September 2025 meeting

On Tuesday September 9, at 6:30 PM (CT), we welcome Mike Pavlak as the presenter for our September 2025 meeting. See the time in your time zone.

This meeting is online, FREE, and open to everyone. To register click on this link here.

Presentation: Stored Procedures for Hybrid Development
Accessing business logic from Open Source application and off platform has evolved a great deal over the years. We'll look at some of the reasons for centralizing this business logic in the database via Db2 Stored procedures. We’ll look at RPG and SQL procedures and work through examples of how these are used from exhibit languages like PHP and Python.
Learning Objectives:
- Learn how to create and execute stored procedures in SQL and HLL (RPG).
- See examples of how to use Db2 Stored Procedures in OSS languages.
- Review tips and best practices when working with Db2 Stored Procedures.

Bio: Mike Pavlak has been working with IBM midrange solutions since 1992 and IBM Mainframes before that. After years of developing applications using RPG & CL he managed IT development and IT for power protection manufacturer Tripp Lite. Mike was instrumental in developing the adoption of PHP as the first open source language on IBM i and later joined Zend Technologies. Today, as a Strategist with Programmers.io, Mike helps companies approach the challenges of modernization and open source technologies. In addition to several roles as a volunteer with COMMON Mike also teaches PHP & Python classes part time at Moraine Valley Community College in Suburban Chicago.

July 2025 meeting

On Tuesday July 8, at 6:30 PM (CT), we welcome Marina Schwenk as the presenter for our July 2025 meeting.

Presentation: Security is the hottest topic in today's society and yet many developers don't have it in the forefront of their minds. We will look at today’s trend, risks and why you as a developer should develop with security in mind.

Bio: Marina started her career in January 2015 after graduating from Gateway Technical College with an Associate's degree in IT Software Development in 2014, and she earned her bachelor's degree in Computer Information Systems Software Development from Bellevue University in 2017. Marina rose through the ranks within the IBM i community starting with her being named a Fresh Face (now Rising Stars) in 2019, IBM Champion for the last three years, President for the WMCPA with several years of volunteering with the organization, member of COMMON's New to IBM i (N2i) committee, a COMMON board member for over four years, member of COMMON America Advisory Council (CAAC) and is the COMMON board liaison to it, and she is an international public speaker with experience speaking in the USA, Canada, Sweden, and India.

May 2025 meeting

On Tuesday May 6, at 6:30 PM (CT), we welcome Jacob Anderson as the presenter for our May 2025 meeting.

Presentation: To provide a step-by-step guide to setting up a development environment for IBM i with PHP, ensuring seamless integration between web applications and IBM i systems.

Key Topics Covered:

• Setting Up PUB400 – Creating an account on PUB400 to access IBM i resources.
• Installing IBM i Access Client Solutions (ACS) – Configuring ACS for ODBC connectivity and system management.
• Installing and Configuring the ODBC Driver – Ensuring database connectivity between PHP and IBM i.
• Setting Up PHP – Installing PHP, configuring essential settings, and starting a local development server.
• Enabling PDO for Database Interaction – Configuring PHP to communicate with IBM i databases using PDO and ODBC.

Expected Outcomes: By the end of this session, attendees will have a fully configured PHP development environment that can interact with IBM i databases via ODBC, setting the stage for dynamic web application development on the IBM i platform.

Bio: Jacob Anderson is an RPG-certified developer, IBM Rising Champion, and board member of SEMIUG. He specializes in integrating IBM i systems with web technologies, including RPG, PHP, and SQL. He actively contributes to the RPG Generative AI project and shares his knowledge through his blog, The i Developer’s Corner. Jacob is passionate about advancing IBM i applications and helping developers bridge the gap between legacy systems and modern web solutions.

March 2025 meeting

Our next bimonthly meeting is on Tuesday March 4 at 6:30 PM US Central Time.

