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Club Tech iSeries Programming Tips Newsletter
Article ID: 20543
Posted February 24th, 2005
************ Club Tech iSeries Programming Tips Newsletter *********** An iSeries Network Publication http://www.iseriesnetwork.com Home of iSeries NEWS Magazine Editor: Scott Klement Issue 197 February 24, 2005 Thanks to this issue's sponsors -- SEQUEL and BCD SPONSORED IN PART BY SEQUEL TOP TEN REASONS Why You Should RETIRE QUERY/400 SEQUEL is the BETTER way! Check out the Top Ten list and a video Demo that shows how SEQUEL automatically converts QUERY objects into SEQUEL views and reports. Ask for a FREE TRIAL today! http://www.asc-iseries.com/isn41118.htm THIS WEEK: APIs by Example: Retrieve System Information STRDBG Can Be GUI! Pro and Pro VIP Edition Items: Hibernate -- Easing Table Access in Java Right Justifying a Character Field1. APIs BY EXAMPLE: RETRIEVE SYSTEM INFORMATION
In this installment of APIs by Example, I will demonstrate some of the APIs that are available to access different types of system information. Regular APIs, as well as various MI built-in functions, offer a lot of information in this area. In the API manual, many of the APIs related to system information are found in the 'Work Management APIs' category. You can view the APIs in this category at the following link: http://as400bks.rochester.ibm.com/iseries/v5r2/ic2924/info/apis/wm1.htm In the following API example, I have also included a couple of Software Product APIs, which have their own category. You can read about those APIs by clicking this link: http://as400bks.rochester.ibm.com/iseries/v5r2/ic2924/info/apis/sw1.htm Finally, the MI built-in functions also provide a wealth of system information. Many of the 'Materialize' built-ins in general, and the Materialize Machine Attributes in particular, are a source of system information otherwise not programmatically available. All built-ins as of release V5R1 are documented here: http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/iseries/v5r1/ic2924/tstudio/tech_ref/mi/in... The so-called built-ins are, in reality, interfaces to corresponding MI functions. They make MI functions available to all ILE languages. The ILE C/C++ languages also have their own version of these MI function interfaces, documented in the 'ILE C/C++ MI Library Reference', which is available here: http://as400bks.rochester.ibm.com/iseries/v5r2/ic2924/books/c0924180.pdf It is not necessary to reference any service program or binding directory during compilation to make the built-ins available to the compiler. All of the ILE compilers have implicit access to the MI built-ins. In fact, the compiler will often replace an MI built-in reference with an in-line call to the actual MI function to avoid the overhead connected to an external call. To hide most of the complexity that's involved in calling the APIs and built-ins and make the information they provide easily accessible to other programs, I have created a service program containing procedures that act as wrappers around the APIs and built-ins. The following procedures are included in the service program: GetSysStt() -- Get system state Returns '1' if the system is currently in Restricted state and '0' if not. GetSysVal() -- Get system value Returns the specified system value. GetNetAtr() -- Get network attribute Returns the specified network attribute. GetRlsLvl() -- Get system release level Returns the system's current release level. GetIplDts() -- Get IPL timestamp Returns the timestamp of the last IPL performed. GetCumLvl() -- Get cumulative PTF package level Returns the package ID of the most recent cumulative PTF package that was applied. GetPrcGrp() -- Get processor group Returns the system's processor group. GetPrcTyp() -- Get processor type Returns the system's processor type. GetKeyPos() -- Get panel key position Returns the current key lock position on the panel. GetIplTyp() -- Get current IPL type Returns the current IPL type set on the panel. To easily let you test the above procedures, I have also included a sample program that presents some of the system information retrieved by the procedures in a display window: = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = ................................................................. : : : Last system IPL date and time: 2005-02-16-06.03.25.000000 : : : : : : : : : : : : Bottom : : F12=Cancel : : : :...............................................................: = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Press enter to continue the system information retrieval and presentation. The sample program eventually prompts you to specify a system value of your choice and then displays the retrieved system value in the display window: = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Display Program Messages Please enter a system value to retrieve: Type reply, press Enter. Reply . . . QSECURITY = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = ................................................................. : : : System value 'QSECURITY': 30 : : : : : : : : : : : : Bottom : : F12=Cancel : : : :...............................................................: = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = This article