The end of summer leads to new beginnings for RPG developers

Welcome to another edition of Talsco Weekly

It’s hard to believe it’s Labor Day weekend. We give thanks to all workers here in America. It’s because of you that we in the IBM i (AS/400) community have a lot of work to do. Here is what is going on this week.

News: A big loss for the IBM i community.
Development: Build an app using the IBM i and an iPhone & 6 things that make a software developer great.
Leadership: Tech innovation and technical debt is a business decision.
Learning: Give your RPG staff a new beginning.
Modernization: Tips, how to map your modernization journey, and time to mix it up.
Open source: What is Loopback?
Trends: Blockchain explained.

News

IT Jungle: In Memory of Dan Burger The IBM i community lost one of it’s biggest cheerleaders in August, Dan Burger. I had a handful of conversations with Dan over the course of the past 10 years as well as the opportunity to sit down with him for lunch in Oceanside, CA last year. As I read through this article in IT Jungle I could not help but think about my interactions with Dan. He is a class act and will be greatly missed.

Development

How to build and app to access IBM i data from your iPhone Kids are back in school. It might be time for you to learn something new as well. All it takes is an RPG program, a web service, and an app. “Think of the possibilities here; wouldn’t it be great to check the latest sales figures or the status of an order from your phone? Perhaps you want to see how your salespeople are performing. How about checking performance statistics of your IBM i? Six things that make a great software developer Regardless of the languages or platform you develop applications on here are six characteristics that make a software developer great. Think about the most talented RPG developer you know. Do they have these six things? Do you have them?

Leadership

Why tech innovation is not the answer everybody thinks it is As the IBM i community looks to modernize it faces pressure from all sides. There are an abundance of solutions to choose from within and outside the IBM i ecosystem. This article is geared towards tech innovation but it offers good insight on how to make the best decision. There are three questions you should ask yourself to make sure you are getting it right. See “Getting value innovation right”. Why technical debt is a business decision Is technical debt such a bad thing? It depends. As this article points out technical debt is a common term for software developers but the business might not be as familiar with it as it should be. Technical debt can be used as an advantage but if it is not managed properly it can create dire consequences for the business.

Learning

Are you looking to give your RPG development staff a new beginning? I am always shocked how many organizations fail to recognize the easiest way to modernize their IBM i (AS/400) environment and that is to train their staff. It’s time to invest in your staff and teach them everything they need to know about modern RPG, RDi and the IBM i. Jim Buck, at imPower Technologies, can train and retrain your new and seasoned RPG developers to embrace all the IBM i platform has to offer. Simple, right?

Modernization

11 tips to modernize your legacy technology I have mixed feelings about this article. It offers some valuable insight to how an organization needs to approach legacy modernization. However, a couple of the tips are rooted in myths about legacy systems. Alex Woodie, from IT Jungle touched on this last week. Regardless, it’s a worth while article to read to become more familiar with the options available. How to map a mainframe modernization journey Organizations that leverage the IBM i (AS/400) platform are a various stages of their modernization journey. Regardless of where you are at there are a “specific set of common challenges, which include cost, flexibility for business velocity and capability, skills shortage and risk.” A mix of old and new It’s important to remember that much of the heavy lifting in organizations that run the IBM i (AS/400) is done by the RPG programmer. However, there are now a number of open source and other solutions running on the IBM i that require an additional skillset. Node.js, PHP, Java, and Javascript are skills that the RPG developer should consider.

Open Source

What is Loopback? “LoopBack is a highly extensible, open-source Node.js framework based on Express that enables you to quickly create dynamic end-to-end REST APIs and connect to backend systems such as databases and SOAP or REST services.”

Trends

The platform economy is reshaping global trade Why is this shift important? What does it mean for traditional businesses. IBM i professionals need to understand the dynamics outlined in this article because it’s the future of business. We can’t take a backseat approach anymore because data is now “captured by AI platforms like IBM’s Watson and Salesforce’ Einstein to make increasingly sophisticated decisions.” A beginners guide to blockchain If you are not sure what blockchain here is a simple explanation of what it is using a real world analogy. Or if you would prefer a visual guide to Blockchain, you can find it here.

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Hiring & Jobs

If you are an RPG programmer looking to explore opportunities or a client who is looking for a talented IBM i professional, please contact us. We look forward to assisting you.

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