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!