demonstrates the following APIs: Retrieve System Value (QWCRSVAL) API: http://as400bks.rochester.ibm.com/iseries/v5r2/ic2924/info/apis/qwcrsval... Retrieve System Status (QWCRSSTS) API: http://as400bks.rochester.ibm.com/iseries/v5r2/ic2924/info/apis/qwcrssts... Retrieve Network Attribute (QWCRNETA) API: http://as400bks.rochester.ibm.com/iseries/v5r2/ic2924/info/apis/qwcrneta... Retrieve Job Information (QUSRJOBI) API: http://as400bks.rochester.ibm.com/iseries/v5r2/ic2924/info/apis/qusrjobi... Retrieve Product Information (QSZRTVPR) API: http://as400bks.rochester.ibm.com/iseries/v5r2/ic2924/info/apis/qszrtvpr... List Program Temporary Fixes (QpzListPTF) API: http://as400bks.rochester.ibm.com/iseries/v5r2/ic2924/info/apis/qpzlstfx... Convert Date and Time Format (QWCCVTDT) API: http://as400bks.rochester.ibm.com/iseries/v5r2/ic2924/info/apis/qwccvtdt... Create User Space (QUSCRTUS) API: http://as400bks.rochester.ibm.com/iseries/v5r2/ic2924/info/apis/quscrtus... Delete User Space (QUSDLTUS) API: http://as400bks.rochester.ibm.com/iseries/v5r2/ic2924/info/apis/qusdltus... Retrieve Pointer to User Space (QUSPTRUS) API: http://as400bks.rochester.ibm.com/iseries/v5r2/ic2924/info/apis/qusptrus... Convert Edit Code (QECCVTEC) API: http://as400bks.rochester.ibm.com/iseries/v5r2/ic2924/info/apis/QECCVTEC... Display Long Text (QUILNGTX) API: http://as400bks.rochester.ibm.com/iseries/v5r2/ic2924/info/apis/quilngtx... Send Program Message (QMHSNDPM) API: http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/iseries/v5r2/ic2924/info/apis/QMHSNDPM.htm Receive Program Message (QMHRCVPM) API: http://as400bks.rochester.ibm.com/iseries/v5r2/ic2924/info/apis/QMHRCVPM... The following MI built-in functions are demonstrated in this article: Late Bound Edit (_LBEDIT): http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/iseries/v5r1/ic2924/tstudio/tech_ref/mi/ED... Materialize Machine Attributes (_MATMATR1): http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/iseries/v5r1/ic2924/tstudio/tech_ref/mi/MA... The following ILE C function is demonstrated in this article: Test Bit in String (tstbts): http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/iseries/v5r2/ic2924/books/c0924180.pdf You can retrieve the source code for this API example from http://www.iseriesnetwork.com/noderesources/code/clubtechcode/RtvSystemI... . The above article was written by Carsten Flensburg. If you have any questions, you can contact Carsten at mailto:flensburg@novasol.dk . ********************************************************************** SPONSORED IN PART BY BCD and WebSmart Everything you want to do on the Web you can do with your iSeries – i5 and WebSmart – Right Here, Right Now. IBM added WebSmart to the iSeries Developer – Roadmap. Whether you have a one person IT shop or many people – you will succeed. Nothing beats the ease-of-use, quick learning curve, features, and ROI for developing Inquiries, Maintenance, Order/Entry, Shopping Carts apps and more. Free Trials. http://www.bcdsoftware.com/progenwebsmart.htm **********************************************************************2. STRDBG CAN BE GUI!
In the past two newsletters, I've presented some information about debugging in 132-column mode. That green-screen interface is nice, but this week I've found something better: the iSeries System Debugger. This debugger is a GUI interface to the debugging facility on the iSeries. It does everything that the green screen program does, plus much more. Here are some of the advantages it has over the green screen debugger: -- A GUI screen with help files, pull down menus, and a graphical look and feel that makes it easy to use. -- It can debug PASE programs, Java programs, ILE programs, and OPM RPG and CL programs. -- When you tell it to monitor the value of a variable in your program, you can check an option called "watch" that will automatically display any changes made to your variable on the screen. -- Works with interactive programs on the iSeries. You can use it with any terminal emulator. The screens display in the emulator, while the debugging happens in a separate window. -- Works with batch jobs as well. If you don't know the job identifier of the job you want to debug, you can click "browse" to get an interface where you can select a job from a list. -- It's lightweight. Unlike the Distributed Debugger that comes with WDSc, the system debugger will run respectably well on a 400mhz PC with only 128mb of RAM! -- It's written in pure Java, so it can be run from any workstation that's capable of running Java programs. That last item is a big deal for me. My favorite operating system is FreeBSD, which is a free Unix-like operating system that is like Linux in many ways. One of my perpetual frustrations with IBM's GUI tools like iSeries Navigator and WDSc is that they only work on Windows. I don't think IBM realizes this, but by only making their new updated tools for Windows, they're basically telling us, "To choose the iSeries is to choose Windows." So, when I learned that the iSeries System Debugger runs on any system, I was pleasantly surprised. Of course, this debugger also works on Windows, Linux, and Mac systems. The debugger was officially released with V5R2 of OS/400, but it can be installed on a V5R1 system by installing