September 2007

• The Essential Guide to Security and the Data Warehouse - The most important asset to any company is its data, and how well you control access to the data determines how safe your company is from fraud, theft, and ultimately, destruction. This Essential Guide explains how you can protect your company’s crown jewel — its data warehouse.
• Industry Observer -
• Integrating Windows Vista and the System i - Windows Vista packs some big improvements for system security, but it can result in some application problems as well. Check out what Windows Vista has to offer, and pick up some tricks to make Vista work with iSeries Access and the System i.
• Beyond Green-Screen Debugging - It’s no secret that programmers spend a lot of time debugging code. To make this chore faster and more efficient, the i5/OS graphical debugger includes features such as multiple windows and a point-and-click interface. And best of all, it’s free!
• Add SQL Server Techniques to Your DB2 Repertoire - Your SQL knowledge can give you a good start toward handling SQL Server development along with your DB2 duties. Beyond the core SQL language, you may also want to exploit a number of SQL Server features that are not yet in DB2.
• Connect to MySQL on Windows - There’s an ever-increasing need to have System i applications work with other databases, many of which run on Windows, Unix, or Linux servers and enjoy no particular support from RPG. Use JDBC to connect your System i to MySQL on Windows.
• Use VPN to Connect Remote Windows Vista Clients to System i - You can easily use the built-in security features of System i and Windows Vista to provide secure remote access to your remote users. Here, see how to use three core VPN technologies — IKE, IPSec, and L2TP — to provide this access.
• Creating XML Documents with RPG and DOM - If you intend to use the XML Toolkit extensively or promote its use among RPG developers with different skill levels, making the Toolkit more palatable has advantages. One way to do this is to use the façade design pattern.
• Talk to Users with Windows-like Message Boxes - MSGBOX is a useful tool to include in your online apps to provide users with information and request processing decisions from them. It includes two helper modules that will help in situations where you need to fit text within print width parameters.
• Use XML Toolkit to Develop SOA Clients in RPG-IV - You’ve read plenty of articles about web services. But did you know that you can create an Axis web service using only standard, IBM-supplied System i capabilities? Learn how the XML Toolkit makes it possible.
• Do You Have a Healthy Database? - With the Health Center capability in V5R4, you can help your database stay fit and trim by spotting high-level changes in the makeup of your database, seeing warning signs before they grow into major issues, and helping your application developers find limits before the design moves too far along.
• Efficient Character Processing with CLI - The SQL Call Level Interface (CLI) has a rich set of APIs that provide native SQL access to DB2 for i5/OS. By following a few simple guidelines, C developers can improve performance and minimize storage usage both at the CLI layer and within DB2.
• Managing Inventory for i5/OS - IBM Director lets you manage your i5/OS environment, as well as Windows, Linux, AIX, desktops, storage, and more, making it an ideal tool to manage your inventory. Find out how you can use IBM Director to manage the inventory of your entire IT shop.
• Killer Club Tech - Send Messages to QHST; Registered Exit Programs: What You Don’t Know Can Hurt You!; Retrieve the Job ID of a Submitted Job; Should You Journal Your Files and Other Objects?; Who’s the Current User?
• Dr. I Doctor - Dr. I Doctor explains how to use i5/OS NFS for printing and helps troubleshoot a fiber optic backbone network failure.
• Feedback - More Comments on “Things to Add to DB2 on the i5”; All Locked Up?; PHP vs. EGL
• Why Is Microsoft Responsible for Solving Interoperability Problems? - Through its behavior over the years, Microsoft has practically begged us to blame it for Windows interoperability problems. Here are three examples of how Microsoft’s deeds have made it a lightning rod for interoperability issues.
• The <i>Best </i>Best Practice - You may be the victim of a dictated best practice, but you can use the experience to improve your shop by asking the right questions and recognizing the work it takes to realize benefits.
• f.y.iSystem - IBM Announces POWER6 System i 570, Previews V6R1, and More; SOA Modernization Projects Should Focus on Company Requirements; Price More Than Horsepower Driving 515-525 Sales; IBM Reorganizes System i and p Divisions; IBM 2Q07: IBM Up, i Down, Reorganization Raises Questions; IBM Snaps Up DataMirror
• The Rock and Hard Place of User-Based Pricing - With its System i 515 and 525 Express boxes, IBM attached lower prices, a new way of charging, and faster oomph. So why is the company in a tough spot when it comes to competition?
• What’s IT’s Biggest Problem? - IT faces many challenges, but a number of studies disagree with each other about which one is the most serious.
• Hot New Products -
• Application Modernization: How to Balance Business and IT Needs - For a successful application modernization project, business and IT managers need to band together as they make the move from legacy to cutting edge. The right strategy can ensure gain rather than pain for both sides.
• What's New with IBM Information Center - The IBM Information Center: You can't live with it, can't live without it. It has the information you need, if you could only find it. Well now you can: The site has a new look, new functionality, and a better way to navigate to the info you need.
• Pull Back the Curtain on Web Dev with iSafari - Looking for a way to provide Internet users with payment validation and account details without compromising the security of your System i? iSafari might be the answer.
• Workflow and Collaboration Applications Product Roundup - Finding workflow and collaboration features in software can depend on how you define those terms. One of these 15 products can help inaugurate systems that help end users cooperate and that channel documents through specific approval chains.
• ACOM’s EZCM: Basic Enterprise Content Management - Repository-based content management for System i enterprise documents is available in prepackaged form via ACOM Solutions, Inc.’s EZContentManager. See if this solution type is right for your needs.
• Maybe the “i” Is for “Indecisive” - The convergence of System i and System p has been happening for many years, recent announcements notwithstanding. Sean offers his take on what’s hot and what’s not hot about this union — and offers IBM some pithy advice: Just do it already!