THE FOUR HUNDRED - Power Systems & IBM i Insights

1. Big Blue Unveils Bob Premium Pack For IBM i

   Early Bob users who were frustrated with the inability to work with source code residing on IBM i will be happy to hear that the functionality will soon be available in the Bob Premium Package, which IBM announced in May and will start shipping in June. The Premium Pack also includes some other new capabilities that will be useful for IBM i developers, including new modes, skills, and tools.

   The first version of IBM’s Bob, the AI tool that help developers understand, document, and generate code in RPG and other IBM i languages, generally has been well-received by the IBM …

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2. Midrange Dynamics Sees Solid Git Adoption On IBM i

   The arrival of AI tools to the IBM i community is helping to drive Git adoption, according to Michael Morgan, the chief executive officer of Midrange Dynamics, a provider of application management software for IBM i. But even without the AI push, the IBM i community is moving solidly toward modern development techniques and tools, Morgan said in an interview.

   “We’re seeing the management expectations that shops use Git as the bigger driver for our customers versus AI,” Morgan told IT Jungle. “AI is a smaller driver of those wanting to get to Git. Even without AI, the movement …

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3. Guru: SQL Sequences In RPG Let Db2 Handle The Counting

   There is something deeply satisfying about letting the database do the counting for you. In a world where we have spent decades hand-rolling identifiers, guarding them with locks, and hoping no job collides with another, SQL sequences feel like discovering a patch of mushrooms that quietly regenerate overnight. You stop worrying about scarcity and start focusing on what matters.

   In a procedure driven RPG system, this is exactly the kind of responsibility we want to isolate. Generating a new identifier is not business logic. It is not validation. It is not formatting. It is a single, well-defined action that deserves …

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4. From Green Screens To Smart Factories: Explaining DevOps To The Next Gen IBM i Developers

   Over the past few years, many IBM i teams have encountered a surprising challenge when onboarding new developers. It isn’t platform complexity. It isn’t system performance. And it certainly isn’t reliability. The challenge is explaining how modern software development practices – things like CI/CD pipelines, automated testing, and centralized repositories – fit into traditional IBM i development workflows.

   This gap often shows from both directions. For developers who grew up with Git and cloud-native tools, concepts like manual object promotion and library-based deployment can feel unfamiliar. At the same time, experienced IBM i professionals often hear terms like “shift-left testing” …

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5. IBM i PTF Guide, Volume 28, Numbers 18 And 19

   Welcome back to the IBM i PTF Guide! After traversing across the country to our new abode, we are ready to get back in the saddle and rustle up all of the patches and security vulnerabilities for you.

   Let’s start, as we often do, with the security stuff. First, we have Security Bulletin: IBM WebSphere Application Server and WebSphere Application Server Liberty are affected by multiple vulnerabilities when using when using Web Server Plug-ins (CVE-2026-8633, CVE-2026-8620), which you can read about at this link. The affected products for this are Web Server Plug-ins for WebSphere Application Server and …

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