Free IBM i software (konsult@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx) -- MIDRANGE-L

Thanks everyone. I was only looking for a simple yes or no .... lolol.
Little did I know I would open such a can of worms or variety of opinions.
I did say I'd take every response into consideration.
I'll add his material and make sure not to ask a question like this again.
MM

Respectfully,

Michael Mayer
IBM i on Power System Admin / Vendor Contract Mgmt & Asset Optimization.
ERMCO-ECI
2225 Industrial Rd
Dyersburg, Tennessee 38024
Office and OnCall: 731.676.4318
Cell: 518.641.8906
Email: michael.mayer@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
https://www.ermco-eci.com
https://ermcopower.com/
IBM i Personal Blog: https://ibmireference.blogspot.com
Awarded IBM 2024 Advocate, Contributor and Influencer Badges.

Today's Topics:

1. Re: Free IBM i software (konsult@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx) (Jon Paris)
2. RE: Free IBM i software (konsult@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx) (Richard Schoen)
3. Re: Free IBM i software (konsult@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx) (Rob Berendt)
4. Re: Free IBM i software (konsult@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx) (John Yeung)

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message: 1
date: Wed, 22 May 2024 13:14:55 -0400
from: Jon Paris <jon.paris@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
subject: Re: Free IBM i software (konsult@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx)

There are a number of shops where SQL is verboten. Stupid - but true. Why would you not want such folks to be able to find alternatives?

Jon P.

On May 22, 2024, at 12:59?PM, Michael Mayer <michael.mayer@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

There is a ton of IBM i freeware / shareware on the IBM i Reference Pages Blog as you guys know.
http://ibmireference.blogspot.com/

I reviewed Ake's site and his "download" tab. There are certainly ways
to do what he has listed on his site via SQL services.

Debating whether to add his link to the blog. Anyone care to weigh in?
All responses will be taken into consideration.
MM

Respectfully,
Michael Mayer
IBM i on Power System Admin / Vendor Contract Mgmt & Asset Optimization.
ERMCO-ECI
2225 Industrial Rd
Dyersburg, Tennessee 38024
Office and OnCall: 731.676.4318
Cell: 518.641.8906
Email: michael.mayer@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
https://www.ermco-eci.com
https://ermcopower.com/
IBM i Personal Blog: https://ibmireference.blogspot.com
Awarded IBM 2024 Advocate, Contributor and Influencer Badges.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------

1. Free IBM i software (konsult@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx)

message: 1
date: Mon, 20 May 2024 21:37:05 +0200
from: <konsult@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
subject: Free IBM i software

I hope this is allowed but here goes:
I have on my website https://us01.z.antigena.com/l/vUefLbuq3660BkwzqSDdIsW54ghrilthmfni5dvPvRUzu0I4xkPsPJEyCR5gnDPT1wjGGHGOlp5O8K7upHQuY09-Nuhkb-vX8Vg2N1CZeSr4UIw8am2X-2DOkzKqBZ668miktXgL0zwKr56FAoGbvx-2bhYvNny0tVOwTfD-gb0YR~KjIHPQosV9dm a couple of utilities that are free to download and where the package also containts all source code.

I recently added two things:
ZCLRSPL which is a utility to set up a rules based routine where you define savedays for spoolfiles and the ones that are too old can be deleted.
ZRTVACTJOB which is a command you can use to determine if a certain job is active on the system or not.

Some of the other stuff includes PRX which is a comprehensive cross reference tool and ZTEST which (among many other things) has a rules based test data generator.
Just saying. (And totally free to use!)

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------------------------------

message: 2
date: Wed, 22 May 2024 17:32:41 +0000
from: Richard Schoen <richard@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
subject: RE: Free IBM i software (konsult@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx)

Well I suppose if you're going to be a reference site you shouldn't censor.

