Planet i

I just found out about a great new service provided by force.com (the owners and operators of Salesforce.com the CRM system). They will work with you to convert your Lotus Notes applications to their force.com cloud based application framework.  See: http://www.salesforce.com/campaigns/lotusmigration/?d=70130000000FMnb.

The link above has an amazing demo that shows how easy it is to move your Lotus notes applications to force.com's cloud.  You get much more functionality than you had with Lotus Notes and you get rid of all of your expensive Lotus notes admin and support people and remove one more obstacle to eliminating the old aging iSeries from your company.

No machines, no administrators, gauranteed availability, backups, security, and all via your browser.  No client software!  The total cost is a fraction of what you pay for Lotus Notes.

You get much more.  You can actually integrate multiple Lotus Notes application and add workflow or management reporting capabilities that you could not do with Notes itself.  Additionally, virtually anyone can learn to use force.com's easy form based admin facilities which unlike Lotus Notes are written in simple English that anyone can understand. 


Force.com has folks to assist with a conversion or you can do it on your own. Move your apps to force.com and use a simple more robust email system of the many available or host that on the web with many of the Internet based service providers offering advanced email services and eliminate yet one more hassle from your IT organization.

Just for the naysayers out there.  I am not employed by or represent or get compensated in anyway by force.com.  In fact I have not spoken to their sales team but am sharing this amazing bit of news that I just discovered.  You can search YouTube for several videos that demonstrate how easy and robust this is.  Just search on "Lotus Force.com".

Read the original at Bob Cancilla on IBM i.

Usually this website does not delve into PC software but one free (noncommercial) image manager program is worth noting. It is called IrfanView and can easily overlay graphics on your IBM i screen...

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Read the original at ile rpg programming: tips and techniques.

I was participating in a discussion in LinkedIn about RPG Open Access and using RPG as a language to implement modern UI's.  Someone threw the old My IBM i based machine is less expensive and more reliable than a Windows Server Farm (i.e. Server farm's are bad).

It is time to look closely at your IBM i or OS/400 based machines and their cost and availability.  We live in a global economy today where 24 x 7 x 365 is a fact and necessity, not something we talk about that we might want someday. 

Well the sad fact is that IBM has never delivered true 24 x 7 x 365 capabilities with its IBM i operating system and the embedded DB2 database bundled with the machine.  If you need to make change like adding a field to an existing database table you must shutdown all subsystems or applications that might open the file so that DB2 can get an exclusive lock on the file to be modified.  If the file is of any significant size adding the field and reloading the file can take several hours during which time your system must be unavailable. 

Even with the best 3rd party data replication software you still have this downtime.  In fact with replication software running for disaster recovery you will experience at least 45 minutes of downtime when you lose a machine before you are operational and with most software its more like 8 hours.

Someone claimed that you can apply maintenance or update programs on IBM i but not on Windows without shutting down a machine.  Well, if you are running ILE service programs on iSeries or IBM i you have to shut down too. 

Quite frankly, Windows, Linux, and Unix server farms have proven themselves in the largest imaginable high availability situations where an IBM i machine cannot begin to compete. 

Is IBM i a good OS?  It was!  It has not been kept current nor has it been modernized by IBM to meet current requirements.  Same goes for the IBM i version of DB2.  There are 3rd party databases particularly in the UNIX Linux world that can continue running while you make file changes like adding a field or reformatting a field.  With databases like Computer Associate's DATACOM/DB you have been able to add or remove fields, or even extend the size of a field without shutting down you applications since the mid 1980's. You still can't do that with any version of DB2.

Bottom line, its time to look objectively at IBM i based machines and compare it to Windows, Linux, and Unix.

Today it probably makes a lot more sense to run multiple machines than a single iSeries or IBM i.  It is probably a lot more cost effective too.

Read the original at Bob Cancilla on IBM i.

If you work in an I5/OS environment long enough you will inevitably find a situation where a Program Temporary Fix (PTF) is required. Staying current on PTFs can save a lot of headaches and ensure...

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Read the original at ile rpg programming: tips and techniques.

