© 2014 IBM Corporation

1691, How to Become a Rational Developer for the i Power User Kenny Smith, Strongback Consulting

Edmund Reinhardt, IBM

Alan Boxall, IBM

About Us: Strongback Consulting

• IBM Advanced Business Partner – SVP certified

– Strongly focused on DevOps, enterprise modernization and application lifecycle

management

– Key Industries Served: Finance, Insurance, Healthcare, Manufacturing, Government

– Rational Design Partner

Discover us at:

http://www.strongback.us

Subscribe to us at

http://feeds.feedburner.com/StrongbackConsulting

Socialize with us on Facebook & LinkedIn

http://www.facebook.com/StrongbackConsulting

http://www.linkedin.com/company/290754

Please note IBM’s statements regarding its plans, directions, and intent are subject to change

or withdrawal without notice at IBM’s sole discretion.

Information regarding potential future products is intended to outline our general

product direction and it should not be relied on in making a purchasing decision.

The information mentioned regarding potential future products is not a commitment,

promise, or legal obligation to deliver any material, code or functionality.

Information about potential future products may not be incorporated into any

contract. The development, release, and timing of any future features or

functionality described for our products remains at our sole discretion.

Performance is based on measurements and projections using standard IBM

benchmarks in a controlled environment. The actual throughput or performance

that any user will experience will vary depending upon many factors, including

considerations such as the amount of multiprogramming in the user’s job stream,

the I/O configuration, the storage configuration, and the workload processed.

Therefore, no assurance can be given that an individual user will achieve results

similar to those stated here.

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• First, learn to crawl – know how to navigate around, and use the skills you have from SEU/PDM

• Then walk – get proficient with the RSE, jobs, filters, and remote compilation

• Next run – basic debugging, master the LPEX editor

• Finally, FLY! – master refactoring, software archaeology tools in RDi, code templates, snippets, advanced debugging, application viewer

Overview

• Workbench basics

– Views, perspectives

– Workspace preferences

– editors

• Set your LPEX editor to SEU profile

• Find the information to help you learn more about the tool

– Help system

– InfoCenter

– RPG Hub

– Various other links

Learn to Crawl

• Views

• Perspectives

• The Workspace

• Workspace Preferences

• The LPEX Editor

• Remote System Explorer Perspective

• iProjects Perspective

• Connecting to the i

RDi Basics

Navigate the Workbench

Editor

Pane

Live

Outline

iProjects

View

Remote

Systems

Command

Results

Perspectives

• Easily import connections from your peers

• Connect using the wizard in the remote systems view

Connect to the i

1

2

3

4

The Help System

8

Search Bar

Table of

contents

Index page Search Results

Navigation Bar

Content

pane

Personal

bookmarks

• LPEX editor can emulator other editors (SEU, ISPF, vi, emacs)

• Open preferences → LPEX → Appearance → Set profile to SEU

Make your editor act like SEU

Line

commands

Command

area

Context

Menu

• Remote system explorer

• Creating filters

• Manage jobs

• Discover the editors

• Remote compilation

Learn to Walk

• Objects

– Navigate objects using filters

• Commands

– Create compile commands

• IBMi Contexts

• Jobs

• IFS Files

• Spooled Files

• Qshells

– Unix like shell to interact with IFS

Remote Systems Explorer

• Filters allow you to view only what you need to work with

• Isolate to specific libraries, jobs, or files for a given project

• Apply filters to libraries, jobs, spooled files, IFS files

• Filters can have one or more filter strings

Create Filters

• Drill down on a subsystem

• Right click to access the job’s context menu

• End, hold, or begin live debugging of a job

Manage Jobs

• All the functions you have in a CL command you have here

• Create quick shortcuts to handle your most common functions

– This is where your productivity really starts improving!

Remote Commands

• Create filters to isolate specific directories on the IFS

– i.e. /QIBM/UserData/WebSphere/AppServer/profiles

• Change permissions on files via the context menu

• Navigate the IFS, into directories and add/remove files just like a

windows file structure

• Also, launch a mini-terminal Qshell, with command line help

Manage IFS Files

• Screen Designer

• Report Designer

• Master the LPEX editor

• Debugging

Learn to Run

• WYSIWYG Designer for developing your display files

Screen Designer

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Use properties view to

modify attributes and

keywords for the file,

records and fields.

Outline view for

navigating in the editor

and selecting the file,

records and fields.

Design area Design, source and

preview modes

Screen controls allow you to

specify which records should

be visualized together in the

design area.

Palette: drag and drop

parts from the palette to

the design area.

Screen Designer

Report Designer

• Convert your code to Free Form RPG

• Filter your code

• Use the Selection tools

• Hex Edit a line

• Master Keyboard shortcuts

• Use the LPEX source prompter

Master the LPEX Editor

LPEX Demo

• Use SCM / CLM

• iProjects

• Application Diagram Viewer

• Create Web Services

Learn to Fly

• Most vendors have plugins to RDi to manage your source

– Team Concert (of course!)

