Craig Pelkie presents .net, mobile, and more
Craig Pelkie at NHMUG user group on Thursday March 20, 2014
Getting started with .NET for IBM i developers
Even though you use the IBM i as your server platform, your shop may be using or considering application development with Microsoft .NET. Before getting started with .NET development, it is helpful to understand some of the basics of .NET, including the .NET Framework, the programming languages that are most widely used (Visual Basic and C#), the Visual Studio development environment, the ASP.NET deployment environment, and perhaps most importantly, how you can connect to your IBM i from .NET
In this session, we will look at the major features of the .NET environment and how it fits in with the IBM i.
Microsoft SQL Server for IBM i Developers
Microsoft SQL Server is a widely used database server that is found in many IBM i shops. Using database drivers provided by IBM, you can connect SQL Server to your IBM i, enabling you to move data between the two systems.
In this session, you'll learn the basics of SQL Server, how the IBM database providers can be used with SQL Server, and how to create and work with a Linked Server. You'll see how you can run SQL statements in SQL Server that access IBM i data for read, insert, update and delete operations. You will learn about SQL Server data transfer packages, and the tools that are available to create and run packages. You'll also learn about other features of SQL Server, including SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS) and SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS).
Included with the session is a PDF lab handout that shows the steps used to create a Linked Server and run SQL commands using it.
Simple mobile programming for RPG using jQuery Mobile
Many IBM i developers create web applications with RPG or PHP, extending the reach of their company and helping users to be more productive. So if you know how to create IBM i web applications, going mobile should be simple, right? After all, all of the popular mobile devices have web browsers, so you simply bring up the pages. Right?
Unfortunately, a web page or form that looks great in a desktop browser is probably unusable on a mobile device. The phrase "fat finger" really means something when you work with data in a mobile browser.
To create a good looking, usable web form for mobile means that you need to have in-depth knowledge of HTML, JavaScript and CSS. You also need to account for different screen sizes, orientations, browsers and how users interact with mobile web applications. Fortunately, there is a readily available solution that takes into account the limitations and opportunities of mobile devices. The no-charge jQuery Mobile Framework uses an easy to understand syntax, all done using HTML. It takes care of all of the required JavaScript and CSS for you. A web application developed with jQuery Mobile is visually stunning and is readily accepted by users, since it fits in with their expectations of how a mobile web application should work. Best of all, you can easily incorporate jQuery Mobile with IBM i RPG and PHP web programs.
In this session, you will learn how you can use the freely available jQuery Mobile Framework to create easy to use mobile web applications. You'll see "before" and "after" images of web forms that have been enhanced with jQuery Mobile, and you'll see exactly what the code looks like. Once you see that you can leave out most of the hard parts of mobile web development by using jQuery Mobile, you'll be confident that you can deliver mobile applications that your users will really appreciate.
Just Enough Java: What you need to know to run Java applications on the IBM i
As a developer for the IBM i, you may need to provide applications or features that require more than RPG or COBOL. There are many Java solutions that are available and can be used on the IBM i. Your challenge, as an IBM i developer, is to get the Java code working with your RPG or COBOL applications.
In this session, you will learn the basics of getting Java applications installed and running on the IBM i. You'll learn how Java code is packaged in class or JAR files, how those files are installed in the IBM i IFS, how the CLASSPATH is used to provide access to Java code, and how to run Java applications.
You don't need to know the Java language or object-oriented programming to benefit from this session. If you just want to get a Java application installed and running on your IBM i, you need Just Enough Java to get it working!
Biography
Craig has been programming IBM midrange systems for many years, having started as a weekend computer operator on a System/360 model 20. His articles have appeared in Midrange Computing, NEWS/400 and other industry publications. He currently develops and conducts eLearning courses for iProDeveloper, in addition to providing consulting services for IBM i, .NET and Java.
You can contact him at