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  • 1.  What change management package comes with Visual Studio for IBM i?

    Posted 2 days ago

    What change management package comes with Visual Studio for IBM i?



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    Robert Berendt IBMChampion
    Business Systems Analyst, Lead
    Dekko
    Fort Wayne
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  • 2.  RE: What change management package comes with Visual Studio for IBM i?

    Posted yesterday

    Hi Robert,

    please be aware that it is Visual Studio Code (Shortname VS Code). I mention this because there are many confusions out there because of the two different tools that have nearly the same name.
    There is also a Visual RPG , based on .Net which runs inside Visual Studio (the large IDE comparable to Eclipse).
    What IBM pushes now is Visual Studio Code with the Add Ons that are running around Code4i.

    With Code4i and VS Code you normally use Git.
    Of course you can also use other Change Management tools from the different Vendors and all of them are integrating their tools now (somehow...) into VS Code.

    Hope that helps.



    ------------------------------
    Markus A. Litters
    CEO
    edvberatung.litters
    Pirmasens
    +49 1775488377
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 3.  RE: What change management package comes with Visual Studio for IBM i?

    Posted yesterday

    There was a demo, I can't remember where I saw it, which had one in it.  I think it was even a Liam Allen demo.



    ------------------------------
    Robert Berendt IBMChampion
    Business Systems Analyst, Lead
    Dekko
    Fort Wayne
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 4.  RE: What change management package comes with Visual Studio for IBM i?

    Posted yesterday

    Hi Robert,

     

    maybe you mean MERLIN.

    MERLIN V1 looked very similiar to VS Code and integrated some Tools of ARCARD within.

     

    There is also a V2 which is based on VS Code now.

    MERLIN is based upon Red Hat Openshift so you need the environment fort hat and it will cost much more than RDi now combined with such tools.

    But everybody need to look and decide of course.

     

    In the meantime IBM decided to push VS Code as the number one tool for IBM i development which makes a lot of sense.

    All people I train on IBM i with RPG and SQL say that they have no problem with our (Microservice) RPG but they have with RDi.

    They all use VS Code and know it. So why shouldn'T they use it with RPG?

     

    In this case you can use for example Git, Bob (based on the GNU make tool) and Jenkins as your change management and deployment tool chain.

    You can also buy 3rd Party products like the one from ARCAD, Taskforce IT. Remain Software, Rocket or someone else – it is up to you.

     

    Again – with the new (mostly young) people they already have experience with Git, make and Jenkins.... They also use it in other Frameworks, Languages and Operating systems. So it is a chance to go on with RPG development as well...

     

     

    Mit freundlichen Grüßen aus der Südwestpfalz

     

    Markus A. Litters

    Geschäftsleitung

    IBM Champion

     

    E-Mail: mal@mlitters.com

    Web: https://www.mlitters.de

     

    edvberatung.litters | Pfarrgasse 1 | D-66953 Pirmasens

     

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    Original Message


  • 5.  RE: What change management package comes with Visual Studio for IBM i?

    Posted yesterday

    Definitely not Merlin



    ------------------------------
    Robert Berendt IBMChampion
    Business Systems Analyst, Lead
    Dekko
    Fort Wayne
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 6.  RE: What change management package comes with Visual Studio for IBM i?

    Posted yesterday
    Edited by Jon Paris yesterday

    Hi Rob - long time no see

    As Markus has noted, the primary push is for using git - which is already well supported in VS Code. That would almost certainly have been what you saw Liam demo.  IBM are also supporting BOB (better Object Builder), there's a thread here on Reddit that covers the basics https://www.reddit.com/r/IBMi/comments/1h0ewsv/vs_code_for_i_and_bob_better_object_builder_for/


    The core components that Arcasd supplied to Merlin are also available directly in VS Code now. In fact, most of the ISVs in the change management area have either already integrated with git and/or ported their tooling to use the Code for i APIs to integrate VS Code with the IBM i backend components.


    EDIT: I forgot to mention that the best single source I know of for information on the tooling etc. for Code for i is the Seiden Group page VS Code for IBM i: A Resource Guide - Seiden Group

    Seiden Group remove preview
    VS Code for IBM i: A Resource Guide - Seiden Group
    A compilation of how-to guides for VS Code for IBM i, an alternative to RDi, IBM i's graphical IDE, and SEU, its native green-screen IDE.
    View this on Seiden Group >

     You'll find a link there to Edmund's BOB video.

    EDIT 2: I also forgot to Mention Richard's iForGit which is a for-fee offering that is designed to simplify the IBM i / git / VS Code pipeline. iForgit - Eliminate Awkwark Git Integration

    Iforgit remove preview
    iForgit - Eliminate Awkwark Git Integration
    We focus on the IBM i Git integration details so you don't have to. iForGit is an IBM i specific Git Client application that allows Git source control to be easily integrated with RDi development environments and traditional 5250 SEU development environments in minutes.
    View this on Iforgit >


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    Jon Paris
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    Original Message


  • 7.  RE: What change management package comes with Visual Studio for IBM i?

    Posted yesterday

    Jon,

    Thank you.  I think it was Arcad I saw in Liam's demo.

    We're using PTC Implementer now and we're pretty much hearing they'll be ready for IBM i 7.6 when they're darn good and ready and not a second before.  Sad, they used to update annually.  Then it was 3 years in between their last update and that was over a year ago.  We switched from Softlanding's Turnover to Implementer over the former's dragging their feet on release upgrades.

    Boss is retiring in several months and they're shopping for a replacement (see Dekko on LinkedIn).  This may get kicked down the road as an exercise in how well I can explain a need to the replacement.



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    Robert Berendt IBMChampion
    Business Systems Analyst, Lead
    Dekko
    Fort Wayne
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


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