February 1996

• In This Issue -
• Letters -
• V3: Can't Live With It, Can't Live Without It - Some would rather fight V3 than switch, and some would rather switch than fight it any longer. Carson Soule offers the arguments on both sides of the fence.
• The Latest Great Idea - Some client/server vendors see the interpersonal computer, or IPC, as the future of network-centric computing. But Roger Pence says it's really a return to the Dark Ages of the dumb terminal.
• Newswatch -
• International Update -
• Update -
• The View from V3 - Kathy Blomstrom reviews some of the V3R1 and V3R6 database, language, networking, and open systems enhancements that make the AS/400 a stronger database, file, and application server.
• RPG IV Subprocedures: Roll Your Own Functions - Bryan Meyers and IBM's Jon Paris show you how to use RPG IV's new subprocedure support to bring modularity, local variables, parameter passing, and more to your RPG IV programs.
• Internet Connection for AS/400 - IBM's Internet Connection for AS/400 lets you serve up green-screen and client/server applications to end users across the room or across the world -- and across any client platform you care to name. In this article, Mel Beckman describes what this capability, which is bundled into V3, can do.
• Inside the FSIOP - IBMers Ian Jarman and John Quarantello give NEWS/400's Michael Otey and Roger Pence the scoop on plans for the FSIOP, including tighter integration between NetWare and OS/400, full Lotus Notes support, a new Pentium-powered processor, and memory upgrades.
• A Blueprint for Using User Spaces - User spaces can hold more data than arrays or multiple-occurrence data structures and are ideal for sharing application data among programs. Julian Monypenny provides /COPY modules that let you easily create, change, retrieve, and delete user spaces and shows how to use those modules to call a list API and retrieve the user-space header and data it returns.
• An Introduction to AS/400 Imaging - Imaging's not only a hot topic -- it's a practical way to enhance your AS/400 business applications. Jef Sutherland explains the basic tenets of the imaging process, how the AS/400 fits in, and some fundamentals about image format, color, and compression.
• Twinax Takes On the LAN Challenge - John Enck explains how twinaxial links connect the AS/400 to terminals and PCs and outlines the factors to consider when comparing this traditional connectivity solution to LANs.
• C/S Watch -
• Setting Up the CA/400 ODBC Driver - In this second "Putting ODBC to Work" article, Michael Otey explains how to install the CA/400 for Windows 3.1 V3R1M1 ODBC driver, create a data source, and configure the ODBC driver.
• Client Access FAQs! - Terry Smith covers solutions for some of the most common problems PC users have with extended DOS CA/400 -- including adapter configuration, memory management, NetWare coexistence, and Windows 95 coexistence.
• CA/400 -- Now Optimized for OS/2! - Robert Dick, an IBM Rochester senior programmer, describes the CA/400 Optimized for OS/2 Client, a 32-bit version of CA/400 for OS/2 that supports the Workplace Shell and offers many of the same features as CA/400 for Windows 3.1, such as TCP/IP and SNA support and two emulators.
• Configuring IP Addresses - John Enck discusses IP addresses, which identify TCP/IP network systems and make sure messages are sent to their intended destinations.
• Running PCS/400 or CA/400 Under Windows 95 - William Finck shows you how to run some basic DOS PC Support/400 or Client Access for OS/400 functions under Windows 95 and shows some sample configuration files.
• Running CA/400 for Windows 3.1 Under Windows 95 - Terry Silva discusses some new PTFs that let you run Client Access for OS/400 for Windows 3.1 under Windows 95.
• Restore Program Observability - Program objects must be observable for a RISC processor to be able to translate them to the new 64-bit RISC code. Here's a utility that lets you list, and optionally restore, observability before your new RISC machine arrives.
• Tech Corner -
• IBM Announcements -
• New Products & Services -
• Introducing 32-Bit Windows 5250 Emulators - As Pam Jones reports in this Buyer's Guide, many of the top 5250 Windows emulation vendors now have or will soon have 32-bit versions of their products available.
• Street Talk -