October 1996

• In This Issue -
• Letters -
• Who Really Needs a PC? - Look out PC market! IBM's new network computer is expected to cost about $700 (without a monitor) and provide access to the Internet and all your business apps, says Wayne Madden.
• Don't Underestimate the NT Threat - Robert Tipton says the AS/400 represents IBM's best response to the Windows NT challenge. Now, if only IBM could convince itself and the executive suite.
• Newswatch -
• Briefs -
• V3R7: RISC and CISC Divergence Starts Here - Pam Jones reports on how OS/400 V3R7 for the RISC AS/400s catches up to, and goes beyond, its CISC cousin - and sounds the death knell for further V3R2 development.
• Opening Up the AS/400 - NEWS/400 Industry Editor Pam Jones talks to Joe Frank, the father of 5250 emulation, who says that - for the AS/400 to thrive - IBM must open its interfaces to third parties.
• Stay Safe! -
• Avoid Client/Server's "Database Danger Zone" - Paul Conte explains that ODBC and other file-level access methods may give users more access to your AS/400 than you want them to have. Fortunately, there's an alternative: program-to-program communications (e.g., a PC program calling an AS/400 stored procedure).
• Securing Internet Connection/400 HTTP Server - Jim Finkenaur explains how IBM's Web server product for the AS/400, Internet Connection/400's HTTP Server, uses the AS/400's object-based security, a couple new user profiles, and server configuration directives to keep sensitive files private and to make public only those files that you want to be public.
• Protect Your Printers and Spooled Files - Printer and spooled-file security is vital, but complex, and the manuals don't clarify it much. Réal Bédard provides a ready-made configuration that fits many AS/400 shops. Adopt the configuration as-is, or use it as a guide to configure your own security.
• Master OS/400 Authority Checking - If you've ever had a user access a file that you swore he didn't have authority to or tried to restrict a user with *ALLOBJ special authority only to realize she was still able to update the payroll file, you need a better grasp of OS/400's authority-checking algorithm. IBM's Carol Woodbury steps through the 10 steps of the algorithm and explains why you can't restrict a user who has *ALLOBJ special authority from accessing an object, the primary group authority introduced with V3R1, and the twist in the algorithm when you're dealing with multiple groups.
• ILE at Work: Activation Groups - Bryan Meyers introduces the ILE activation group, a work unit that's smaller than a job and that lets you compartmentalize an application and protect it from interference from other applications in the same job.
• Order Your Data with the Sort APIs - Greg LaForge explains how to use the QLGSORT (Sort) and QLGSRTIO (Sort I/O) APIs to sort data in multiple-occurrence data structures, files, and subfiles.
• Using Abstract/Probe+, Sequel, and REU for Date Conversion - Advanced Systems Concepts' Rob Peterson explains how to use the Abstract/Probe+, Sequel, and Report Edit Utility (REU) utilities to locate date fields and bring them into compliance with your year 2000 date strategy.
• Quick CL Command Repeater - Now it's easy to execute a single command up to 100 times, each time for a different value. Ernie Malaga's REPEAT utility automatically scans for and replaces a string of characters in any CL command and executes it repeatedly.
• Painless Remote TCP/IP Printing - Terry Silva explains how to configure an AS/400 for remote TCP/IP printing with Line Printer Requester (LPR) and Line Printer Daemon (LPD).
• Remote Software Facility 5.0 - Michael Otey reviews Bug Busters Software Engineering, Inc.'s Remote Software Facility 5.0, a communications utility that enables easy object transfer between AS/400s and provides many other useful communications features.
• Java on the AS/400 - How will Java affect programming on the AS/400? Paul Conte talks to Phil Coulthard, a key Toronto developer, about IBM's plans for porting Java to the AS/400 and offering a Java development environment.
• New VB Control Lists AS/400 Files on the PC - John Harding describes the workings of AS/400 File Dialog, an OLE Automation server built in Visual Basic 4.0. You can call AS/400 File Dialog from any OLE-enabled application to display a list of AS/400 files.
• Tech Corner -
• New Products & Services -
• The Hardware Report: IBM Line Printer Aftermarket - Ted Hooten notes declining prices in the IBM reconditioned line printer market and highlights some used line printer bargains.
• AS/400 Line Printers - John Ghrist presents a buyers guide to AS/400-attachable line printers.
• IBM Announcements -
• Street Talk -