October 2004

• Industry Observer -
• Discover WAS V5.1 - Need to learn about WebSphere V5 quickly and deeply? Here's help finding the right Web site or document.
• Hot New Products -
• Is Open Source Bad for You? - A new study gives startling conclusions about the effects of open-source software — on some people's health!
• A Structure for Integrating Your Legacy Apps - Magic Software Enterprise's iBOLT Integration Suite offers a means of integrating legacy applications that currently can't communicate.
• Consulting Docs Without an HMO - A recent flurry of new products and upgrades in document-management solutions is expanding the envelope of what we should expect from products of this type.
• iSeries Fear Factor - IBM chases software and services dollars, and our fast-paced, market-driven world pursues immediate gratification. These trends do not bode well for the i5 and the iSeries. Bob Tipton urges the platform faithful to kick IBM in the shins.
• Be an IS, Not an IT - Technology is only one service that programmers, administrators, and managers offer, so their department names and titles should go beyond technology and instead reflect the services they provide.
• f.y.iSeries -
• You Can't Smell Your Own Breath - You and your staff may become so acclimated to your product and your sales process that you can't accurately assess the strengths and weaknesses of what you are doing. You may need a person outside of your company to tell you the truth.
• Software Configuration Management Survival Guide - Some basic practices, collectively called software configuration management (SCM), are essential to predictable and sustainable software development. Learn more about SCM and SCM products available for the iSeries.
• WOW: The Ultimate Java for RPG Programmers - WOW, a new product from PlanetJ Corporation, lets RPG programmers generate Java applications with just a small amount of SQL knowledge and no knowledge of Java.
• Eclipse: The Holy Grail of an IDE? - After three years, Eclipse has become the most popular Java IDE in use by developers today. That's impressive - particularly considering it now belongs to the open source community and not Big Blue.
• Changing the Rules of the Game - How can 16 POWER5 processors deliver more performance than 32 POWER4 processors, when POWER5's clock speed is only slightly faster than POWER4's? Maybe clock speed isn't as important as we once thought it was. Maybe the rules of the game have changed.
• The Value-Added iSeries Professional - The trend toward offshoring has cut the number of job openings for iSeries professionals, but workers who offer added value are as desirable as ever. Here's how to stay competitive in the global marketplace.
• IBM Announcements -
• iSeries Treasure Hunt - The iSeries is full of hidden gems that are delivered automatically when you purchase a new system. This is your treasure map to discovering these little-known or under-used riches.
• Returning Result Sets from Stored Procedures - Creating a stored procedure that returns one or more result sets can improve performance and let you exploit SQL's query capabilities. This article shows how SQL stored procedures and external stored procedures written in RPG can return result sets.
• Dr. I. Doctor - Dr. I. Doctor describes how to eliminate annoying false firewall alerts and what to do when remote Exchange users chronically lose connectivity.
• Web Services Tools for iSeries Programmers - Step 3 of the iSeries developer road map is about better architecture. Here, the focus is on the tools for creating Web services, once again using RPG or Cobol business logic.
• Tech Tips -
• iSeries Navigator Shares the Stage with IBM Director Multiplatform - Using iSeries Navigator and IBM Director Multiplatform gives you complementary system management tools for any system management task. This comparison of the two shows the capabilities and advantages of each tool.
• iServing WebSphere: Configuring and Administering WebSphere - WebSphere Express is quickly turning into a must-have iSeries product. This tutorial on the configuratin and management of a WebSphere server is written specifically for an iSeries administrator or operator who is neither a network nor a Java expert.
• Access External Databases with RPG and Java - If you're been looking for a way to read from and write to other databases - such as Sequel Server, Oracle, and DB2 - using RPG, this handy utility can help. The solution is based on SQL and JDBC.
• FAQs: iSeries Access Family -
• Installation, Configuration, and Operational Differences Between WAS 5.0 Express and Base Editions - To assist system administrators, this easy-to-reference table lays out the critical differences between WebSphere Application Server 5.0 Express and Base.
• Debugging iSeries Procedures Called from Web Clients - Learn how to use the test environment in WebSphere Development Studio Client to debug a simple order-entry application that presents a Web interface while making business logic calls to an RPG service program that resides on an iSeries.
• OS/400 Special Authorities: Out of Control - iSeries system administrators have introduced security exposures by handing out OS/400 special authorities like flight attendants hand out peanuts on long flights! Learn how to take back control of OS/400 special authorities - and use this handy utility to help.
• Build in TCP/IP Security, Part 2 - TCP/IP presents multiple challenges for security, but it's an inevitable part of our networks. Here's help with securing SMTP, POP, DNS, and more.
• The Good, The Bad, The Ugly -