Several IBM i customers have asked me about Zend Framework. Everything from should we adopt to how do we do it? I will talk about updating ZF in this piece but for a lack of sounding impertinent I have to reply to their inquiries about adoption with “It depends…”

It is no secret that the brass ring of PHP coders is framework based development. It’s not so much that Zend purports this approach as it is the community. The Zend Framework team has done an admirable job responding to the community with an enterprise grade solution. If you look at what solutions were around before Zend Framework you can easily see the need for such a solution. In its early stages, Zend Framework was created to address the plethora of frameworks that were being developed concurrently and were grossly incompatible. In other words, applications built with Cake would have to be modified in order to seamless integrate with Smarty. What’s even more concerning is the number of PHP developers out there who insist on creating their own framework for each company they work for. Since each company is different, they should get their own framework is the rationale. The reality is, however, a generic Framework that has attributes like modular design principles and a use at will architecture may very well be the right approach. But at which time? Many i5 shops are still kicking the tires of PHP and that’s OK. When they hear about Zend Framework they want to know more. I do not try to discourage folks from looking at Zend Framework, but do try to enlighten them as to the realities. And the reality is that you can use Zend Framework with just a cursory knowledge of PHP. But to understand Zend Framework you need a little more background in PHP and OOP. This is where RPG programmers get into trouble. Believe me, after 15 years developing RPG programs I too struggle with ZF and OOP. But that is because I feel I have to understand all the code before I use it. If you wait until you understand all of ZF before you use it, you may never get the chance to start taking advantage of its principles. So, let’s start in the beginning, updating your ZF implementation.

ZF upgrade process for IBM i

Zend Framework, the fabulously useful framework for building applications with PHP comes with Zend Server. But, the current version of Zend Server that installs on IBM i may not be as current as the version you wish to install. Or, maybe you would prefer to back-level the current version of ZF to be compliant with an applications requirement. Most users of the Zend Framework are far more interested in a more contemporary version of ZF as the development team is running fast and furious on new features. So, as there may be various ways to perform the update, the method identified here strikes me as the most efficient. As I try to maintain my position as one of the laziest programmers in New Lenox, techniques like this help me maintain a significant distraction rate while the computer does all of the heavy lifting! If you would like to share your favorite approach, please feel free to comment! This article will discus, in detail, the steps you can use to update the ZF library on your IBM i. In case you were wondering, this short snippet of ZF code can show you what version of ZF you have installed:
Let’s get a little housekeeping squared away. First, you will need to download the most current "stable" distribution from the ZF home page (http://www.zendframework.com/download/latest). As of this writing, 1.10.8 is stable. I chose 1.10.8 because I like things that are stable. That's why I am on an IBM i! If you prefer an older release you can check those out at the Zend Framework Archive . I brought this file down using the tar.gz option and not the .zip. I’ll explain why in a bit. You will also need all of the prerequisite License Programs as indicated by the Zend Server for IBM i Installation Guide available as a no-charge download at Zend.com. Last but not least, BACKUP YOUR WORK! Anyone who assumes all will be well with the universe when treading new ground has never met Murphy. As a ¼ Irishman I must acknowledge that little bugger and pay him his due. So, even a measly save file in QGPL is better than nothing. It sure wouldn’t hurt to dust off those operations skills and see if you can run the tape drive or at least make sure operations has backed up the IFS in the last few days (weeks, months, years?). The directory we will be messing with is ‘/usr/local/zend’ I would heartily recommend using the SAV command and saving that entire directory to a save file and then copying the save file somewhere. Tape is preferable; a network file share is OK too, as long as it gets backed up!


OK, with the housekeeping done I can climb down from my operations soap box and we can get busy. First you need the download file. This file can be brought down in either the windows .zip format or the Linux/Unix tar.gz. Since I am going to leverage the PASE environment to do my dirty work I chose the tar.gz format. But let’s explore what the heck that really means. Tar is a Unix command that stands for, believe it or not, Tape Archive. This is a method supported by nearly all Unix based systems and since PASE is an AIX runtime, it is no exception. PASE appears to fully supports the tar command and most of its options. Ok, that explains the .tar extension, but what the heck is the .gz mean to me? Ah, this is a little more interesting. In windows land we typically use a utility like PKZip to archive and compress all at the same time. In Unix land, we have two steps. I indicated that the tar command archives the files into a single tape file. The .gz stand for GNU-Zip which then compresses the file. So, since the file was archived first and then compressed, you need to do the reverse when opening up the files for access. As I indicated I like PKZip for getting rid of the .gz extension. Oh, and do not trust Windows to tell you the extension. You may need a DOS prompt to show you the real file name is: ZendFramework-1.10.8PL1.tar.gz.


