March 2007

• Simplifying Web Apps with Ajax, RPG, and XSL - RPG developers are often too busy to learn the complex web technologies that make applications shine on the user end. Ajax is here to help bridge the gap between HTML and RPG.
• Industry Observer - Beyond the Hype for Ruby on Rails; Enterprise-class Wi-Fi; A Decade of Cascading Style Sheets; Software Development Realities.
• Write a Killer Résumé - Wanting a job isn't enough — you need a killer résumé to get it! Don't bore your potential employers. Dazzle them instead with power words that craft your skills and experience to suit their needs.
• Linux on System i: Infusion or Infection? - Linux on the System i lets companies introduce business applications that would never run on i5/OS, but does it also add unnecessary complexity and dilute the power of i5/OS, thus fragmenting the identity of the System i?
• 5 Things I'd Add to DB2 on the i5 - Although V5R4 introduced a plethora of enhancements to DB2 UDB, there's still more IBM could provide to excite developers who use SQL on the job every day. Here's one wish list.
• Program Documentation Tools Product Roundup - Even if developer turnover isn't high in your shop, will you remember six months from now why you put that subfile routine in the accounting app? Tools that automate program documentation processes can save you time and worry.
• Service Data Objects: A New Data Access Option for Java Apps - Learn about a newcomer in the field of database access from Java: Service Data Objects (SDO). SDO is a good technology choice for data access in web applications implemented with JSF.
• Navigating the Ajax Jungle - Ajax development is flourishing, producing a large body of libraries, frameworks, development tools, and widgets. Find your way around the maze with the Ajax Resource Directory and accompanying Ajax Component Survey.
• Ajax Design Patterns - Ajax has grown from a hodgepodge of technologies into a useful way to deploy robust applications on servers and still provide interaction comparable to traditional desktop applications. Use design patterns to integrate Ajax with your web applications.
• Troubleshooting TCP/IP: Trace the Inner Workings of Network Applications - Every network application uses socket APIs. Understanding their trace points is key to easily identifying communications problems and solutions. Use the TRCINT command to capture LIC trace points to better understand and troubleshoot errors.
• Subfile Command for CL - If you need a handy display list utility that lets you sort sequences, field lists, or selection criteria, and contains a program to simply passing a cursor with dynamic SQL, then you'll want to check out this LISTSQL tool.
• Externalize Database Processing - Externalize your database to make it accessible to different client platforms, improve performance, and ease maintenance, all while retaining integrity.
• IBM Director: The Fun Is Just Beginning! - Managing your IT environment needn't be a chore anymore. With IBM Director's array of functions, you can discover resources across your environments, set thresholds to send events, collect and view inventory, manage OS processes, and much more.
• Dr. I Doctor - Dr.I Doctor explains Unix disk space usage measurements in Linux partitions, and how to send Apache logs off site in realtime.
• Killer Club Tech - Finding Passwords That Match the User Profile; Converting XSL Files to CSV; Who Belongs to That Group Profile?; Debugging ILE Programs; Auditing Inquisitive Users.
• Don't Bank On It! - When it comes to online banking, more banks need to step up measures to protect our money.
• Feedback -
• A Short History of the DB2 World - The current version of DB2 has been a long time coming. Take a look back at the history of the database management system as well as how it guides our System i to this day.
• Cruising Megadata: Mission Possible - BI is key to making good decisions; however, the definition of business analytics has shifted over the years. More types of data keep getting added to already large databases. How do you access the data you need when you need it? That is your mission.
• Mandate Mania Showing Some Benefits - The time-consuming nature of SOX, HIPAA, and other mandated auditing requirements have been painful for IT everywhere, but support for them in System i products has its benefits.
• Hot New Products -
• An On-RAMP for SOA - Want to modernize your apps but think screen-scraping and webfacing are only short-term strategies? LANSA's Rapid Application Modernization (RAMP from LANSA) offers an approach with a longer view.
• Backup and iSeries Navigator - If you need more flexibility in your backup and recovery strategy than iSeries Navigator provides, consider Backup, Recovery & Media Services. BRMS gives you a much richer environment to manage your backup policies.
• IBM Announcements -
• f.y.iSystem -
• Collect System i Performance Data with Collection Services - Just as your doctor collects data about you, you can collect data about your System i using Collection Service to detect a problem or establish trends. Find out what Collection Services offers to help you collect and analyze data.
• Route Finder: Software Configuration Management - Check your System i roadster out of its version-control garage and hit the SCM track.