The Yum install command installs open source packages. It also installs any sub-packages upon which the desired package relies. Yum remove does the reverse. It will remove a requested package. What some users don’t know: Yum remove also removes any packages that depend on the package you removed. This is true whether running Yum manually or via the ACS open source package manager.
IBM i users have a new way to request enhancements from IBM. The Request for Enhancement (RFE) site has been replaced by the IBM Power Ideas Portal. I immediately noticed an advantage of the new portal—we can now share links without requiring the recipient to log in! The new site seems faster, too.
I’ve admired Jack Woehr’s contributions to the IBM i community—and his practical approach to IBM i modernization—for several years. This spring, I asked him if he would deliver my ODBC session for POWERUp 2022. That discussion inspired us to get to know each other better and develop our working relationship. I’m delighted to announce that, in June, Jack officially joined our growing team of Seiden Group consultants. With extensive IT experience, Jack brings a broad understanding of both current and legacy IBM systems. He excels in modernization, cross-platform integration, and APIs. He also knows SQL, RPG, COBOL. Vue, javascript, Java,…
HTTP Server for i (Powered by Apache) is the IBM i integrated web server. Although this unique implementation of Apache is well documented by IBM, that documentation can be hard to find. Internet searches often return outdated or irrelevant links.
Since IBM announced Yum support for installing the IBM i Db2 ODBC driver, as documented in our recent tutorial, users can update their driver more easily. To help users determine what’s changed, IBM maintains a list of fixes and enhancements for each IBM i ODBC driver release.
The IBM i ODBC driver for Db2 has become easier to install. Formerly available only as a download requiring several steps, the driver can now be installed and updated on IBM i with Yum or Access Client Solutions (ACS), as easily as with other IBM i open source packages. Here are instructions for installing the ODBC driver using Yum.
To say that Liam Allan is a powerhouse in the IBM i community would be an understatement. Liam burst onto the IBM i scene in 2016 as a Club Seiden member and the recipient of COMMON’s Student Innovation Award. Skilled in multiple programming languages, he chose to advance the art of bridging the worlds of RPG and open source. Later, he joined Seiden Group’s team of open source and IBM i experts. Liam contributed a staggering amount to the IBM i community. As a conference speaker, his enthusiam inspired even the jaded to try new approaches. He has created how-to…
Some key security measures, such as using TLS encryption (https://) are taken for granted. Others are often missed until they are flagged by a security scan. Here are two easy changes that have helped some of our clients reduce perceived vulnerabilities. These changes, typically made in the Apache web server’s httpd.conf files, may stop unnecessary exposure of web server information, as well as satisfying security scanners.
Of the PHP extensions that can connect to IBM i Db2, we recommend PDO_ODBC whenever possible. Although the classic extensions (ibm_db2, PDO_IBM) and older ODBC continue to work, we prefer PDO_ODBC for several reasons:
To follow up on Rob Allen’s article about choosing a PHP framework for APIs, here is an edited discussion between Rob and a developer at a Seiden Group client regarding their new API. In this discussion, Rob addresses common developer concerns about frameworks for APIs.