Modernizing IBM eServer iSeries Application Data Access - A Roadmap Cornerstone

4 Modernizing IBM Eserver iSeries Application Data Acess - A Roadmap Cornerstone

certain business rules do not have to be written in each application program anymore. Data

extraction for reports and exchange of data with other systems is easier when the tools and

systems involved use the same standard language: SQL.

The list of advantages is certainly not endless, but it is long enough to prove that having a

serious look at the roadmap and evaluating your current position and the possible next steps

to take is more than just a time-consuming exercise.

You may find that you are already at an advanced level. Fine. Isn’t it nice to receive a

confirmation that you are on the right path? If you are not at an advanced level, this book,

along with more resources available from IBM, are here to help you on your way to move into

the Web application world... in a staged, non-disruptive manner.

1.1.3 The goal

Simply put, the goal is to become a Web application-driven enterprise, taking advantage of

the scalability and flexibility gains offered by modern technologies, both in hardware and in

software engineering. Adapting your database access and software development practices is

as much a necessity as changing your business to changing market requirements.

For example, some years ago it was considered normal to order products by writing a letter or

a postcard. Then there were fax machines and now many companies accept orders 24 hours

a day during the whole year through their Web sites. Companies who did not keep up with the

changes could have faced receiving no more orders.

1.2 What is in the roadmap

The roadmap consists of discrete, achievable steps that move developers and applications

on the path to an excellently implemented Web future.

Many IT shops and Business Partners that use the iSeries platform today are to be found on

the left side of the chart. Typical development tasks still involve building and maintaining

green-screen applications using long-available compilers, such as RPG and COBOL, via

traditional 5250 tools such as Programming Development Manager (PDM), Source Entry

Utility (SEU), Screen Design Aid (SDA), and Report Layout Utility (RLU), some of which are

more than 20 years old.

The first step involves embracing modern tools to do the same development work previously

accomplished via PDM, SEU, SDA, and RLU (see 1.2.1, “Better tools” on page 5).

The next step (explained in 1.2.2, “Better user interface” on page 6), which is considered to

be urgent by end users (and also the most visible one), is a better user interface (UI) than the

generations-old green screen. For most applications, this is best addressed by moving to a

browser-based user interface.

In 1.2.3, “Better architecture” on page 7, we discuss a significant step where—from scratch or

from cut-and-paste— you create a Web application, an application enhancement, or even a

new Web service. Separating the business logic from the user interface is a very important

experience, and is fundamental to a superior architecture that allows for logic reuse.

Better portability involves a move from creating business logic in traditional languages to

writing it in Java. You use simple, standard Java—referred to as Java 2 Standard Edition

(J2SE)—that accesses data in the familiar SQL ways. This step is introduced in 1.2.4, “Better

portability” on page 8.