This guide will outline writing your first Node.js application. Node.js is a packaged version of the V8 Javascript engine, created by Google and shipped in Chromium. Although Node.js is cross-platform, specific tips for IBM i are given in section 8.
MySQL and MariaDB have long been databases used in the Linux world for popular web apps in PHP and other languages. The collective development components—Linux, Apache, MySQL and PHP—are often called the LAMP stack. When PHP was released on IBM i in 2006, the combination of IBM i, Apache, MySQL and PHP became known as the iAMP stack.
PHP 8 has been the biggest change to PHP in years. While PHP 8’s JIT compiler gets most of the publicity, more significant to most developers would be PHP 8’s changes that encourage better coding practices. PHP 8 pushes developers to use clearer syntax and is stricter with problematic code.
While the PHP runtime itself has improved, what about extensions such as ibm_db2? What changes do extension developers need to make to adapt to PHP 8? As maintainers of the ibm_db2 and PDO_IBM database extensions, we’ve learned what it takes to make PHP extensions compatible with PHP 8.
Python has been gaining momentum for building utility applications on IBM i, such as creating/reading Excel files, data transfer, process automation, calling REST APIs such as Salesforce and ServiceNow, and application monitoring.
Although some have said that Python would become the “new CL,” one limitation remains. While Python can easily call CL, RPG, and COBOL programs, calls in the other direction—from CL, RPG or COBOL to Python—required extra effort.
In this post we will introduce you to the PYRUN command, from Richard Schoen’s open source PythonOniLibrary (https://github.com/richardschoen/PythonOniLibrary), which makes it easy for traditional CL and RPG programs to call Python utilities and use their output. Read more →
When IBM i development pros first meet Liam Allan, they’re captivated by the unrestrained enthusiasm he exhibits for their favorite platform. His excitement over what can be accomplished with IBM i technology leaves people refreshed and inspired.
Those who have had the pleasure of working with Liam know that his energy and intelligence are only the beginning of what he has to offer. He also possesses exceptional skill AND the depth of understanding required to turn his ideas into reality.
When you browse a secure web site or API whose address starts with “https,” what makes the site secure? The site uses a special certificate, provided by a trusted Certificate Authority (CA), to prove that it is legitimate. Until recently, IT shops had to pay for these certificates and generate them manually.
In the last few years, Let’s Encrypt has earned the thanks of technology professionals. Let’s Encrypt, a CA run for the public’s benefit, offers certificates at no charge, along with scripts to generate and regenerate certificates as needed, reducing the effort of keeping certificates up to date, and keeping sites secure.
With IBM’s delivery of open source capabilities on IBM i, Seiden Group has been there to apply the technology to application modernization initiatives. Starting with PHP and the PHP toolkit, then Python, and now Node.js and Ruby, we’ve worked with IBM and customers to flesh out the capabilities of the technology, teach best practices at conferences and directly with clients, and develop award-winning solutions.
I’ve been eagerly watching Liam Allan’s open source ILEditor mature into a very convenient tool that I can turn to whenever I have a quick development task to perform and I don’t have an active RDi session open. So I was thrilled to learn about his plans for the next major release!
The beauty of ILEditor is that it starts up quickly, performs quickly, and lets me return to whatever else I was doing. For example, I recently used it to copy and send some CL code to a client while I was on vacation. So fast!
Steve Will discusses IBM i strategy
We recently hosted a day of strategy discussions for IT executives at Seiden Group’s CIO Summit in Dallas. Special guest Steve Will, Chief Architect of IBM i, joined the group to share his direction for the platform.
The open source Composer tool, which manages PHP project dependencies, has become standard equipment for modern PHP. New to this tool? I recommend this introduction to Composer.
Composer automatically installs or updates required components, known as dependencies, and any others required by those initial components. The required components are defined by the developer in an easy-to-read JSON-formatted text file.