two PTFs, SI02871 and SI02849. You'll also need the IBM Toolbox for Java (5722-JC1) installed on your iSeries. Once installed, you can start the iSeries side of the debugger on your V5R2 or later system by typing the following command:STRTCPSVR SERVER(*DBG)Or, on a V5R1 system, you can start it by typing the following:CALL QSYS/QTESSTRSVRYou'll also need to install the user interface on the workstation that you'd like to do the debugging from. To do that, take the following steps: a) If you don't already have it, you'll need version 1.3 or later of the Java Runtime Environment installed on your PC. You can download this from IBM's DeveloperWorks Web site at the following link: http://www-128.ibm.com/developerworks/java/jdk/ You can also get the JRE from Sun's Web site at the following link: http://java.sun.com/downloads/index.html Or, if you're a FreeBSD user like me, you can install it from the ports collection. I installed mine from the following port directory: /usr/ports/java/jdk14 b) I created a directory to install my system debugger files into. On my Windows system, I called the directory C:\SysDbg c) You'll need to get the jhall.jar file from Sun's JavaHelp package. If you have WDSc installed, you can copy that file from the C:\WDSC\JAVA directory to the C:\SysDbg directory. If you don't have WDSc installed, you can download the JavaHelp software from Sun's Web site at the following link: http://java.sun.com/products/javahelp/ d) You'll also need to copy two JAR files from your iSeries to the C:\SysDbg directory. The two files are called jt400.jar and tes.jar, and you can find them in the /QIBM/ProdData/HTTP/Public/jt400/lib directory of your IFS. Once you have everything installed, you need to add the JAR files that you downloaded to Java's CLASSPATH and launch the Debug Manager. On my Windows system, I wrote a little .BAT file to do this. I called it DebugMgr.bat, and it contains the following code:@echo off set CLASSPATH=%CLASSPATH%;c:\sysdbg\jhall.jar set CLASSPATH=%CLASSPATH%;c:\sysdbg\jt400.jar set CLASSPATH=%CLASSPATH%;c:\sysdbg\tes.jar java utilities.DebugMgrIf you're running a Unix-like system such as FreeBSD or Linux, you'll have to use a different directory and set up the CLASSPATH in a shell script instead of a batch file. To start the debug manager, simply run the batch file. If all is well, a Window entitled "iSeries Debug Manager" will pop up on your screen. The next step is to click Edit->Add System to connect the debug manager to your iSeries. Once the debug manager has been connected, the user-id that you signed on with will be registered to use the iSeries System Debugger. If you have additional iSeries systems that you'd like to connect to, you can click Edit->Add System again to add them. Likewise, if you have alternate user names on your iSeries, you can register them for use with the GUI debugger by clicking Edit->Add User. There are three ways to start an actual debug session in the iSeries System Debugger. -- One way is to click Debug->Start Debug from the debug manager. I've found this to be the easiest way for batch jobs. -- You can also start it using the STRDBG command from the iSeries, the same command that you'd use for the green screen tool. When your userid is registered through the debug manager to use the GUI debugger, STRDBG will automatically start it instead of the green screen one. -- You can also start the debugger from the Windows command prompt by typing (though I don't see why you'd want to) the following command: java utilties.Debug The iSeries System Debugger is a modern, powerful tool for debugging your iSeries programs. If you're used to the green-screen tools, there might be a learning curve before you have the hang of it, but once you're beyond that curve, you won't want to go back! ********************************************************************** SPECIAL ISERIES NETWORK OFFER GET THE LATEST INFO ON E-LEARNING AND OTHER TRAINING. Stay in tune to iSeries training opportunities with a free subscription to iSeries Network Mail. This must-have e-newsletter brings you the latest info on iSeries Network e-learning classes, self-paced training courses, technical how-to guides, and more. 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NEWS Wire Daily brings you iSeries industry news, tech tips, product news, and IBM announcements Monday through Thursday. All are *FREE OF CHARGE*! IF YOU HAVE a technical question, please submit it to mailto:clubtechprogrammingtips@iseriesnetwork.com or post it in the appropriate iSeriesNetwork.com forum. This issue of the Programming Tips newsletter was edited by Scott Klement, at mailto:sklement@iseriesnetwork.com . FOR NEW SUBSCRIPTIONS, you can subscribe by joining the iSeries Network with our handy Web form at http://www.iseriesnetwork.com/join/ . TO CHANGE YOUR E-MAIL ADDRESS, modify your iSeries Network profile at http://www.iseriesnetwork.com/info/profile/profilelogin.cfm . IF YOU HAVE PROBLEMS subscribing or unsubscribing or have questions about your subscription, e-mail customer service at mailto:prgrmtips@iseriesnetwork.com . IF YOU WANT TO SPONSOR a Club Tech iSeries Programming Tips Newsletter, please contact your iSeries Network sales manager. 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