are just over the horizon, here’s some tips to help you plan your upgrade. Your BP and You Before you do anything else on your upgrade, first evaluate your business partner (BP). This is a moot point for many people but you should ask yourself if you’re happy with your business

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• Remove Trailing Blanks from Legacy Columns with the IBM OLE DB Providers

  August 11, 2010 Michael Sansoterra

  It’s no secret that many legacy tables in DB2 for i contain fixed-width character columns. If you present this legacy data to users using common tools such as Excel, Access, or even an application data grid control, they’re likely to be annoyed. Why? Because everyone hates fiddling with trailing spaces that are part and parcel of fixed-width columns. If you have a 50-character address column with only 20 characters filled, that leaves 30 annoying trailing spaces to remove. Here is a picture of this annoying phenomenon shown using the classic QIWS/QCUSTCDT table displayed within an editable Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF)

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• How Did I Do That?

  August 11, 2010 Hey, Ted

  Your tip for building spreadsheets from SQL statements is spot on. The problem I used to have is that people would come back to me days, weeks, or even months later, asking for me to rerun my query to give them current data. I no longer have that problem, and here’s why. After pasting the SQL data into the first sheet of my Excel file, I copy my SQL command(s) into the second sheet. When the user asks me for a data refresh, I open the spreadsheet and retrieve the SQL. No more time wasted looking through my SQL history.

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• Admin Alert: Six Things You May Not Know About i/OS Passwords

  August 11, 2010 Joe Hertvik

  Think you know everything about i/OS passwords? Here’s a list of six commonly missed aspects of iSeries, System i, and Power i passwords. If you’re a password pro, you may already be aware of three or more of these tips. If not, you may learn something that can help you enhance your i/OS password architecture. 6 Simple Tips for Better Password Management 1. Two system values can prevent your users from using actual words in their passwords–If you want to stop your users from entering passwords that contain complete words that can be easily hacked, try setting on The

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• Using IBM Web Administration for i To Configure WebSphere Portal

  July 28, 2010 Pi Guang Ming

  What’s IBM WebSphere Portal? Simply speaking, WebSphere Portal is a J2EE application that runs on the WebSphere Application Server. What’s the benefit of using it? Again, simply speaking, WebSphere Portal enables companies to build their own customer portal Web sites to serve different needs for employees, business partners, and customers. Why IBM Web Administration for i interface? Because WebSphere Portal is complex, but Web Administration for i makes it simple for customers. So how can it do that? In this article, you’ll learn what IBM Web Administration for i can do to configure a WebSphere Portal on your IBM i

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• Every Bucket Deserves a Descriptive Name

  July 28, 2010 Hey, Guru

  One of the fun things about editing this newsletter is reading the interesting ideas I get from you, the readers. One reader in particular, one of the several David’s from whom I hear, comes up with interesting questions, comments and ideas. Here’s an SQL tip he came up with. I thought I’d share it with you. Many of us use files with “buckets” (a list of repeating fields), in order to easily present data to users in an intuitive format. A file with repeating fields violates First Normal Form (1NF), and can cause grief when the number of buckets must

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