Information Systems:State of the Union

This is a generic scribble page used to log and discuss limitations to our current IT infrastructure. Currently, there is a focus limitations surrounding the IBM i and the ASW ERP software.

Data

Query

Querying the server database for data is a core business function, providing the statistics to drive business development and financial decision-making. Transactional data is useless if there is no way to summarize and analyze it. In light of this, IBM has always packaged a query tool alongside the DB2 database that serves as the data heart of the IBM Power8 machine. This tool has evolved, and so has the query language, but we currently do not employ any of the newer and more efficient methods of accessing and reporting data (with the exception of Infonet).

• First generation: Query/400 or AS/400 Query
• Second generation: Query Manager for i
• Third and current generation: DB2 Web Query for i

The RPG programming language

ASW and extensions are programmed in RPG.

Modernization

Note: As of Mar. 2017, an interest in investing in a modern programming platform finally materialized. The discussion should thus be moved to  this page. The EGL section below is for reference only, it has been ruled out as a viable option as EGL hasn't evolved into any sort of prominence as a platform and thus is not worth the investment.

EGL

Modernization tools provide a bridge between legacy programs and modern presentation (front-end functionality i.e. Web 2.0). Through the use of such a tool (WebSmart), this is where our modernization path is currently taking us. However, IBM circa 2010 realized that RPG was decreasing in popularity, and developed a new language to keep customers developing on the i: EGL

EGL is a new language made by IBM. While technically it has evolved from simpler languages over 25 years, EGL has only been picking up steam since about 2010. The best way to describe why a company would consider EGL is this: You're a company that uses IBM i for business, and your applications are built using the RPG programming language. It is apparent that development of further functionality is becoming increasingly difficult. You may or may not have modernization tools which have allowed you to create a modern user interface, but those programs are for the most part separated out from core ERP functionality - which again, remains at the mercy of the ability to develop in RPG. The goal is thus to find a way to be able to migrate existing applications to a modern development platform that today's programmers can handle, while avoiding considerations to start from scratch with a new ERP and while staying on the IBM i platform. You would thus invest in EGL and start on this migration path, with the end result being that your former RPG ERP is now a modernized and fully custom, EGL ERP. In-house programming heavily required.