Regards,
Richard Schoen
Web: http://www.richardschoen.net
Email: richard@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

----------------------------------------------------------------------

message: 1
date: Wed, 22 May 2024 16:59:04 +0000
from: Michael Mayer <michael.mayer@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
subject: Free IBM i software (konsult@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx)

There is a ton of IBM i freeware / shareware on the IBM i Reference Pages Blog as you guys know.
http://ibmireference.blogspot.com/

I reviewed Ake's site and his "download" tab. There are certainly ways to do what he has listed on his site via SQL services.

Debating whether to add his link to the blog. Anyone care to weigh in?
All responses will be taken into consideration.
MM

Respectfully,
Michael Mayer
IBM i on Power System Admin / Vendor Contract Mgmt & Asset Optimization.
ERMCO-ECI
2225 Industrial Rd
Dyersburg, Tennessee 38024
Office and OnCall: 731.676.4318
Cell: 518.641.8906
Email:?michael.mayer@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
https://www.ermco-eci.com
https://ermcopower.com/
IBM i Personal Blog: https://ibmireference.blogspot.com
Awarded IBM 2024 Advocate, Contributor and Influencer Badges.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1. Free IBM i software (konsult@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx)

message: 1
date: Mon, 20 May 2024 21:37:05 +0200
from: <konsult@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
subject: Free IBM i software

I hope this is allowed but here goes:
I have on my website https://us01.z.antigena.com/l/vUefLbuq3660BkwzqSDdIsW54ghrilthmfni5dvPvRUzu0I4xkPsPJEyCR5gnDPT1wjGGHGOlp5O8K7upHQuY09-Nuhkb-vX8Vg2N1CZeSr4UIw8am2X-2DOkzKqBZ668miktXgL0zwKr56FAoGbvx-2bhYvNny0tVOwTfD-gb0YR~KjIHPQosV9dm a couple of utilities that are free to download and where the package also containts all source code.

I recently added two things:
ZCLRSPL which is a utility to set up a rules based routine where you define savedays for spoolfiles and the ones that are too old can be deleted.
ZRTVACTJOB which is a command you can use to determine if a certain job is active on the system or not.

Some of the other stuff includes PRX which is a comprehensive cross reference tool and ZTEST which (among many other things) has a rules based test data generator.
Just saying. (And totally free to use!)

------------------------------

message: 3
date: Wed, 22 May 2024 13:53:32 -0400
from: Rob Berendt <robertowenberendt@xxxxxxxxx>
subject: Re: Free IBM i software (konsult@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx)

I've not looked at Ake's site. In principle I tend to agree with Richard.
However I totally get Michael's reluctance. There's someone else I'm thinking of who tends to write his own sql services to obsolete versions of the OS and many of this other person's services are already available on current versions of the OS.

On Wed, May 22, 2024 at 1:32?PM Richard Schoen <richard@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:

Well I suppose if you're going to be a reference site you shouldn't censor.

Regards,
Richard Schoen
Web: http://www.richardschoen.net
Email: richard@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

----------------------------------------------------------------------

message: 1
date: Wed, 22 May 2024 16:59:04 +0000
from: Michael Mayer <michael.mayer@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
subject: Free IBM i software (konsult@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx)

There is a ton of IBM i freeware / shareware on the IBM i Reference
Pages Blog as you guys know.
http://ibmireference.blogspot.com/

I reviewed Ake's site and his "download" tab. There are certainly ways
to do what he has listed on his site via SQL services.

Debating whether to add his link to the blog. Anyone care to weigh in?
All responses will be taken into consideration.
MM

Respectfully,
Michael Mayer
IBM i on Power System Admin / Vendor Contract Mgmt & Asset Optimization.
ERMCO-ECI
2225 Industrial Rd
Dyersburg, Tennessee 38024
Office and OnCall: 731.676.4318
Cell: 518.641.8906
Email:?michael.mayer@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
https://www.ermco-eci.com
https://ermcopower.com/
IBM i Personal Blog: https://ibmireference.blogspot.com
Awarded IBM 2024 Advocate, Contributor and Influencer Badges.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------

1. Free IBM i software (konsult@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx)

message: 1
date: Mon, 20 May 2024 21:37:05 +0200
from: <konsult@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
subject: Free IBM i software

I hope this is allowed but here goes:
I have on my website
https://us01.z.antigena.com/l/vUefLbuq3660BkwzqSDdIsW54ghrilthmfni5dvP
vRUzu0I4xkPsPJEyCR5gnDPT1wjGGHGOlp5O8K7upHQuY09-Nuhkb-vX8Vg2N1CZeSr4UI
w8am2X-2DOkzKqBZ668miktXgL0zwKr56FAoGbvx-2bhYvNny0tVOwTfD-gb0YR~KjIHPQ
osV9dm a couple of utilities that are free to download and where the
package also containts all source code.

