Visual Studio 2022 Released Today

 Visual Studio 2022 IDE - Programming Tool for Software Developers (microsoft.com)

Python Development with Visual Studio

Check out this  short video on Python development with Visual Studio

Python development with Visual Studio - YouTube

Install and configure Cron Scheduling on IBM i

IBM just released a cron scheduler for IBM i. They released cron, via the 'cronie' RPM package with Anacron, too. If you're not familiar with cron, it's a scheduling mechanism for open source platforms such as Linux and now it's available for IBM i.

This package can be a good way to schedule your open source jobs or even your IBM i CL commands and jobs that need to run on a regular basis.

Check out my quick start tutorial on using cron with IBM i. Using Cron Scheduling with IBM i

Getting Started with MariaDB on IBM i

IBM recently released a current version of the MariaDB database to run natively in PASE on IBM i. The software installs in minutes on IBM i via the Yum-based Open Source Package Management process which is part of Access Client Solutions (ACS). This means that MySQL is once again being fully embraced as a valid IBM i database for storing data for PHP applications such as WordPress. No need to look elsewhere to host your PHP applications and MariaDB data.

If you're interested in using MariaDB on IBM i, check out the following tutorial I created on Github that can be used to quickly install and get started with MariaDB on IBM i. Install MariaDB on IBM i

Document Your Business and Technical Processes with MkDocs

If you thought documenting your business processes and application code was too hard or tools were too expensive, you should check out the FREE Python based MKDocs offering.

What a great way to start documenting all your company's common business knowledge in one place.

MkDocs is an open source Python static site generator for creating documentation using simple Markdown based text documents. Simply edit your MarkDown content files and they are available to anyone in the company who has access to the site.

No database required.

This is a quick way to establish one or more departmental knowledgebases with shareable business and system process documentation.

An MkDocs project directory structure could also be turned into a git project if desired so the entire site would be versioned in a git repository.

I created a quick getting started guide for IBM i, but MkDocs works on any platform.

MkDocs Site
https://mkdocs.org

How to install MkDocs on IBM i
https://github.com/richardschoen/howtostuff/blob/master/installmkdocsibmi.md

Windows 10, SSH and VS Code - Nice !!

As I start to use SSH more and more to access remote IBM i and Linux systems and also use VS Code and other editors with IBM i and Linux I am always looking for ways to make life easier when accessing a remote system and running commands. Ideally I like to work from one user interface if possible.

Unfortunately VS Code doesn't have a built-in SSH client or terminal. In my case I typically use putty or MobaXterm as my go to SSH client in Windows 10. 

As I started experimenting more with VS Code I found out that Code can work with add-ins like SSH FS to access remote file systems and edit directly. This is invaluable for editing files from a remote system. 

However to run bash commands or IBM i system commands on a remote system still required putty or MobaXterm, until I found out that I can use open ssh from the command line terminal in VS Code. And I also found that Windows 10 now has a built-in SSH client and server which means I can initiate a remote SSH session from the Command Prompt or from the VS Code terminal Window. 

This means when I am working remotely with an IBM i or Linux system I can now connect to an SSH file system with SSH FS and I can also issue commands in a terminal session as well. Too bad there's not a 5250 interface for VS Code.

Have fun with this and check out the following article link on using ssh in Windows  https://www.howtogeek.com/336775/how-to-enable-and-use-windows-10s-built-in-ssh-commands/

Also check out this article on setting up to use VS Code with IBM i.

http://powerwire.eu/vs-code-an-oss-ide

And remember that it's now easier than ever to use SSH with Windows 10. 

Use PowerShell to Perform Telnet Actions

Check out my Linked In article on using PowerShell automation to automate Telnet interaction.

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/use-powershell-perform-telnet-actions-richard-schoen

Use PowerShell Automation to Drive the Browser

Check out my Linked In article on using PowerShell automation to automate the web browser.

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/use-powershell-automation-drive-browser-richard-schoen

QUSER Session Recording - Mono on IBM i - The Port to AIX and IBM i

QUSER Session Recording - Mono on IBM i - The Port to AIX and IBM i

Check out this video of Calvin Buckley's session and learn how Mono was ported to run .Net natively on IBM i https://lnkd.in/eSyp2qB

QUSER Session Recording - Your IBM i Has Mono Now What ?

QUSER Session Recording - Your IBM i Has Mono Now What ? Check out this video recording 3/19/2019 and learn how to run .Net natively on IBMi.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8OXhkIuE4E

Best Free File Copy Utilities

Below is a link to some free file copy utilities
https://www.techsupportalert.com/best-free-file-copy-utility.htm

Interesting List of Queueing Apps

There are many queueing systems out there. Each one of them is different and was created for solving certain problems. This page tries to collect the libraries that are widely popular and have a successful record of running on (big) production systems. http://queues.io/

Building Out The .NET Stack Around Mono for IBM i

Check out this article from IT Jungle on building out the .Net stack around Mono on IBM i. My favorite development platform is growing legs on IBM i. https://www.itjungle.com/2019/03/13/building-out-the-net-stack-around-mono-for-ibm-i/