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Connecting to PUB400 with VS-Code for IBM i

Welcome to the magical world of PUB400, where your IBM i dreams come true—assuming you can connect to it first! Are you ready to supercharge your development workflow and bring your IBM i coding into the 21st century? If wrestling with connection errors and configuration settings feels like a cruel joke, fear not—this blog is here to turn that chaos into clarity. Or clarity into chaos. You can…

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AS400 Client Access vs IBM i ACS

Who would win in a fight between AS400 Client Access and IBM i ACS? In a hypothetical showdown between IBM Client Access (the legacy AS400 version) and IBM i Access Client Solutions (ACS), it’s less a fight and more a generational beatdown – ACS would come out on top, hands down. IMHO of course. Think of AS/400 Client Access as a grizzled veteran: tough for its time, with its 5250 emulation and…

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Power Plays & IBM i: What’s Hot, What’s Not, and What’s Got the Tech World Buzzing in 2025

Alright, let’s dive into the sizzling world of IBM Power Systems and IBM i. I spend most of my professional life glued to a keyboard working with client applications and it’s easy to become myopic as I glue myself into the client’s code. Sometimes the latest and freshest developments from IBM take me by surprise. To try and stay a little more aware of what is happening in the wonderful world of…

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Use AI to create Youtube Video Thumbnails from existing videos | GROK COPILOT CHATGPT

Want to make eye-catching YouTube thumbnails without spending a penny? In this video, I’ll show you how to harness the power of AI (using tools like Grok, Copilot, and ChatGPT) to create thumbnails from your existing videos. WARNING – AI is an evolving beast so thumbnail results will vary depending on your input prompt and the AI that you use. As you can see in my video, the results vary from…

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Debugging IBM-i Programs for Beginners

Welcome, brave IBM AS400, iSeries, and IBM i warriors, to the wild world of debugging RPG code! Whether you’re slinging legacy RPG or rocking the modern Free Format vibe on the IBM i Power System, one thing’s for sure: bugs happen. If your subfiles are staging a revolt, your data’s gone AWOL, or your boss just muttered ‘fix it by lunch,’ this blog’s for you. Those sneaky little gremlins can turn…

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Simple RPG Subfile Program

OK folks, it’s time to look at a simple RPG sub file program. And when I say simple, I mean really simple. I’m gonna write a piece of RPG code, keeping the subfile as clean and basic as possible. Really focused on old AS400 style RPG. This is how I started on the System 38, back in the day, and RPG code looked like this and felt like this. For me as a young noob programmer (with significantly…

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What is the difference between DTSHARE, Connect CDC and DISUITE?

In a meeting earlier today, discussing the clients IBM i data lake connection, someone asked me “Why have I heard we use DTSHARE but some people call it CDC and others call it DISUITE? What is the difference?” I was proud of myself, because I was able to bite my lip and stop my immediate retort of “its probably the same people that still call the IBM i system an AS400!!” and instead gave a…

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Freddy the Fireman (Landrover Santana) Explores Monte Pego Alicante Spain

Yesterday we added an old Landrover Santana to the driveway. It’s Red. Very Red. It has a full-length Soft Top, seats 9 (with the jump seats) and is going to be a blast to drive around this summer. Come with us, while we collect our dogs from the doggie hotel after our weekend away to collect this Fire Engine 😉 A little road trip from Monte Pego in Alicante Spain, down towards PEGO then…

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Landrover Santana - A Spanish Defender

Once upon a time, in a land far, far away (specifically, Spain), there was a small but ambitious car company called Santana Motors. Santana was known for making sturdy, reliable vehicles that could handle just about any terrain. But they wanted to make a splash in the world of luxury cars. One day, Santana’s CEO had an idea: why not team up with the prestigious British car company Land Rover to…

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6'4" 3xlt meets a 1989 Mercedes 560SL

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RPGLE and CLLE Copybooks with VS Code

We’ve previously spoken about how to use /COPY and /INCLUDE in our RPGLE programs. We also covered how to use the INCLUDE command in our CLLE programs more Join me while I walk through using a real-world example in Visual Studio Code for IBM i more

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The Epic Quest for "RULES.mk" Mastery: A Hero's Journey with Visual Studio Code and IBM i

In a world where build automation is a mystical art, one brave warrior dares to conquer the realm of “RULES.mk” config files with Visual Studio Code and IBM i. Join us on this thrilling adventure! Step 1: Prepare for Battle (Install the Necessary Extensions) Gather your trusty steed (Visual Studio Code) and equip it with the following extensions: Code for IBM i – Powerful VSCode Extension…

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Playing with VSCode for IBM i - Modules, ILE and Bound Programs

Visual Studio Code (VS Code) for IBM i can be easily used to create modules, bind RPGs, and ILE programs. It’s not hard to move from SEU to this IDE and it brings numerous advantages. Here are some of the primary benefits: Improved Productivity: VS Code provides a modern, intuitive, and feature-rich development environment that can significantly boost productivity. Its syntax highlighting, code…

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IBM i Programming - OPM vs ILE *FIGHT*

I was recording a VSCODE for IBM i video this morning, talking about the different ways of storing our RPGLE code as a bound RPGLE program, or as separate modules which are then bound into a program with the CRTPGM command. So, I accidentally wrote this description of OPM vs ILE and realized that it was more like a blog than a lesson. So here it is 🙂 What is the difference between OPM and ILE…

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IBM i PDM (Programming Development Manager)

PDM (Programming development manager) is installed as a part of the Applications Development ToolSet (ADT) on most IBM i systems today. PDM is an environment that lets programmers and/or operators easily navigate and work with objects in libraries (aka schemas) anywhere on their IBM i Power Systems. PDM enables users to utilize shortcuts for executing repetitive tasks. Frmo the main STRPDM…

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Visual Studio Code and the Code for IBM i Extension

If you have read any of my previous blogs about IBM i Programming, the chances are, you know I’m becoming a bit of a VS-Code fanboy… or maybe Fanman… well… probably fangeezer is most accurate. Over the couple of months, we’ve seen some really neat updates to the Code for IBM i and other related IBM i extensions for us i-developers. Quite surprisingly, IBM have joined the VS-Code game, and helped…

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IBM i Access for Web

IBM i Access for Web revolutionizes your Boss’s view of your IBM i systems, offering a stretchy, secure, and user-friendly web gateway to those oh-so-important resources. Want to give your IBM i a fresh coat of modern? This tool just might be your ticket to the future! Green Screen Signon in a Webpage I know it’s been around for over a decade, but I think IBM i Access for Web is under utilized…