Mastering IBM i

The IBM i operating system running on IBM Power Systems is a platform in transition. Today’s IBM i programmers must have a solid understanding of the operating system’s traditional concepts and tools, but they also need to know how to take advantage of IBM’s latest tools and methods. With Mastering IBM i, both new and experienced programmers finally have a complete and up-to-date resource for the tools and concepts needed to work with today’s IBM i.

For new IBM i programmers, Mastering IBM i introduces the fundamentals of working with the system, explaining both traditional tools and concepts as well as IBM’s latest tools in depth. For veteran programmers, the book provides the resources to gain the expertise required to update current skills. The book serves as a handbook for many of IBM’s newest tools, providing information that will be useful regardless of your level of IBM i expertise.

Mastering IBM i is equally well suited to a classroom setting or individual study. Like its highly regarded predecessor, Mastering the AS/400, the book takes a hands-on, experience-based approach to learning. Each chapter includes key terms and review questions plus step-by-step chapter labs that reinforce understanding through doing. New chapters cover the latest system concepts and IBM i tools—Rational Developer for Power (RDP), Remote System Explorer, RDP’s Screen Designer and Report Designer, IBM i Access for Windows, IBM i Access for Web, and IBM DB2 Web Query for i.

With Mastering IBM i, you will:

• Learn the essential concepts and tools required to work with IBM i systems
• Understand traditional methods of working with the system, as well as newer methods such as SQL
• Update your skill set by learning how to use IBM’s latest graphical tools and methods
• Gain a solid foundation for more advanced programming studies, such as CL and RPG

Table of Contents:
Chapter 1: Communicating with the System
Chapter 2: Using CL
Chapter 3: Objects
Chapter 4: Handling Spooled Files
Chapter 5: Describing a Database File
Chapter 6: Creating and Using an Externally Described Database File
Chapter 7: Introduction to Query
Chapter 8: Using Logical Files
Chapter 9: Additional Database Facilities
Chapter 10: Using IBM i Navigator
Chapter 11: Using Remote System Explorer
Chapter 12: Using Screen Designer and Report Designer
Chapter 13: Introduction to SQL
Chapter 14: Using IBM i Access for Web
Chapter 15: Introduction to DB2 Web Query for i
Chapter 16: Getting Started with CL Programming

Jim Buck’s career in IT spans more than 25 years, primarily in the manufacturing and healthcare industries. He is a programmer/analyst instructor at Gateway Technical College in Kenosha, Wisconsin; seven-year president of the Wisconsin Midrange Computer Professional Association (WMCPA); and recipient of the 2007 IBM System i Innovation – Education Excellence Award. Jim has been instrumental in creating an advisory board for Gateway’s IBM i curriculum, developing classes and seminars in IBM’s programming software, and opening networking opportunities for students.

Jerry Fottral is a programmer, potter, and amateur pomologist. He has a BA degree in East Asian languages and literature from the University of Iowa. Jerry has been programming for more than 27 years and has taught computer courses for 21 years, including 19 years at Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where he has taught AS/400 programming classes.

More About the Authors:

Jim Buck
Jerry Fottral