Alan Seiden

Scott Forstie’s Wish

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At a recent Code for i Fridays meeting, DB2 for i Business Architect Scott Forstie shared with the group:

“My wish is that every new database file is an SQL table.”

Scott was recommending that new tables always be built using SQL/DDL* rather than DDS. He had several good reasons, but to share the top two:

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Amy Lantz

Alan Seiden Hosts IT Leadership Summit at POWERUp 2025

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IT Leadership SummitJoin your IT executive peers and host Alan Seiden for the next IT Leadership Summit—an exclusive event focused on exploring ways to leverage your IBM i investment, improve user satisfaction, and achieve greater professional success.

Organized with COMMON User Group in conjunction with POWERUp 2025, the Summit will take place May 19, 2025 at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, CA. Few seats remain, so contact Manzoor at COMMON soon if you would like to attend!

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Alan Seiden

Release Levels for IBM i Services (SQL)

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IBM i ServicesIBM i Services are a growing, innovative use of SQL on the IBM i platform. These SQL-based functions and views provide convenient access to system functionality. For example, VS Code for i uses the LIBRARY_INFO table function.

Because these SQL-based services are added and enhanced over time, each service has an operating system release and Group PTF level at which it became available.

I had wished there was a list of minimum release levels for all the IBM i Services. As it happened, at our latest Code for IBM i Fridays meeting, Scott Forstie, the DB2 for i Business Architect, provided the resources that I’d been looking for.

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Amy Lantz

VS Code for IBM i: SELECT Statement [VIDEO]

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In this episode of Getting Started with Code for i, Patrick Behr focuses on the power of the SELECT statement included in the Db2 for i extension.

SELECT lets you quickly generate CSV or JSON files, or update your Db2 for i data, directly from Code for i. Just watch how easy it is!

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Alan Seiden

Physical File GREP (PFGREP): Fast IBM i Source Code Search

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pfgrep: Fast search for IBM i PFsOur 2023 article on searching source physical file members using the QShell grep command showed grep’s potential. In practice, while we found QShell grep to be flexible, we also experienced slow performance and occasional errors.

Now, our own Calvin Buckley has built an improved grep command called pfgrep to search traditional IBM i source physical file members. Quick and reliable, pfgrep is also free and open source.

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Richard Schoen

New QSHONI Commands for SQL and IFS on IBM i

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QSHONI integration for IBM i RPG, CL and open sourceQShell on i utility (QSHONI) makes it easy for traditional CL, RPG, and COBOL programs to call Python utilities and other QShell/PASE utility programs (PHP, Node, Java, etc.) and directly use their output. Last month we updated you on three new QSHONI features: QSHPHPRUN, QSHCALL and QSHPYCALL.

This month we will cover several other new and updated QSHONI features added in the past 12 months. Use the following quick links to read about a specific command.

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Amy Lantz

VS Code for IBM i: Profiles [Video]

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Returning with a new episode in his Getting Started with Code for i video series, IBM Champion Patrick Behr now focuses on how to set up profiles.

Profiles let you define different library lists and filters based on what you’re working on. They give you one-click access between, for example, production and test environments, accounting and warehouse applications, or whatever you need to need to do next.

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Richard Schoen

New QSHONI Commands: Integrate Python, PHP, Java with CL & RPG

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QSHONI integration for IBM i RPG, CL and open sourceA few years ago I introduced you to my QShell on i utility – QSHONI. QSHONI makes it easy for traditional CL, RPG, and COBOL programs to call Python utilities and other QShell/PASE utility programs (PHP, Node, Java, etc.) and directly use their output. QSHONI opened up a whole new world of integrations to open-source apps from traditional IBM i applications.

I keep thinking I will run out of interesting things to add to the library, but the ideas keep on flowing.

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Alan Seiden

Compare Source Between Two Partitions using VS Code for IBM i

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Comparing source code between IBM i partitions has been a desired feature of Code for i. Although connecting to two systems within one Code for i window is not yet supported, comparing source from two systems IS possible.

Patrick Behr recently posted a comparison technique using Git that works for multiple files. Another technique, which seems well suited for comparing single files rather than multiples, was provided by Christian Jorgensen in the Code for i Github repository. We share both versions below.

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Amy Lantz

VS Code for IBM i: Filters [Video]

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In Episode 2 of his Getting Started with VS Code for IBM i series for RPG and COBOL developers, Patrick Behr shows us several ways to efficiently filter and find IBM i source physical file members using Code for i’s Object Browser. (You’ll find Episode 1 here.)

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