I recently added two things:
ZCLRSPL which is a utility to set up a rules based routine where you
define savedays for spoolfiles and the ones that are too old can be deleted.
ZRTVACTJOB which is a command you can use to determine if a certain
job is active on the system or not.

Some of the other stuff includes PRX which is a comprehensive cross
reference tool and ZTEST which (among many other things) has a rules
based test data generator.
Just saying. (And totally free to use!)

--
This is the Midrange Systems Technical Discussion (MIDRANGE-L) mailing
list To post a message email: MIDRANGE-L@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx To
subscribe, unsubscribe, or change list options,
visit: https://lists.midrange.com/mailman/listinfo/midrange-l
or email: MIDRANGE-L-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Before posting, please take a moment to review the archives at
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Please contact support@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx for any subscription
related questions.

------------------------------

message: 4
date: Wed, 22 May 2024 17:30:25 -0400
from: John Yeung <gallium.arsenide@xxxxxxxxx>
subject: Re: Free IBM i software (konsult@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx)

On May 22, 2024, at 12:59?PM, Michael Mayer <michael.mayer@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

Debating whether to add his link to the blog. Anyone care to weigh in?

On Wed, May 22, 2024 at 1:15?PM Jon Paris <jon.paris@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

There are a number of shops where SQL is verboten. Stupid - but true. Why would you not want such folks to be able to find alternatives?

Not only that, but what about people who are just looking for ready-made, ready-to-use utilities? Of the people who download the software, I'm guessing somewhere between 80% and 95% are not going to read a single line of the source code.

In fact, Ake says that some of the functionality provided is actually built upon SQL services provided by IBM.

The statement "There are certainly ways to do what he has listed on his site via SQL services" seems an odd reason to even consider leaving off an IBM i resource. If that is even entering your thought process, then you should be reviewing all the other free and open source software linked to on your site, because I am confident that a lot of it can now either be accomplished wholly or in part via IBM i services. Maybe you want to remove them?

And those IBM i services... there is no real user interface to them. A lot of the value provided by people's open source contributions is the user-friendly wrapping. Should we all have to build our own utilities because IBM has provided the necessary building blocks? Should we rewrite our existing utilities because some part of their implementation can now be done with SQL?

Finally, in my own experience, "provided with the operating system" is not even a guarantee of reliability or correctness. Particularly in SYSTOOLS. That's a demo library, not a system tools library. We were playing around with GENERATE_SPREADSHEET and SEND_EMAIL and both leave a lot to be desired.

GENERATE_SPREADSHEET needs to know the system's IP address, but it can fail (I think due to improper or incomplete DNS setup, or something like that). Turns out we can patch it and do better ourselves (by using another IBM i service to grab the IP address!).

SEND_EMAIL does something that I consider unconscionable: It tries to start the SMTP service if not already running. Hello?! Maybe there is a good reason that service isn't running! Instead of just starting it, it should provide an error message explaining the situation and then exit. (How did I find this out? A colleague of mine was simply trying to kick the tires on this function, and wound up releasing a whole bunch of email from our dev box, causing a LOT of concern and commotion at our company.)

Sorry, I know I kind of went sideways there, but my point is: Keeping something that could be useful off of a site meant to be a comprehensive collection of IBM i resources seems misguided and presumptuous to me. I don't know what standard Ake's contributions could be falling short of, that isn't ALSO unmet by (a) existing software linked on the site, and (b) IBM's own software!

John Y.

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