August 2005

• Industry Observer - New Perspectives on Record Retention; Revised TPC Benchmarks; Libraries Confront New Privacy Challenges; Maps and Technology
• Taking Control - To ensure the future of the iSeries, consider modernizing your applications to showcase the iSeries' strengths.
• FAQs: iSeries Access Family -
• Tech Corner - ODBC Performance Factor, Sending E-mail Using RPG, Manipulating Messages.
• Expanding the i5 Core: Banking and Insurance - Bolstered by price-performance improvements in the hardware, as well as i5 abilities to consolidate workloads and add niche solutions, the iSeries has a strong future in the banking and insurance sectors.
• Fix Strategies for Your i5 System and HMC - The Hardware Management Console (HMC) should be your primary tool when implementing fixes for IBM eServer systems. This primer gives the basics of using the HMC in your quest to develop a timely, effective fix strategy.
• The ABCs of LPAR - Want to get the most out of your iSeries system? Logical partitioning (LPAR) might be your solution. With a little planning and resource management, you can use LPAR to maximize the power of your new machine or breathe new life into a trusted workhorse.
• Roll Up! Roll Up for the Magical Modernization Tour! - Microsoft wants you to adopt its development standard and tools. IBM has pulled the plug on its "get to WebSphere" message and looks to reinvigorate its iSeries partner relationships. More options for iSeries shops should result.
• f.y.iSeries -
• IBM Announcements -
• Hot New Products -
• Plug-ins for WebSphere Development Studio Client - If you are using, or considering using, WebSphere Development Studio client as an environment for developing new iSeries applications, one or more of the 21 products may provide additional functions that could be of use to you.
• Inside Eclipse 3.1 - With release 3.1, the Eclipse platform builds on 3.0's introduction of support for many more types of applications than IDEs and other software development tools. The redesign also includes new plug-in capabilities and better scalability.
• RPG Source Control — for Free! - Though most iSeries shops know they need a source-control tool, most go without one. But that needn't be the case any longer. With Concurrent Versions System, a free source-control utility, you can easily track changes and manage source versions.
• A 15-Minute Guide to Using CVS with WDSc - Concurrent Versions System lets developers share code, access project code via the Internet, see earlier versions of files, and more. And with WDSc, you can do all these things from the familiar and powerful Eclipse IDE.
• A Customer Search Utility, Part 1 - This customer search utility finds customer records by various criteria, is easy to use, and can be incorporated into a package as a "swap-in" replacement. Part 1 discusses the utility's files, the rationale behind the code, and the trigger programs.
• Passing Parameters to SQL Statements - The RunSQLPrc command offers the simplicity of having a group of SQL statements in a pure SQL source member, and you get the added power of SPL control statements.
• Manage Printing with iSeries Navigator - iSeries Nav offers a slew of print management features, including the ability to customize printer output options, convert output to a PDF format, perform advanced print management functions, monitor print activity, and more!
• In a Class by Itself - Five years ago there were 20 third-party, standalone sourcecode debuggers available in the iSeries market. Now there's one, Tango/04 Computing Group's VISUAL Debugger for Windows.
• Tips and Techniques for PDM and SEU - Even a well-used application may have features you were unaware of. But by taking the time to review the numerous options available in PDM and SEU, maintaining your source will be easier, and you'll be more productive.
• Dr. I Doctor - Dr. I Doctor describes how to capture network traffic in Windows XP and explains how to change Windows network configurations automatically in a batch program.
• Management Central and High Availability - As of V5R3, Management Central has a high availability capability. Learn how to make Management Central highly available and explore various failover scenarios that may trigger its high availability functionality.
• Hurding HP - Astro contemplates what it would be like to be HP's new CEO, Mark Hurd, and offers plenty of suggestions for how Mark can live up to his surname and herd HP toward success.
• Anatomy of a Warehouse Management System Implementation - WM systems are not well suited for the logistical chaos of the high-fashion end of the apparel business. This story of a WM system implementation life cycle provides a glimpse into this wild sector of the business world.
• Software Vendors Responding to iSeries' SOA Future - Integrating applications is key to the iSeries' future. Seven new products and services announced this month show growth in options for tackling such projects.
• Killer Club Tech -
• The Essential Guide to XML - XML is more than just a language; it’s quickly becoming the go-to standard for data transfer across different systems and for document storage and processing. Here’s a look at XML’s origins, its uses, and different ways you might use it in your applications.