We will be welcoming Rajkumar Chindanuru as our guest speaker

Presentation  Legacy Modernization in the era of AI/ML:

In today's rapidly evolving technological landscape dominated by AI and machine learning, many organizations find themselves at a crossroads with their legacy applications. This presentation explores few critical questions along with sharing some real-world success stories and firsthand experiences:

• What role does legacy applications play?
• Does it still contribute to business development or revenue generation?
• What are the strategies for modernizing outdated systems to boost profitability?
• What are the emerging trends in legacy system modernization?
• How can we assess ROI on these modernization efforts?

Join us to discover how we can bridge the gap between established systems and innovative technologies, ensuring continued growth and competitiveness in the digital age.

Bio:  Rajkumar Chindanuru

• Role/Title: Business Applications Engineer
• Business Domains: Logistics, Retail, Mortgage Banking and Manufacturing.
• Technology Experience: IBM i platform, SAP Cloud for Customer, Cloud computing, Generative AI and Prompt engineering.
• Field of Expertise: I have spent almost 20 years working on IBM iSeries or i platform focusing on Legacy Application modernization and integration.
• Education: Both my Bachelors and Masters in Computer Applications from Anna University, India.

January 2025 meeting

Our first meeting of 2025 will be on Tuesday January 7 at 6:30 PM US Central Time .

This month we welcome Simon Hutchinson, an IBM Champion and author of the website RPGPGM.COM.

Presentation  Tricks with Spool Files using SQL
In the past few releases and TRs IBM has introduced a number of SQL views and table functions that allow anyone to do things to spool files that they would have had to use APIs or complex programming. Become the superstar at your company with the knowledge on how to do all of this with just a few SQL statements.

Bio:  Simon Hutchinson has been writing his highly acclaimed IBM i blog, RPGPGM.COM, for eleven years sharing his knowledge, experience, and giving many detailed examples of the latest RPG, SQL, and CL. His work has led him to be recognized by IBM as an IBM Champion for Power and IBM i Community Advocate. He is a subject matter expert for COMMON North America, awarded the John Earle Speaker Scholarship in 2023 in recognition for his contribution to the community, and a Gold medal speaker.

November 2024 meeting

Our March meeting will be on Tuesday November 19 at 6:30 PM US Central Time .

This month we welcome Patrick Behr, a COMMON Speaker of Merit.

Presentation  SQL 101 Bullet Train:
Hang on as we go from 0 to 300 MPH with SQL. We'll start out slow by covering the basics of creating tables, inserting, and selecting data. We pick up speed as we discuss Constraints, Join Types, and SQL Views. We will be going at full speed when we learn how to leverage Functions, Procedures, and Db2 Services! We will bring it all back to the station as we use all our SQL skills to build a project that combines everything we've learned along the way.

1. Use SQL to create tables and avoid common data errors with constraints
2. How to use Views, Functions, Procedures
3. Discover how many Db2 services are available!
4. See how all these things fit together

Bio:  With a career in IT spanning over 20 years, Patrick Behr has been working on IBM i (and its predecessors) for all of it. He spent most of his career working with RPG and Db2, and earned the COMMON ILE RPG Developer Certification. He has also worked in web development and application and database modernization. Patrick is a COMMON Speaker of Merit and has spoken at conferences and user groups across the country.

September 2024 meeting

The Central Texas IBM i User Group will be holding its September meeting on Tuesday September 10 at 6:30 PM US Central Time .

This meeting is online, FREE, and open to everyone.

Our guest presenter is Jasmine Kaczmarek.

Presentation description:  This session will feature tips, tricks and suggestions to guide you through various events and transitions you may experience in the modern workplace, from ransomware to working and managing staff remotely.

 

Bio:  With over ten years of experience on the IBM Power System, Jasmine's passions include modernization, API development, integration of gamification techniques into business applications and mentoring new developers. Jasmine is an avid promoter of adopting open-source languages into traditional RPG-only businesses to aid in the development of modern user experiences. She also has a keen interest in hobby development projects using Unity and improving outdated small business websites. Jasmine is a member of the N2i Committee and the COMMON America Advisory Council (CAAC). Jasmine Kaczmarek is the Vice President of Technology for M.R. Williams in North Carolina.