A motivational and informative session on career development, sharing my journey from an intern to an architect and providing tips on how to avoid getting stuck in your career progression.
Our businesses often want reports delivered in Excel format. While there are several ways to create these spreadsheets using RPG, they all have some drawbacks. Writing to the current XLSX format for Excel spreadsheets may seem a formidable challenge, but we will see that the prospect of success is better than it might seem at first. And we will see how to use tools such as CGIDEV2 to accomplish the task of creating these modern, highly-functional spreadsheets. This is the first of 2 sessions, presenting the basic information needed to accomplish this task. The "advanced topics" session presents some interesting things that can be done using this methodology. Understand the internal structure of modern Excel (XLSX) files Identify various reporting scenarios, such as multiple sheets, static informational sheets, etc. Understand how to design and implement an Excel (XLSX) application
SQL Error Logging Feature, SELF, is one of those Db2 tools that few know about, and even less use. Learn about Simon Hutchinson’s experiences in setting up SELF, “turning” it on, and what he discovered using it.
Learn why service programs are so awesome. We will weigh the pros and cons of different options we have for creating shared routines. We’ll learn how to create a service program and how easy it is to use these shared procedures in our applications. We will discuss the importance of binder source and how using it can make updating our service programs painless. 1. What is a service program 2. How to create a service program 3. How to use a service program
Session Abstract: Get a detailed look at the enhancements brought to the CL language from i5/OS V5R3 through IBM i 7.1. See examples of the new functions like DOFOR, DOWHILE, DOUNTIL and SELECT, and how they allow programming CL in a much more structured format. Learn about the many new process flow options and variable types in the CL language such as integer, signed integer, and pointer variables and how to use them. Get tips on how to simplify the compiling of CL programs and command objects. Find out how to provide direct feedback to IBM on your needs for the CL language -- they want to know if these changes are helping you and what to enhance next. Learning Objectives: What IBM has added to the language in the last several releases. How to leverage some of these enhancements to better access user spaces and APIs What IBM has added to Command objects in recent releases. Audience: IBM i Developers and System Administrators.
Anyone creating web or mobile applications, or APIs, can benefit from the techniques shown here:
Do I need a web server? Which one is best for me? Securing your site Apache and Nginx tips and tricks HTTPS encryption (SSL/TLS), including using the free Let’s Encrypt Create user-friendly and search-engine friendly URLs over any web application What if you become popular? (performance and handling a large number requests) Learning Objectives Understand how to secure the Apache web server on IBM i Learn to use Apache’s most useful features, including search engine optimization, logging, and virtual hosts Audience Administrators and developers seeking to prepare their systems for web applications, improve performance, and improve security.
Need a new environment for testing, development, or sandboxing? Creating a separate partition for these activities can ease administration by keeping your production environment clean and isolated. We will go over how to configure a new partition, install IBM i, and restore data so you can get that new project started fast.
Whether your team admits it or not, we all have legacy code. In this session, we will explore easy ways to modernize these programs and improve performance. We will delve into these 3 specific situations: Converting RPG programs to SQLRPGLE Using SQL when multi-member files are in use Converting PF files to SQL tables
Jim Buck’s career in IT has spanned more than 35+ years, primarily in college education, manufacturing, and healthcare industries. Past president (13 years) of the Wisconsin Midrange Computer Professional Association (www.wmcpa.org) and has served on several teams developing IBM... Read More →
Thursday March 13, 2025 10:15am - 11:30am PDT
Madison
Our businesses often want reports in Excel format. There are several ways to create these spreadsheets using RPG, but they all have some drawbacks. While writing to the current XLSX format for Excel spreadsheets may seem a formidable challenge at first, we will see that things are not so bad as they might seem. And we will see how to use tools such as CGIDEV2 to accomplish the task of creating these modern, highly-functional spreadsheets. This is the second of 2 sessions that looks at more interesting things that can be done using this methodology. Understand challenges and opportunities when creating spreadsheets Understand the use of shared strings and learn how to implement them Understand grouping and outlining and learn how to implement them
Ever wonder why your penetration tests never yield a failure on IBM i? It's because security generalists don't know how to test it properly. Steve has successfully breached many systems in less than five minutes and will show you how to stop him.
Worse Practices in System Security: This session will explore the bad, ugly and ugliest of IBM i security misconfigurations so you can learn from others’ misfortunes.
