March 2008

• Common Table Expressions - Common table expressions (CTEs) let you use view-like constructs in queries. Find out how you can make the most of this powerful SQL tool.
• Working with Multiple Tables in SQL - The ability to manipulate data in user-defined sets is what makes SQL so powerful and easy to use. Using SQL joins, you can easily select data from more than one table. Read on to find out how.
• Virtual Appliances: Hardware Out, Images In - Hardware-based application appliances have been a staple for delivering pre-packaged web applications for years. Now the concept goes virtual in load-and-go applications that deploy instantly in a virtual machine environment. Here's how to cash in.
• Understanding Disk Performance Metrics - i5/OS performance metrics provide a detailed view of disk performance that can show you potential problems and suggest remedies to improve disk performance.
• The Essential Guide to WDSc Preferences - Version 7 of WDSc has a huge selection of options that help you customize your experience. This Essential Guide covers some of those that are most important to System i developers.
• Test Out Your Index Advice Theories - With the export and import wizards in iSeries Navigator, you can test the advice you receive from V5R4's Index Advisor in your test environment before you put it to work in your production environment.
• RPGsp Integrates RPG, HTML Like Clockwork - By integrating System i data and RPG logic directly with HTML content, Profound Logic's RPGsp takes the cogs of RPG and transforms your applications into clear and intuitive web apps.
• Multidimensional Grouping Made Easy - DB2 for V6R1 delivers many new features, including advanced support for grouping sets and super groups via SQL. This new advanced support also brings the new keywords ROLLUP, CUBE, GROUPING SETS, and GROUPING to help you deliver multidimensional requests.
• Leap Ahead with DB2 for V6R1 - Are you wondering what V6R1 has to offer? The new DB2 for V6R1 offers improved performance and enhancements that make it easier to quickly deploy SQL applications. After you read about the new features, you will want to run to V6R1.
• Killer Club Tech - Save/Restore Spooled Files in V5R4 * Delete Old Spooled Files in V5R4 * Retrieve Windows Networking Name * Running AIX Programs from CL Overview * Limited User Can Run Commands from a Command Line * CL Commands to Display/Work with Private Authorities
• Industry Observer (March 2008) - APIs for Everyone * Interpreting the IT Employment Picture * In Search of Elegant Solutions * Keeping an Eye on E-discovery * Of Mainframes and Programmers
• IBM's New SMB Monster Garage - IBM's reorganizing of the System i and reshuffling of its key players is turning into an episode of "Monster Garage." Will the company seize the moment and lead an i5/OS renaissance instead?
• IBM Announcements -
• Hot New Products -
• Get Ready for V6R1 - Here are seven steps to ensure a smooth program conversion, and five of them need to be taken while you’re still on V5R3 or V5R4!
• Foxy Larry - Oracle's Larry Ellison embodies the cliché "crazy like a fox" with his ingenious and cunning business strategies. Here's how he keeps his company in the game.
• Fast Times with an Anxious Dog -
• f.y.iSystem -
• Dr. I Doctor (March 2008) - Dr. I Doctor explains how to set up resilient Ethernet interfaces in i5/OS, and how to correctly perform and interpret telecommunications circuit loop-back tests.
• Evidence Grows That App Modernization Tops App Replacement - In the ongoing debate over whether it's better to replace or modernize applications, at least one recent study comes down on the side of modernization.
• Brighten Your IT Career Prospects - The nation's financial woes have enveloped the IT industry, displacing many professionals. If you use a proactive approach, you can not only keep your job but also make yourself indispensable.
• Accounting Applications Product Roundup - Although there are many more specialized applications for controlling enterprise financial activities, these 21 general-purpose, full-service accounting applications can help any System i business follow the money.
• Access Data with .NET Datasets and TableAdapters - System i professionals can no longer hide in the green screen and ignore Windows-like features. Using the modern tools in Visual Studio, you can easily add user-friendly functionality to your System i database — often without coding.
• CU L8R SEU! - The current WDSc release is a formidable replacement for legacy tools like PDM and SEU — and you can install it with just the features you need in a typical RPG shop.