– Arcad

– Turnover

– MKS Implementer

– Aldon

• SCM Should be planned as part of your RDi rollout

– Begin using the tool with SCM and your life will be much easier

– Using different libraries for different versions is NOT SCM

– Using save files for historical capture, is NOT SCM

SCM = Source Code Management

• Compare source to previous versions

• Lock a member from editing (optimistic, or pessimistic)

• Have traceability to work items, and to requirements, and trace a

specific version of a source member to production

• Have your source automatically compiled right after you check it

in (continuous integration)

What you can do with SCM / CLM

• The core of any SCM tooling

• Your source is pulled down to the local workstation

• You edit code, and check it back in

• The SCM server puts in the correct target libraries

• SCM will store a history of all of your edits

• iProjects allow for remote/disconnected development

iProjects

• Create a mental map of the application

• Linked to the editor

• Navigable

• Save to documentation

Application Diagram Viewer

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– Provides developers with a graphical overview of the structure of their native IBM i applications

• Call graph showing subroutine, procedure, and program calls

• ILE program and service program bindings

– Currently supports ILE RPG, ILE COBOL, CL, programs and service programs

Application Diagram

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Application Diagram

ORDENTR member

expanded to view a

call graph

Subroutine WrtDtaQ calls

program QSNDDTAQ

Subroutine ChgOrder calls

something inside the

ROUTINES member

Subroutine RqsPart calls

subroutine Process

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ILE Program and Service

Program Bindings

Program QQFENDSVR

binds to service program

QQFUTILS

Modules WFVTACC and

WFVTSVR are bound

into program

QQFVTSVR These *SRVPGMs were

not part of initial user

selection so details are

not shown

Selecting a node highlights

it’s incoming and outgoing

connections

© 2014 IBM Corporation

Alan Boxall

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IBM Debug Architect

- Debugging using Rational Developer for i

- Analyzing Code Coverage of your testing

• Rational products use a common debug technology for compiled

languages

– Products Include Java debug

• Multi-platform, multi-language debugger

– Common user experience

– Adapts to the capabilities of the debug engine running on the host

– Multiple debug sessions on multiple hosts

• Integrates into product to deliver a seamless Edit/Compile/Debug

experience

Technology Overview

Technology Overview

AIX

(C,C++,

COBOL, PL/I)

zTPF

(C/C++, ASM)

JVM

(Java, JSP)

Java

Debug Model

Debug Tool

(COBOL,C,C++,

PL/I, ASM)

dbx

(C,C++)

Linux x86 Linux PPC

iSeries

(RPG, COBOL,

C/C++, CL)

Debug Client

Compiled Lang.

Debug Model

RDz/RD A&L/RDi/RAD (Eclipse based UI)

Integrated z

Debugger

(COBOL,C,C++,

PL/I)

Probe

Debug engines

• Key features of the RDi debugger

– Supports debugging in multiple environments

• Batch

• Interactive

• Multi-threaded

• Attach to a running job

– Service Entry Point

• Debug program without knowing how it got started

• Set and debug session starts when the program is called

– Full integration with source editor

• Use source navigation features e.g. outline view

Debugging Your Application

Debug Perspective

Debug View •Process

•Threads

•Stackframes

Detail Views •Variables

•Monitors

•Programs

Source View Language sensitive editor

Current location marked

• Debug views can be placed in any perspective

• F-keys provide shortcuts for stepping/resuming

– With focus in Source view program can be stepped

• Breakpoints

– In breakpoint view

– In Source view

– Global enable/disable

Debug Perspective

Skip all

breakpoints

• Types

– Line – stop on a specific line

– Watch – stop when a variable or memory location changes

• An expression is converted to an address

• Conditional

– Stop when an expression is true

– Use language of program

• Thread and loop specific

– From/every/to

• User label

– Why did I set this breakpoint?

– Saved and restored with breakpoint

Breakpoints

• Service Entry Points for ILE on V5R2 or later – You know the program

– You know the userid

– You don’t know the job name

• Setting SEPs

– From Remote System Explorer

– From SEP view

– From Editor

Service Entry Points

Variables View

• Variables visible at current location

• Can change representation to show hex

• Move to Monitor view so that variable remains even when out of

scope

• Monitors are restored next debug session on same program

• Details pane is new in v9.1

– Supports very long values

• Indication of changed variables

Monitors View

• Programs current being debugged

• Option to display non-debuggable programs

• Add and remove programs

• Navigate to entry point in program

Programs View

• Multiple ways to look at memory

• 1 or 2 renderings can be displayed at same time

• Map memory using xml layout

• Indicator when memory changes

Memory View

Code Coverage

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Code Coverage Technology

• Determine the effectiveness of automated or manual tests

– Make best use of test effort

• See coverage at the line level

• Help focus additional testing on code paths that have not been

executed

• Determine if testcases are unnecessary

• Detect dead code

Code Coverage Technology

• iSeries support added in v9.1

• Built using Debug technology

• “If you can debug it, you can capture CC results”

– No additional build steps.. Just ensure it is debuggable

• Multiple levels of CC

– Program/Procedure/Line

• Several report types

– RDi

– HTML

– PDF (new in v9.1)

• Tag results with testcase ID

• Source is annotated with results

Launching Code Coverage

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Popup menu

on selected

Program

Code Coverage Report

Code Coverage annotated in the editor

Code Coverage HTML Report

Code Coverage HTML Source View

Code Coverage Customization

These results can be accumulated see the

coverage of the total suite of tests as well as

speeding up the analysis of subsequent test runs.

Can track the coverage at the higher level of

procedures or programs

Option to generate HTML and PDF at time of run.

Reports can be generated later.

Code Coverage Program Level

• IBM i program (SRVTESTP2) invokes another service program

(SRVTESTSV). Both of the targeted programs were covered in this

run.

Code Coverage Compare Results

About Us: Strongback Consulting

• IBM Advanced Business Partner – SVP certified

– Strongly focused on DevOps, enterprise modernization and application lifecycle

management

– Key Industries Served: Finance, Insurance, Healthcare, Manufacturing, Government

– Rational Design Partner

Discover us at:

http://www.strongback.us

Subscribe to us at

http://feeds.feedburner.com/StrongbackConsulting

Socialize with us on Facebook & LinkedIn

http://www.facebook.com/StrongbackConsulting

http://www.linkedin.com/company/290754