Account Executive and Security Engineer, Service Express
Steve has been involved with IBM i since 2001 primarily in the manufacturing and distribution industries. Over that period he’s been a systems administrator, developer, IT Manager and IT Director. He joined iTech Solutions in 2017 in a combined sales/technical role, bringing additional... Read More →
Thursday March 13, 2025 10:15am - 11:30am PDT
Courtyard 2
IBM i Services are provided by Db2 for i and can be used to access and manage the IBM i operating system. This session will include many examples of how to use IBM i Services to modernize administration on IBM i. Invest in understanding this alternative to existing IBM i APIs and commands.
Throughout your career you will be placed into many situations. You will work with peers, subordinates and superiors. You will work with vendors and customers. You will work with those inside and outside of Information Technology. All of those people will form an opinion of you. What will it be? Each time you meet a challenges, each time you are asked for your opinion, each time you will provide input. In what manner will you respond? Will people think of you as a Sail or an Anchor?
In this new session, Scott will explore the many ways that “bad actors” can attempt to subvert the security on IBM i. Whether the topic is protecting against SQL Injection, closing doors to acquiring elevated privileges, or attempting to discover unprotected objects, this session will include techniques for evaluation and protection of your IBM i. Attend this session to take a big step towards discovering and eliminating attack vectors within Db2 for i!
In this session we will discuss: Many things that you did NOT plan for that would cause you to need an HA, or at LEAST a DR partition. Virtually every one of these are items from my personal customers, not made up or 'read it on the internet.' You will be surprised and potentially even shocked by some of these occurances. Despite your security policies, the quality of your building, reliability of power and cooling, you cannot think of everything. Learning Objectives: A realization that you can't prevent every disaser! Audience: IBM i System Administrators
Deploying IBM i Access Client Solutions to a large user base is far easier than doing the same with old Access for Windows, but it still takes some forethought and planning. There really is no “one size fits all” approach to this topic, so this session will cover what you’ll need to know when planning for your own ACS deployment and how do determine the best method for your environment.
Charles Guarino believes in the “power” of IBM Power Systems. His career reflects his dedication and interest in bringing the platform and its solutions to others and as a result has been recognized as an IBM Champion.He is a member of COMMON’s Speaker Excellence Hall of Fame... Read More →
Thursday March 13, 2025 2:15pm - 3:30pm PDT
Geneva 3
Marina started her career in January 2015 at Everbrite LLC in Greenfield WI after graduating from Gateway Technical College in May of 2014 with an Associate’s degree in IT Software Development. Marina worked for over nine years as a Senior Programmer Analyst/IBM i admin at Everbrite... Read More →
IBM Navigator for i is constantly being improved with new features, and updates to functions that have been there since the beginning. Come explore what Navigator for i has to offer via live demo.
Session Abstract This session will review a simple responsive Web Portal that supports dynamic menus along with Log In and Log Out capabilities. We will use an IBMi server instance to host this web portal and will use DB2 tables to store data. After a demo of the portal, Bob will do a code review. As a takeaway, you will be given access to the code used in this presentation. Learning Objectives
Creative methods for ‘Log In’ and ‘Log Out’ that do not use User Profiles.
Creating dynamic menu options tailored for a specific user using DB2.
Making use of RPG programs to do some heavy lifting.
Using jQuery on the client side to manipulate the web page (DOM).
Using client-side Ajax to call an RPG program.
Using a free open-source framework, Bootstrap, to create a responsive web portal.
Using a top-down approach in all programming environments.
Audience IBMi Developers wanting to improve their Web Development skill set. Why Should you attend the session?
Looking for clear examples where a web page is responsive and looks good on all devices, from phones to desktops.
You’ve struggled with the web portal Log In and Log Out processes.
Do not want to create 5,00 user profiles.
Validation Lists typically do not have Log Out capability.
You want to know how a web page on a client can call an RPG program.
You want to customize menu options for a particular web user.
You get to have access to all code used in this presentation!
Bob has been a developer on IBM midrange computers since 1987 while working for private sector companies, working as a consultant, and also being an instructor for the IBM CEBU division during the 1990s, teaching several programming and development classes throughout the country... Read More →
Thursday March 13, 2025 2:15pm - 3:30pm PDT
Courtyard 1
Join Alan Seiden, a renowned expert in the IBM i community, for an open and engaging Q&A session designed to address your most pressing questions about IBM i development, modernization, performance tuning, and integration strategies. Whether you’re a seasoned IBM i professional or just starting your journey, this interactive session is your opportunity to gain insight, best practices, and expert advice directly from one of the industry’s most respected voices.
