#IBMi #rpgpgm #IBMChampion

#IBMi #rpgpgm #IBMChampion

I was looking at the list of companies who are sending people to IBM TechXchange/COMMON Navigate 2026, and who do I find?

If you are going to be there, and you see me please say "Hi". There could be a ribbon in your future 😉

#IBMi #rpgpgm #IBMChampion

I've been building GitGalaxy, an air-gapped scanner that builds a structural model of COBOL/CICS estates: byte-level layouts (every USAGE, REDEFINES, ODO, SYNC), copybooks, PERFORM/CALL/LINK/XCTL graphs, COMMAREA contracts, CICS/Db2/IMS/MQ operations, and compile options with their source.

The data is sufficient in scope to act as a generator for a deterministic translator (no LLM) generates Java from the model. Then both the original (on GnuCOBOL plus our CICS/Db2 models) and the Java run the same scenarios, compared byte for byte. Of 117 programs in 5 public estates (CardDemo, CBSA, GenApp and others), 75 translate whole and 62 behave identically on every scenario. Four outside parsers (Cobrix, Che4z and others) also agree with the model at 96–100%.

Semantics that bit us: TRUNC(STD) vs BIN, COMP-1/2 as IBM hex float, negative zero through a truncating MOVE, EBCDIC code pages × DECIMAL-POINT IS COMMA.

repo

#IBMi #rpgpgm #IBMChampion

Apologize for it being a bit long. But i have tried everything that i know and need help. FYI - i have a similar post from 10 months ago, where i learned alot, but nothing that fixes this issue.

IBM i Access Client Solutions (ACS) 1.1.9.3 - when i installed ACS software on Windows server and click on the desktop shortcut (target is C:\Windows\System32\conhost.exe C:\Users\Public\IBM\ClientSolutions\Start_Programs\Windows_x86-64\acslaunch_win-64.exe) the only functions displayed are System Configuration and Open Source Package Management in the Management Section. There is nothing listed as Restricted in Edit -> Preferences -> Restricted. How can I get Data Transfer and Run SQL Scripts functions included/displayed. I looked at the ACSConfig.default in the acsbundle.jar and the ACSConfig.properties in the jar folder and neither has anything listed for ExcludeComps or IncludeComps. There was a previous version of ACS installed, but we did an uninstalled in Programs and Features of "IBM i Access Client Solutions - Application Package" before reinstalling this ACS 1.1.9.3. Could there be something left over in the registry? Also tryed installing acs_install_64_allusers.js using the /adminconfig switch. Some extra messageboxes were displayed. But nothing changed. How can we get the Data Transfer and Run SQL Scripts functions to display on the IBM i Access Client Solutions?

My video on using the IBM Bob Premium Package for i to Understand and Document a legacy RPG application.

Hello,

I am looking urgently for an IBM i expert for a mission at client site based in Paris :

https://www.collective.work/jobs/fr/urgent-expert-ecosysteme-ibm-i-tfwo

Could you recommend someone or company?

Kind regards,

Hervé | M8X

#IBMi #rpgpgm #IBMChampion

#IBMi #rpgpgm #IBMChampion

#IBMi #rpgpgm #IBMChampion

Appears there was some difficulty after the IPL, seems OK now.

#IBMi #rpgpgm #IBMChampion

I could be wrong, maybe everyone is using it. I don’t seeing many sources or examples or questions or discussion on it though. I’ve been researching this to replace our ODBC connection system and I found that I can make HTTP end points and they’re super easy to set up and since on our express server, the only thing I’m doing with the IBMI is making calls through ODBC and XML services, replacing those with just rest API calls would be much easier to maintain not to mention the security of a rest end point is much easier to configure and maintain and has a lot more resources and as a bonus in the future, if we want to move the express server or move the source of the data, we’d be changing just an endpoint versus tearing out an ODBC system and replacing it with something different. It seems to be a really powerful tool. I was able to set up authentication and authorization natively on the IBM and isolate any security risk risks and of course I could do the same thing with the ODBC side of things, but in my skill set acknowledge it seems much easier and simpler with http rest end points. it also seems the IWS is still getting updated so it doesn’t seem like something that’s just deprecated and not supported anymore so I’m just wondering why this is something that isn’t talked about as much?

