The latest release of our favorite OS gives us a new name (IBM i) and new versioning scheme (6.1) and it is the first release to require program object conversions since V3R6's CISC to RISC move way back in the dark ages. But never fear, this process is much easier and faster than the CISC ot RISC conversion!
In this session Susan will provide you with a brief overview of what your shop needs to do to prepare for 6.1. Of course we couldn't possibly talk about the new release without some news of the upcoming changes in our favorite language.
The V6R1 release of RPG IV introduces many powerful new features - including the ability to specify files in subprocedures and even to pass files as parameters! In this session Jon will introduce you to these new features and discuss how they can be utilized in your applications.
Many System i shops have literally hundreds of thousands (perhaps millions) of lines of proven RPG. The challenge for these shops is to integrate that legacy code base into a modern application enhancement and development methodology. You need a model that recognizes the constraints and issues imposed by legacy code but that encourage reuse and extension of that code in your new application development.
Craig Pelkie will discuss the barriers to bridging the old development model world with the new development model. He'll explain why the two must be bridged and what you can do to bridge them. Craig will also touch on the issues of integrating disparate development teams. Contrary to what you may have heard or previously experienced, not only can RPG coders can live in peace with VB coders, but they can actually contribute substantially to each other's efforts!
During the second half of this session, Roger Pence discusses the implications of legacy applications and what can be done to adjust and extend them to current business needs. Roger will explain how your IT team can take your System i applications to a new level of capability and function without leaving the System i behind (no rip-and-replace here!). He’ll show how you can craft a non-disruptive application enhancement/development that lets old and new code, and old and new coding teams coexist in harmony.
Don Denoncourt will discuss what he feels is wrong with RPG and then talk about what we can do to correct it. Don will then elaborate on what’s right with RPG and how can we begin to leverage the wealth of RPG code and coders. Don will also discuss alternative language options for developing a Web front-end to your RPG. The languages that will be covered include Java, PHP, Ruby, and Groovy. Don will also discuss application frameworks including Java Server Faces. Spring/Hibernate, Zend, Ruby on Rails, and Grails. Don will also cover EGL and other vendor options
The Microsoft .NET Framework is one of the most widely used application development environments. Using .NET, you can extend your IBM i applications, providing new user interfaces and features that work with existing RPG programs.
In this session, Craig Pelkie describes the three main aspects of .NET development that you must be aware of. You'll learn about different parts of the .NET Framework and how to get started with .NET development.
Duncan J. Kenzie, President and CTO, BCD Software Product Development (Bio)
IBM i and PHP together provide you with a rich, standards-compliant platform for developing and deploying modern, database-driven Web applications. PHP is wildly popular, simple to learn and highly productive. With IBM i and PHP you can easily provide more accessible, productive and user-friendly business applications, with faster and better information available to your end users. Duncan Kenzie will introduce you to PHP and explain how you can leverage your existing RPG skills and code base. You’ll see how to create highly responsive web applications that will convince you and your management team of the long-term strategic value of IBM i and PHP.
RPGers often need to access data from 3rd party databases, such as Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle, MySQL and DB2 on other platforms. One way to do this is by using Java database (JDBC) drivers. Scott will share his experience in using this technique and show you how you can access non-i5OS databases from your RPG programs.
PHP gives System i developers a simple way to get started with web development. Even if you ultimately choose another technology, such as Java or .Net, learning PHP can make it easier to understand web application architecture. This session covers how PHP fits in with other technologies, as well as basic PHP syntax and an introduction to the Zend Studio development environment.
To create .NET applications that work with the IBM i, you need to make a connection between the two environments. In this session, Craig Pelkie explains the database connection options that IBM provides that can be used for .NET development, as well as other options such as data queues and program call that can be used. You'll learn about the pros-and-cons of the different connection options and how you can use the options to provide solutions for .NET and IBM i applications.
System i shops no longer live in a vacuum. Outward reaching technologies such as web services are reaching critical mass in the System i community. Having said that, if you want to put a "deer-in-the-headlights" look on a System i IT manager's face today ask him or her what their organization’s Web service strategy is. "Web services" as a collective technology is one of those ethereal, potentially promising technologies that remain elusive for many System i shops.
In this presentation, web services are discussed in plain English. The concepts of web services are broken down rational chunks and you’re made to understand how they work and what they do. Real-world code will be shown that exposes System i directly through an industry standards-based Web service.
After attending this presentation you'll better understand what web services can do for your organization and you'll see a real-world implementation of System i-centric Web service.
The need to protect sensitive and private data using cryptographic methods is becoming increasingly important to many organizations. The drivers behind this development are legislation, regulations, standards as well as current types of applications requiring such measures and efforts. Fortunately, the System i operating system includes a versatile, comprehensive and advanced cryptographic API tool set, being significantly enhanced with each release. This session discusses and demonstrates how to design and build RPG applications using the Cryptographic Services APIs.
You've learned all of the concepts of ILE, and this has given you a lot of new options. When you go back to the office, you find it's hard to use them! They just don't fit into the way you're accustomed to writing software. In your mind, you have a pattern for how programs should be written, and to use ILE effectively, you really need to learn a new pattern. This session discusses the new pattern of writing good, reusable ILE code.
In part I, you learned how to write a reusable RPG service program, and how to use it in a traditional 5250 application. Part II demonstrates how to call your business logic from a web application, and how to make it available to non-ILE languages. CGIDEV2 and PHP examples are provided.
Bob Cozzi, RPG World and Duncan J. Kenzie, BCD (Bio)
Moving RPG IV to the web is a well known challenge, there are pieces to the puzzle that need to be in place to help make the end-user comfortable and the IT Manager secure in knowing their applications are as safe online as they are in the old green screen world.
During the first portion of this webcast, Bob Cozzi of RPG World describes the basic considerations that need to be taken into account when making that all important move to the web with RPG.
In second portion of this session Duncan Kenzie will demonstrate Presto, BCD's instant web-enablement solution. You'll see how Presto can transform and enhance green-screen applications without touching the underlying code, and how you can hook in to existing RPG programs or new web technologies to enhance those applications. You'll also see how these apps integrate with Nexus, BCD's secure, enterprise-level web framework for deploying web applications and providing web content.
Learn how to leverage the wealth of RPG with a Java-base web front-end. In this presentation Don Denoncourt will overview the various Java architectural solutions including: Struts, Spring, and JSF. Don will elaborate on the various options available for calling RPG from Java and then introduce his RPG Call-beans strategy. Don will give a brief introduction to JSF and then delve into the details of his implementation of the ACME Orders web application that leverages Scott’s RPG back-end code.
Don will show you how Groovy and Grails provides a fast-path to web enable RPG applications. Don will introduce you to the Groovy programming language, which provides a superset of the Java language with a greatly simplified syntax. He will then explain how he used Grails' Rapid Application Development features to develop the Grails version of the ACME Orders web application that leverages Scott Klement’s RPG back-end code.
iSeries SQL offers a wealth of built-in functions to handle tasks such as accumulating totals and modifying data types. In addition, you can develop your own user-defined functions written in SQL or in languages such as RPG. Functions make your code more modular and can make it easier to integrate SQL with code written in other languages. This session covers coding techniques for writing user-defined functions and invoking user-defined functions from SQL statements, as well as general function concepts and the different types of user-defined functions that i5/OS supports.
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Many System i shops have literally hundreds of thousands (perhaps millions) of lines of proven RPG. The challenge for these shops is to integrate that legacy code base into a modern application enhancement and development methodology. You need a model that recognizes the constraints and issues imposed by legacy code but that encourage reuse and extension of that code in your new application development.
