NEW COURSE!
WDSC Version 7 - (RDi ) for RPG Programmers

Take the first step on IBM's modernization road map.
Step-by-step instruction
with illustrations
 

Introduction

NEW RELEASE: WDSC for RPG Programmers (Version 7) WDS7

IBM recently released version 7 of the premiere IDE for the System i based on the powerful Eclipse framework. With the new version 7 of WDSC IBM jumped forward from the old Eclipse 3.0 style to the brand new Eclipse 3.2 look and feel. Everything from menus to basic toolbar icons changed with the new release, and so we've updated our acclaimed "WDSC for RPG Programmers" course.

Every screen shot has been re-captured! Where the tool has changed, such as the location of often-used preferences or the new technique for changing variables in debug mode, we've updated the course book to give you detailed instructions to make you immediately productive with version 7. Only WDSC for RPG Programmers (Version 7) is written to get you up and running with the newest version of WDSC.

This course has been designed to specifically get green screen programmers proficient with this powerful new tool.

Here is what you will learn:

With this new course, you'll learn how to use the features and functions of WDSC to edit and manage your iSeries source code. First, you will connect to your iSeries and see how the Remote System Explorer replaces PDM. You'll then use the LPEX source code editor, a super- charged replacement for SEU. Some of the features in LPEX, such as split-screen editing and code outlining, can dramatically increase your coding productivity.

WDSC is a complete development environment. You'll learn how to compile programs from within WDSC and how to use compile-time features to quickly locate and correct errors in your source code. Finally, you'll get a complete step-by-step exercise of the debugging capabilities of the tool. WDSC is the only cross-platform debugging tool that handles RPG the same way it handles PC-based languages. This introductory exercise will teach you the basics of debugging with WDSC: how to set breakpoints, display and even change variables while debugging programs running on your host.

WDSC for RPG Programmers is a step-by-step manual, leading you through all of the options that you need to know about how to use WDSC as a replacement for SEU/PDM. The manual has many illustrations so you can see exactly where the options are, and what you need to do to make them work. Rather than spend hours of frustration trying to get started with WDSC, you can use this course to quickly become productive. In short, at the end of this course you will have gained the skills you need to use WDSC to Modernize, maintain and enhance your existing RPG code. Get started now.

Software and Hardware requirements for deploying WDSC

You need to have the IBM licensed program product (LPP) number 5722WDS on your machine. You will have this if you are at a relatively current version of the operating system (V5R1 or greater) and you have the RPG or COBOL compiler, because since that time the compilers all became bundled. More features are available as you get later releases of the OS for example, service entry points are only available on V5R3 or better.

By far the bigger requirement is your PC; for pure RPG or COBOL development you’ll need a 2GHz processor, about 768MB of RAM, 2GB of free disk space and you should have at a minimum a 7200 RPM drive. Note that most laptops have 5400RPM drives or less; these will work, but will be slower.

Skill Level Requirement: Some experience with computer programming and database. Any RPG programmer with 1 or more years of experience will be able to successfully complete this course. This course is not intended for end-users or for novice programmers.

 

Version 7.5 of Rational Tools Announced!

IBM recently announced the release of version 7.5 of its Rational suite of tools for the IBM i. This includes Rational Developer for the i (RDi), which replaces the powerful WDSC integrated development environment. WDSC goes completely out of service (no fixes, no support) in April of 2010, after which you will need to move to one of the new Rational products. That's not necessarily bad, of course - the entire RDi product line is quickly becoming the premiere development tool suite for IBM i programmers, with solutions to fit every need from pure green screen programmer to advanced Rich UI web application design.

RDi is a smaller, faster, lighter repackaging of WDSC -- including a much improved screen designer and the new application diagrammer -- targeted specifically for green screen development. RDi is intended to replace PDM and SEU, which are officially "stabilized" and will receive no new features or enhancements. IBM is doing whatever it can to entice programmers to move from the green screen to the graphical development environment. In fact, as of V6R1, licensing on the IBM i changes drastically to a seat-based pricing system, and you will be able to get RDi for the same prices as PDM and SEU (together known as the Application Development Tool Suite or ADTS). And don't worry - IBM is still promoting web application development for the i. If web enabling is in your future, then you'll want to upgrade to RDi-SOA, the Rational Developer for i for SOA Construction, which includes IBM's new EGL language.

