Wikis

What are the best new technologies in 2009 for IBM System i?

Jim Mason has outlined his best bets for the AS/400 programmers in 2009, in his recent tip on Search400.com. Briefly, Mason’s list includes Rational Developer for i, Eclipse Web tools, Enterprise open source architecture, Qwiki Web work spaces for project management, Web reporting, Web databases, virtualization, and WebSphere Community Edition.

Some of these didn’t surprise me — we have discussed the opportunities that open source can provide System i shops a few times in the past year. We’re also expecting an uptick in use and development around PHP on IBM i soon. And despite some recently reported problems with Rational Developer for i, it’s being used, and the more people using it, the more bugs will be discovered and fixed. We also recently shared how you can use virtualization for backups, and we’re interested in hearing how else virtualization is being applied in AS/400 shops.

What tools are you using that aren’t listed? Do you have any quibbles with Jim’s list? Or do you echo your support for his selections? Share your thoughts!

RPG on the AS/400 — Old code meets new users

Today RPG is on my mind (perhaps because it was the focus of our Search400.com News newsletter today). And truly, RPG seems to be one of the most contentious issues with the i. For example, Pinnacle Foods recently gave their RPG application a Web revamp when the employees began complaining about using character-based interfaces to access interfaces running RPG. So we want to know, how are you dealing with this complaint at your company? What solutions have you implemented?

Also, I was checking out some of the recent questions over at IT Knowledge Exchange and found a great little discussion about the difference between RPG400 and RPGLE. The comments entered into the answer wiki explain a lot about the differences, and it’s a good reminder that IT Knowledge Exchange is a great resource for the AS/400 community. The AS/400 tag is one of the most popular on the site, and with a high level of participation in both the questioning and answering from some of your fellow AS/400 users it would be a shame for you to miss out.

qwiki = wiki web app

Using Java-based wiki software, I’ve helped create some qwiki apps ( Java Web apps ) that are buillt for less than 20% the cost of traditional Web apps in Java or ASP.  The key is finding wiki software that supports a normal set of security options and leverages Java’s stronger multi-platform support with very high integration. In a Java wiki you can easily call and execute RPG code using IBM’s free Java toolkit or DB2/400 stored procedures for example. I can run my Java Web apps in WebSphere or Tomcat on System i or other servers as needed.

There are many more benefits to using a Java wiki as the foundation of a Web app.. Has anyone else taken this new approach? It’s not something IBM and Microsoft look at because they don’t have the technology or the tools and it competes with their existing licensed tool sets. On the other hand, Sun ships integrated wiki tools in their portal server because of the productivity.