Alan will cover topics such as RPG, SQL, open-source tools, APIs, and performance optimization, while also diving into modern approaches like DevOps, cloud integration, and security best practices. Bring your questions, challenges, and ideas—Alan is here to help you solve problems, explore new possibilities, and empower your IBM i environment.
Come prepared to ask anything—and leave with solutions and inspiration for your IBM i journey!
SQL includes a full-fledged programming language, SQL PL. Come learn about the programming constructs, including error handling, that this language contains. You will leave with all the knowledge you need to start writing your own SQL functions and procedures.
Linux, AIX, UNIX - we hear about them everywhere these days. But what does it all mean? Linux skills are important to everyone working in the technology field. The days of running everything on just one platform are behind us, so it's important to be familiar with Linux. But you probably don't have a spare Linux server sitting around, just waiting for you tinker with, right? Well, you don't need one! Can you replace Windows with Linux? Even if you can, should you? What are the advantages and disadvantages? How do you get, install, and use Linux? Is it really all free? What can you do with a Linux command line, and is it really as powerful as you've heard? Attend this session to learn the answers to these questions and much more. See step by step instructions for safely installing Linux on your PC while still running Windows or Mac OS! We'll cover a number of powerful commands that can be executed from a Linux environment on your PC, within Windows 10, your X86 servers, or even on your IBM i! Learning objectives - After participating in this session, attendees should have the skills to: Identify the best way to get started with a Linux environment Install and set up Linux on their personal PC in a safe way Use a Linux desktop for productivity and learning Apply skills learned to a production server environment Take full advantage of the power of the Linux command line in multiple environments, even on your IBM i! Audience: Anyone new to Linux who would like to quickly get started in a fun, safe, and productive way.
Steven Wolk is the Chief Technology Officer for PC Richard & Son, a family owned and operated chain of 66 appliance and electronics superstores located throughout NY, NJ, CT, and PA. Founded in 1909, PC Richard has always been known for honesty, integrity, and reliability throughout... Read More →
Thursday March 13, 2025 3:45pm - 5:00pm PDT
Chicago
IBM has provided so many security features with IBM i, it’s hard to keep track of them much less understand all of the new features. This session highlights Carol and Steve’s favorite IBM i Security features and details the security features in recent Technology Refreshes that you may have missed.
Understand how Navigator for i makes audit journaling on the IBM i a breeze. Navigator simplifies configuring auditing to just a few clicks and can make consuming and analyzing audit entries easier. Learn about new improvements that increase the performance of analyzing audit entries.
Session Abstract This session will review a simple responsive Web Portal that supports dynamic menus along with Log In and Log Out capabilities. We will use an IBMi server instance to host this web portal and will use DB2 tables to store data. After a demo of the portal, Bob will do a code review. As a takeaway, you will be given access to the code used in this presentation. Learning Objectives
Creative methods for ‘Log In’ and ‘Log Out’ that do not use User Profiles.
Creating dynamic menu options tailored for a specific user using DB2.
Making use of RPG programs to do some heavy lifting.
Using jQuery on the client side to manipulate the web page (DOM).
Using client-side Ajax to call an RPG program.
Using a free open-source framework, Bootstrap, to create a responsive web portal.
Using a top-down approach in all programming environments.
Audience IBMi Developers wanting to improve their Web Development skill set. Why Should you attend the session?
Looking for clear examples where a web page is responsive and looks good on all devices, from phones to desktops.
You’ve struggled with the web portal Log In and Log Out processes.
Do not want to create 5,00 user profiles.
Validation Lists typically do not have Log Out capability.
You want to know how a web page on a client can call an RPG program.
You want to customize menu options for a particular web user.
You get to have access to all code used in this presentation!
Bob has been a developer on IBM midrange computers since 1987 while working for private sector companies, working as a consultant, and also being an instructor for the IBM CEBU division during the 1990s, teaching several programming and development classes throughout the country... Read More →
Thursday March 13, 2025 3:45pm - 5:00pm PDT
Courtyard 1