Not matter what, though, either RDi or RDi-SOA is in your future. If you don't have one of the RDi products available today, you can still take advantage of the free WDSC tooling. Although WDSC is also stabilized, it's an excellent tool and a great learning environment. RDi looks and feels almost exactly like WDSC, so getting proficient with WDSC today gets you ahead of the curve for RDi in the future. The WDSC for RPG Programmers course was designed specifically to focus on those parts of the WDSC tool which are included in the RDi tool - the tools that allow you to develop green screen applications - and so is relevant no matter which RDi tool you choose to use in the future.

Jump into the future of IBM i programming today with WDSC for RPG Programmers.


Completion Time: 8 to 10 hours



Compare WDSC's features and functionality to the old PDM and SEU:

Connections
One of the toughest things about switching to a PC-based tool is connecting to your host. The first thing you'll learn in WDSC for RPG Programmers, is how to set up connections customized to your work environment using library lists and initial programs. You'll even see how to have multiple connections and how they can be used to organize your projects.

Filters
WRKMBRPDM is a great tool, but it pales in comparison to filters in WDSC. Filters allow you to create sets of libraries, objects or members, and you can even create member lists across multiple files and libraries! You can have as many filters as you need and have more than one open in your navigator view. This course walks you through creating your own filter.

Tables
And if filters aren't enough by themselves, you will learn how to convert a filter to a table view. If you don't like the Windows Explorer style tree view, the table view provides a nearly identical interface to PDM; you can even drill into libraries and files. And in either view you can access user actions.

Actions
Another great feature of PDM is user-defined functions: those little two-character abbreviations we can use to save a library or reorganize a member, or even to invoke our own compile commands. Learn how to take your existing user-defined PDM options and reuse them as user actions.

Searching
FNDSTRPDM is another great green-screen command that WDSC has taken to heart and expanded its capabilities greatly. This lab shows you how to perform a search across multiple files and libraries and how to use the results view, both as a way to review the code and also as a way to launch the editor for those members that need to be changed.

LPEX Editor
Learn how the standard line-oriented SEU commands are still supported in addition to the newer mouse-oriented full-screen commands available in every PC-based IDE. This lab will explain the colorized syntax, show you how to define your preferences and will introduce wizards that will help you write your code. You'll even learn how to have multiple editable views of the same source member open simultaneously!

Outline
One of the most powerful features of WDSC is the outline view. In it, you can see every file, every field, every subroutine and every procedure. The outline mode shows you where every indicator is used, and where it is modified. This lab shows you how to use the outline: find a field, see where it is modified, and be transferred immediately to that line with a single click.

Verify
One of the more productive things you'll be taught is how to use the verify tool. Functioning like an interactive compiler error listing, this feature performs a complete compile-level verification of your source code and returns all the errors in a task list. You'll learn how to use that list to find the mistakes in your code as well as keeping track of the lines you've fixed; easier and more eco-friendly than a paper listing and post-it notes!

Compiling
Every compile command is available, from CRTPF to CRTBNDRPG. You'll see an example of using the compile commands to create your objects, and how to see the results of these commands.

Debugging
Last but by no means least, you'll get a complete step-by-step exercise of the debugging capabilities of the tool. WDSC is the only cross-platform debugging tool that handles RPG the same way it handles PC-based languages. Learn how to set breakpoints, display and even change variables while debugging programs running on your host.

