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 rather than DDS. He had several good reasons, but to share the top two:
IBM i Services are a growing, innovative use of SQL on the IBM i platform. These services are SQL-based functions and views that 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. Our LIBRARY_INFO example was provided in IBM i 7.3 with Group PTF SF99703, Level 18, and enhanced with SF99703 Level 22. For IBM i 7.4, it was SF99704, Level 7, and enhanced with SF99704 Level 10. Starting with IBM i 7.5, LIBRARY_INFO no longer required a Group PTF.
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.
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!
We’ve been hearing from clients wondering whether they need commercial connectors to integrate open source technology with Db2, RPG, and COBOL data.
Liam Allan has shown the power of using open source tools that are available to everyone. He recommends accessing IBM i business logic and data using open source tools, without proprietary connectors.
We regularly turn to the IBM i (SQL) services that Scott Forstie’s team at IBM has been delivering. We love using them to get specific jobs done faster!
What’s not to love? SQL is a universal interface, based on IBM i’s revered crown jewel, Db2 for i. Code once, use many times from every conceivable kind of technology—on the box and off. Brilliant!
Scott Forstie (left) with Alan Seiden at a previous CIO Summit
In recent years, Db2 for i Business Architect Scott Forstie and his team have rapidly strengthened the IBM i database, improving the sophistication of its SQL query engine, and adding to its galaxy of IBM i services. What’s more, they have several years’ worth of new enhancements in the pipeline.
CIOs and IT Directors can meet Scott at the CIO Summit on March 25, 2019, Charlotte, North Carolina, for an IBM i strategy briefing.
Presentation HandoutThe ever-expanding capabilities of Db2 for i can simplify development in open source languages such as PHP, Ruby, Node.js (JavaScript), and Python. These languages, known for their effectiveness in building web and mobile applications, can tap into the power of SQL.
So why complicate them with repetitive code that distracts from their power and simplicity?
Now that speedy PHP 7 is available for IBM i, we’ve been helping clients upgrade to this long-awaited release. Here are some resources for performing this popular upgrade.
It’s not always easy to locate the official documentation for all features of DB2 for IBM i. Using Google Search is hit or miss, with full-text searches often bringing irrelevant results from other varieties of DB2 or from older versions. Many people don’t know that complete reference manuals are available for almost every aspect of DB2 on i.
In just two weeks I’ll have the pleasure of joining some of the top IBM i development experts in Orlando for the RPG & DB2 Summit. Run by Susan Gantner, Jon Paris and Paul Tuohy, this conference is full of big personalities who create a warm, friendly environment that’s perfect for learning.
I enjoy the community feeling and how excited everyone is to solve development problems and share tips and techniques.
The RPG & DB2 Summit is one of the few training events that focuses exclusively on topics of interest to IBM i developers. That includes PHP and SQL, of course!
Check out the session grid and pay special attention to the Hands-on PHP Workshop on Monday, March 20, followed by several PHP and open source sessions given by yours truly and Zend’s Mike Pavlak, plus a whole array of SQL sessions. And maybe a few on RPG.
I think they should change the name of the conference to the RPG, PHP, SQL & DB2 Summit, don’t you?
Come join us!