Category Archives: IBM i

At last! Useable data from IBM i using FTP

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useableThere are quite many ways to get data from the IBM i to a PC. FTP is a relative simple method to use, however if the file contains packed or binary fields you end up having a PC file containing strange characters. You have to find another, and typically more complicated, method to do it.

Today this changes as I will show you a Windows Command file, that will transfer a physical or logical file from the IBM i and create a PC file in CSV format, where packed and binary fields are converted to a readable format and columns having headers 🙂

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Searching for files and objects in the IFS

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findfilesseuThe code examples in this article is based on the first version of the FindFiles() procedure. The FindFiles() procedure has been updated to Totally Free RPG and a bug have been fixed. You will find the source code, example and build script here.

I am working on a utility and I wanted to add the ability to search for files in the IFS. That is, I wanted my utility to search the entire or relevant parts of the tree structure (including sub-directories) seen from the IFS’s point of view. Had it just been a search for objects in the libraries, a DSPOBJD command could do the job. But my ambition was that the search should work anywhere in the IFS and, of cause, only find objects matching a name mask that I would provide. Sounds like a reasonable requirement, don’t you think?

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ILE RPG function to search the IFS for files

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An updated version of these procedures can be found here.

This function searches the IFS for files and directories having a name that matches the mask 🙂

When a matching file is found, a ‘File Found’ function/procedure is called. The ‘File Found’ function/procedure is one that you supply. An example is supplied.

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ILE RPG function to convert a string to upper/lower case

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» Please note, that this article has been superseded by this one: ILE RPG function to convert a string to upper/lower case – fast. If you convert many fields/records in one go, these procedures are way faster that doing it using SQL 😉

The two functions, contained in this module, converts a string to upper and lower case. The advantage of these two ILE RPG functions is, that the conversion includes national characters 🙂 For us Danes, the letters ‘æøåáé’ will be converted to ‘ÆØÅÁÉ’.

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It is time for Aprils Fool

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Aprils FoolSo, 1st of April is coming up and it is time to make a little fun with your co-workers.

I have collected two Aprils Fool programs that you can use on your iSeries in order to make a little joke with your co-workers 🙂

Select the program you want to use, and make sure that the program is being called in the users login program. If you do not use a login program, you can define one of the Aprils Fool program directly on the users profile as login program.

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When was the last time you created a Windows batch file?

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If the last time you wrote a Windows Batch file was back in the good ol’ MS-DOS or Windows 95 days, then time has come to step up and experience that Windows Command files is the new black 🙂

Today Windows Command files has grown into an advanced script language having many interesting features. The tool iInstall.Cmd uses many of the new features in order to install a Savefile on your iSeries. Continue reading →

What iSeries library is a CL program loaded from?

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Most often when you develop a CL program, it is in order to use it as a ‘driver’ program for a RPG/ILE RPG/COBOL/C program. In order to make sure that the RPG/ILE RPG/COBOL/C program is called correctly you have to add the library containing the CL and RPG/ILE RPG program in question, or you can hard-code the library on the CALL command.

This is, however, not a flexible solution, as the CL and RPG/ILE RPG program cannot be copied to other libraries because the CL program will always call the RPG/ILE RPG program in the library hard-coded on the CALL command :-

Fortunately help is on it’s way 🙂 Continue reading →