Tom Presotto

IBM iMODERNIZATION

Why modernize ?

• Your CEO:

• “… the AS/400 is old” “ ….we need a modern open platform”

• Because of the:

• Power ?

• RAS ?

• TCO ?

• Or …….. Green on Black

UI

5250 UI = OLD

• Old programs, although proven and reliable, are erroneously considered old because of the UI

• Many RPG programmers still write new application the same way they did 29 years ago: monolithic code; 5250.• Web services support present since 2004 with

IBM WAS

• APIs and libraries to develop Web Interfaces are available since many years

Three IBM approaches

Reface

Restructure

Rewrite

Reface

• Significant amount of time and effort

• Learning new tools

• Proprietary APIs

• Is a Window–like GUI really a modern GUI ?

• What if nobody is impressed ?

• Payoff: only if you invest even more effort in learning how to use the additional customization tools.

Reface tools

• ASNA Wings – one of the few ready for Rational Open Access r RPG Edition

• EDM Webgate400

• Newlook

• Axes

• IBM Hats

• Jwalk

• ……

• ……

Rational OA RPG Edition

• Connects any type of UI:• Browser • Green screen• Remote DB • XML• Web Services• Others

• APIs that use traditional RPG input/output codes.

• You need a kind of third party Device Driver

Restructure

• Means splitting the code into 3 layers according to the MVC model

ModelView – Controller

Business RulesView Controller

Database

Tier Presentation Logic Data

• Separating the presentation layer from monolithic RPG applications could result in a very complex task

Restructure phase I

9

OS/400

RPG

5250Business Logic

DB access

OS/400

RPG

RPG

5250

Business LogicDB access

Restructure phase II

OS/400

RPG

Business LogicDB access

WAS, Apache

JAVA or PHPGUI

Rewrite

• Long process

• Manual migration from RPG to another language

• Preserve the investments done in writing the BL

• X-analysis 8 can help Discover and understand RPG applications• www.databorough.com

• The plug-in version of X-Analysis is fully integrated with IBM Rational Developer for i and IBM® WebSphere® Development Studio Client

The need of a C.A.S.E.

RPG

Presentation

Layer

Business

Logic

Data

Access

LayerDB

VIDEO C.A.S.E

WEB

SOA

Rich

Client

Presentation

Layer

JAVA or PHP

• SFTW Reuse

• Standard naming

• 20 pre-defined structures cover 90% of the processes

• Self documentation

• Unambiguous variables

www.revorg.com

Why use PHP ?

• 4+ million developers

• Over one-third of the Web runs on PHP

• No need to learn OO

• Multitude of OO functions – most free – available.

• PHP allows to program in a fundamentally procedural fashion.

PHP advantages

• Easy access to new technology

• As new technology emerges it appears very rapidly in PHP

• Huge amount of free educational, mentoring, support, manual, documentation, samples, forums, community, etc

• More PHP programmers in the world than there are RPG programmers

• Low learning curve

• Easy integration

• Scalable & Secure

• Runs completely on your good old “i”

ZEND PHP and IBM i

• Zend Server community edition • Preloaded with IBM i 5.4, 6.1 and 7.1

• Zend Studio for IBM i• Can be downloaded from Zend’s website

• Dedicated IBM i APIs• Includes extensions and a toolkit to access DB2 and

applications on IBM i

• Zend 5250 bridge

• Connects interactive 5250 RPG programs from PHP and expose them as Web Services

Migration to Windows

• Why migrate to a platform with:

• Higher TCO

• Greater complexity

• Extra components

• Requires heterogeneousskills

ASNA makes it easy

ASNA Visual RPG for Microsoft Visual Studio .NET

• Monarch

• Monarch is a comprehensive tool that transforms IBM iapplications originally written RPG into native .NET applications.

• For a complete platform migration, Monarch converts your iSeries database to SQL Server.

Tom’s opinion

systeminetwork.com/article/modernisation-use-your-as400

My article 13 October 2010 on:

Tom’s opinion

• Don’t touch the RPG code

• If you need a quick solution: reface

• Make your IBM i a bulding block of a SOA architecture

• Add new components using either PHP or JAVA

• Expose BL components using Web Services

W

S

W

S

Cloud ComputingW

S

W

S

W

S

Use the PHP stack to easily expose and

consume other platforms’ services using standard Web

Services

Preserve your RPG business logic

IBM i and Cloud Computing

• Build your “private cloud” around IBM i

• Give all your application a Web GUI

21

POWER7 in the CloudsIBM has expanded its CloudBurst family of private cloud appliances to

include a new POWER7-based

unit, as well as offer the brains of CloudBurst as a software solution

capable of installation on a company's

currently installed system. IBM's previous CloudBurst solution was x86

for IBM BladeCenter, but this new POWER7 option, IBM CloudBurst v2.1

on Power Systems,

is based on IBM Power 750 servers. The "appliance" can support from

160 up to 2,900 virtual machines and securely keep the data in those

applications separate. T

he operating systems that run on POWER7, of course, are AIX, IBM i,

and Linux.

Incidentally, IBM estimates that private clouds built on Power systems

can be up to 70 percent less expensive than stand alone x86 servers.

What’s the right interface ?

• Too often the wrong reason behind the abandon of a midrange reliable system

• Modern tools allows easy UI to GUI mapping• Not always a modern GUI is the right choice • 5250-UI is still the fastest way for data-entry

operators• Multi-touch screens, hand-gestures or eye-

movements recognition devices can be easily “connected” using SOA Web Services to access the Business Logic components.

22

Executives

Middle tier

Data entry

The right interface for the right audience

Innovative approaches - VIDEOS

• Revorg: MyPower

• www.revorg.com

• Blusys: Mplug

• www.blusys.it

• Prodigity : multi-touch for IBM i

• www.prodigyt.it

Need more Information ?

Email me: tom.presotto@evog.it