IBM i Application modernization

Today the long awaited redbook for application modernization on the IBM i has been published as a Draft version. Whether you are a old school RPG Developer or you have already started to modernize your applications this is the redbook to get a high level overview what possibilities are available on the IBM i to reach your goal. All topics like new tooling, new languages and new Syntax of existing languages on the IBM i are discussed in this redbook. The redbook gives you only an overview. If you want to go in the depth there are many links in the redbook which will guide you to the details.

Domino/Notes 9.0.1 FP1 has been postponed to April.

The for march 2014 planned release of FP1 for Domino 9.0.1 has been postponed to April according to the fix list database.

Become an expert in TCP/IP networking

In our connected world nothing works without the TCP/IP protocol family. Whether you use a web browser or mail or your favorite social network, a reliable network connection is the base of all this applications. So every network administrator should have a in depth knowledge of this technology. To get this knowledge you can read all RFC (Request for Comments) of the protocols you use which will be not an easy task, or you can read the redbook TCP/IP Tutorial and Technical Overview from IBM.

This redbook is not new, but it is a very valuable resource to learn how the internet works. In this redbook there is not only a in depth description of IP, TCP and UDP, but there are also explanations how the most important Internet application protocols like DHCP, DNS, BOOTP, SMTP, HTTP and so on work. Although the book is from 2006 newer technologies like IPv6 or VoIP have their own chapters too. And the best is, that this book is absolute vendor neutral. You do not have to use IBM products to benefit from this redbook.

So if you are a network administrator or a developer who develop network applications you should read this book.

IBM rolls out a new design for the lotus developerworks website

The developerworks site for IBM Collaboration Solutions software (aka notes.net) got a new design. In my opinion the design does not look bad, but it is very difficult to find things on the new site. For example i cannot find the fixlist database anymore.So IBM thank you very much for the new design, but please add easy to find links to such important resources like the FixList database, the forums or the red wikis. Thanks in advance.

Improve SQL grouping performance with Db2 EVIs

In many SQL queries the "GROUP BY" clause is used to aggregate some values. For example a manager wants to see sales for a specific year grouped by region. The SQL for this query looks like this:

SELECT REGION, SUM(AMOUNT) FROM INVOICES WHERE YEAR=2013 GROUP BY REGION

The Db2  optimizer implements the query with a table scan and a temporary hash table.

JDK 8 is released

The long awaited JDK 8 is released. See https://blogs.oracle.com/thejavatutorials/entry/jdk_8_is_released or visit the Java 8 landing page for details. This release has many great features like Lamba support and the new Streams API. Unfortunatly all Notes Developer have to use the very dated JDK 1.6 from IBM. So lets hope that IBM will update the JDK in Notes soon.

Apache xml-rpc download links are broken

I needed the Apache xml-rpc download for our CTI project, but all download links on http://ws.apache.org/xmlrpc/download.html are broken. I had really a hard time to figure out how to find the download, so if someone else needs xmlrpc you can find it on http://archive.apache.org/dist/ws/xmlrpc/. Maybe someone can fix the broken links on the Apache homepage.

Reorganize physical file member demystified

The RGZPFM command of the "IBM i" operating system is a very powerful command to reorganize DB2 tables, but there are some myths and misunderstandings regarding the parameters of the command. So IBM has posted a new RedPaper from Tracy Schramm with a detailed explanation how Reorganize Physical File Member works.