So, chose your favorite PC based compression utility, open the GNU-Zip and extract the tar to a local directory. With the file in a local directory it is possible to FTP the file to a temporary directory like, /usr/local/zendsvr/share/ZFtemp on the i. That should be all you need your PC for! You can use an FTP utility if you like but I am still pretty comfortable with the command line options. Here is my script for FTP from the DOS prompt on my PC and I typically put things I need to FTP in a directory off C: called temp:


With the file on the IFS we can now take advantage of the IBM i and let it rock through the rest of the process. So let’s rename the current ZF directory. It should be located in /usr/local/zendsvr/share/ and is called, simply enough, Zend Framework. From the i5 command line issue the WRKLNK command for the /usr/local/zendsvr/share/* directory and page down till you see Zend Framework. Take option 7 to rename the directory to something useful like ZendFramworkOldVersion or something like that. This technique may come in VERY handy should you need to back out the upgrade for any particular reason. Now take that temp directory and rename it to the proper Zend directory, or something you prefer. From here you may start a PASE Shell by using the CL command CALL QP2TERM. This will start a PASE shell interface and any Unix command line loving geek out there will start to feel right at home since you are now, essentially, at an AIX command line interface. Remember that PASE is an AIX runtime so while it supports MANY AIX commands it may not necessarily support all of them. Check out the PASE command reference on the IBM website. From here, navigate to the directory where you wish to install Zend Framework. I chose the same directory it was already in so I would not have to adjust any hardcoded scripts or includes in the PHP.ini. The command would look something like cd /usr/local/zendsvr/share/ZendFramework and then issue the command to unzip the ZF file system. There are MANY files that make up ZF and to use netserver to do the drag and drop might be cumbersome. Ultimately, it’s up to you.

To unzip the file, or actually untar, the command is: tar -xvf ZendFramework-1.10.8PL1. let’s look at this command as it is a little different than your typically CL command. The –xvf represents switches that control the behavior of the command. x means extract the contents, v means give detailed messages about the extraction and f means the next parameter in the command is the file name of the archive. More information about tar can be found on the GNU website and also the manual .
Now that the unzip is complete there is only one step left to update the php.ini file. If you plan to use Zend Server for IBM i to load the path to the Zend Framework library, then update the path directive via the Zend Server Admin Interface. Log in to Zend Server and Navigate to the Server Setup tab and then the directives sub-tab. Click the twistie for Paths and Directories to reveal the php.ini directive for “include_path”. There should already be an entry for Zend Server in there. There is no change necessary as long as the new ZF files in the same directory. If another directory is selected, simply edit the value in the box to the right of the directive, click save changes and restart Zend Server. You are off to the races!

Read the original at Mike's IBM i PHP blog and more....

It is time to rethink IT and the corporate IT organization.  We have seen a transition from COBOL or RPG Programmers trained in Junior Colleges or trade schools to folks with computer science degrees trained in Java, C, C++ and other advanced technologies.  We have seen business executives circumvent their own IT organizations and buy complete HW/SW based systems from 3rd parties.

Business has lost faith in IT and IT professionals.  Most in-house IT organizations are no longer able to fully and properly support their organization or enterprise.

It is perhaps time to make some changes in the way we deal with IT starting with the senior IT executive or CIO.  Not too many years ago, the CIO came out of a strong business oriented background and focused on addressing the business requirements of the business for which they worked.  Today many are computer science technologists who have risen to a level based on their technical knowledge and skills.

IMHO its time to clean house.  With the low cost of extremely talented technical resources in China and India, it is time to outsource all programming.  Its time to get rid of all of the technologists in your organization including and especially a technical CIO.

If your CIO isn't business oriented and focused totally on addressing business requirements, then GET RID OF HIM or HER!  Get someone with a business and project management background. 

I am working with several clients whose goal is to regain control over their computer systems and solve business problems.  We will be building an entirely new systems group within the organization consisting of non-technical business analysts and project managers. 

Many people say that there are problems associated with outsourcing (these are usually the people being replaced by outsourcing).  The problems that do occur are usually communications and a failure to control projects by the enterprise.  Too many enterprises tell the contractor "do this" and expect it to be done.  Well that is not going to happen.  Indian and Chinese are excellent developers with training and skills well beyond most US or European developers, but communications and strict project management is the key to success.

More on these topics later.

Read the original at Bob Cancilla on IBM i.