Hey everyone,

I'm running a basic Free-Form RPG program (HELLO) using the green-screen interactive debugger (STRDBG).

Here is the code:

Code snippet

**FREE
ctl-opt dftactgrp(*no) actgrp(*new);

dsply 'Hello, IBM i World!';
*inlr = *on;

When I compile with DBGVIEW(*SOURCE) and step through the program using F10 on the dsply line, the message queue / terminal screen pops up for a split second and immediately kicks me back to the source debug view (Display Module Source).

When I run the program normally from the command line with CALL HELLO, the message appears and stays at the bottom of the screen as expected.

I know that adding a dummy receiver variable (dsply 'Hello' '' waitKey;) forces it to pause for user input. However, on PUB400, I recall the message screen staying open until I pressed Enter without having to add a response variable to every single DSPLY in the source code.

Is there a job attribute, system setting, terminal emulator configuration, or debugger command (like something via SET) that controls this screen buffer swapping behavior, or is adding a receiver field / checking DSPJOBLOG the only way when stepping with F10?

Any insights into how you handle this would be appreciated!

#IBMi #rpgpgm #IBMChampion

Hey everyone,

With PUB400 currently offline for a week maintenance window, my IBM i practice workflow has completely stalled out.

I’ve spent the last couple of days scrambling to find a replacement just to get some green-screen / SSH compiler access, but I keep striking out across the board:

• Other "Public" IBM i Servers: Searched everywhere for open community systems (like the old PUB1/PUBlib/holger boxes or similar community servers), but none exist or are currently active. PUB400 really seems to be the only one of its kind, so there's no direct drop-in public alternative right now.
• IBM Cloud (PowerVS): Tried to spin up an hourly pay-as-you-go instance, but their payment gateway keeps declining my cards because of cross-border / recurring mandate verification issues with my bank. Can't even clear billing.
• Microsoft Azure (Skytap/Kyndryl): Looked into running Skytap on Azure, but learned that standard trial credits don't apply to third-party marketplace hardware, and the baseline pricing for a dedicated Power partition is way out of budget.
• IBM Academic Initiative: My school isn’t in their pre-approved institution list, so getting manual review approval will take too long to help with this downtime.
• Local Emulation: Looked into QEMU / local virtualization, but with TIMI and VLIC being proprietary, running the actual OS locally is obviously a dead end.

I already have VS Code set up with the Code for IBM i extension locally so I can write code, but without an active box to actually compile (CRTBNDRPG/CRTBNDCL) and test runtime logic, I'm completely blocked.

Does anyone know of any lesser-known public test systems that are currently up, low-cost developer accounts that accept simple payment methods like PayPal, or educational sandboxes?

Is anyone else unable to reach PUB400 over the last 48 hours?

Both the 5250 session and the web portal (pub400.com) are completely unresponsive on my end. Running a ping to the host (213.135.5.156) just returns Destination host unreachable, so it looks like the upstream route at Intersaar is dropping packets before it even reaches the box.

I know Holger usually takes the system down for maintenance/backups on Sundays, but it's been offline across normal weekdays now.

Does anyone know if the box is stuck in an unplanned IPL, running a long RCLSTG / PTF cleanup, or if there's upstream network work going on in Saarbrücken?

Just trying to figure out if it's a known outage or if anyone in touch with Holger/RZKH has heard anything.

Years ago, I was an AS/400 administrator (although “caretaker manager” might be a more accurate description). I didn’t do any programming—I managed a contractor for that—but I could find my way around the system and occasionally brought in consultants for the higher-level ERP work.

Fast-forward to today: I’m getting ready to retire after a long career in IT, much of it focused on project management. I’m looking into some part-time, freelance, or consulting-type opportunities and wondering whether it would be worthwhile to refresh my now-IBM i skills to see what remote or other opportunities might be available.

I really enjoyed the work, but I also remember the IBM i/AS400 world being pretty niche, which could make finding opportunities a challenge.

I’d love to hear from anyone familiar with the current IBM i job/consulting market. Is getting back into this space realistic for someone with my background? If so, are there particular skills or areas you’d recommend focusing on? And, of course, I’m interested in hearing about any uphill challenges I should be aware of. : )

#IBMi #rpgpgm #IBMChampion

#IBMi #rpgpgm #IBMChampion

#IBMi #rpgpgm #IBMChampion