Here's just some of the important techniques
you'll learn in the
WDSC Version 7 for RPG Programmers module
:


    Chapter 1: Setting Up ..................................................................... 1
    1.1 Chapter Goals .............................................................................. 1
    1.2 Requirements............................................................................... 1
    1.2.1 Host Requirements................................................................. 1
    1.2.2 Workstation Requirements ..................................................... 1
    1.2.3 WDSC Requirements.............................................................. 2
    1.3 Installing the Software.................................................................. 2
    1.3.1 First Things First ................................................................... 2
    1.3.2 Installing the Software............................................................ 2
    1.4 Ready to Go!................................................................................. 4

    Chapter 2: Connecting to the iSeries .............................................. 5
    2.1 Chapter Goals .............................................................................. 5
    2.2 Start WDSC.................................................................................. 5
    2.3 Create a New Connection............................................................ 10
    2.4 Configure Connection Startup .................................................... 18
    2.4.1 Option A for Configuring the Connection .............................. 21
    2.4.2 Dynamically Changing your Connection ............................... 26
    2.4.3 Option B for Configuring the Connection .............................. 28
    2.5 Conclusions ............................................................................... 36

    Chapter 3: Migrating from PDM to RSE and the Table View........... 37
    3.1 Chapter Goals ............................................................................ 37
    3.2 Filters ........................................................................................ 37
    3.2.1 Creating a Library Filter ....................................................... 37
    3.2.2 A Quick Guide to Using Filters ............................................. 43
    3.3 Using Filters............................................................................... 45
    3.3.1 Deleting a Filter.................................................................... 45
    3.3.2 Creating a Useful Filter ........................................................ 48
    3.4 Tables ........................................................................................ 54
    3.4.1 An Introduction to Standard Actions .................................... 56
    3.4.2 Customizing the Table View.................................................. 59
    3.4.3 More on Working with Tables ............................................... 61
    3.5 Commands................................................................................. 64
    3.6 Actions Revisited ........................................................................ 66
    3.6.1 User Actions......................................................................... 67
    3.7 Searching................................................................................... 76

    Chapter 4: Migrating from SEU to the LPEX Editor ....................... 80
    4.1 Chapter Goals ............................................................................ 80
    4.2 Invoking the LPEX Editor ........................................................... 80
    4.3 Customizing Your Perspective..................................................... 82
    4.4 Introducing the LPEX Editor....................................................... 93
    4.4.1 Syntax Coloring.................................................................... 93
    4.4.2 Time to Meet the Program..................................................... 94
    4.4.3 What You're Going to Do ...................................................... 95
    4.5 Basic Editing Capabilities........................................................... 95
    4.5.1 Using the Line-Oriented Commands ..................................... 95
    4.5.2 Preferences........................................................................... 98
    4.5.3 Back to Work: Using Your Cursor........................................104
    4.5.4 Adding a Subprocedure .......................................................109
    4.6 Docking on the Right.................................................................122
    4.7 Advanced LPEX Editor Features ................................................123
    4.7.1 The Outline View.................................................................123
    4.7.2 Split Screen.........................................................................128
    4.7.3 Finding Matching Control Structures ..................................130

    Chapter 5: Compiling Your Program.............................................132
    5.1 Chapter Goals ...........................................................................132
    5.2 Verify ........................................................................................132
    5.2.1 Check Your Library List.......................................................132
    5.2.2 Performing a Verify..............................................................133
    5.3 Compiling..................................................................................142
    5.3.1. Default CRTBNDRPG Execution .........................................142

    Chapter 6: Debugging, the Final Frontier .....................................145
    6.1 Chapter Goals ...........................................................................145
    6.2 The Setup..................................................................................145
    6.2.1 The Way SETENVLIB Used to Work .....................................145
    6.2.2 What We Want to Accomplish..............................................146
    6.3 Testing the Assumption.............................................................147
    6.4 Debugging.................................................................................149
    6.4.1 A Little Green Screen Setup.................................................150
    6.4.2 Getting the Program Rolling.................................................150
    6.4.3 The Debug Perspective ........................................................156
    6.4.4 Setting a Breakpoint............................................................157
    6.4.5 Run it Again, Sam! ..............................................................160
    6.4.6 Step by Step, Slowly I Turned..............................................160
    6.4.7 Changing Program Variables Dynamically ...........................164


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COURSE CODE : WDS7

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