As400 Tutorial For Beginners Pdf Printer
Chapter 1 AS/400 System Overview 1.1 Major Characteristics of AS/400 1.1.1 High Level of Integration 1.1.2 Object Orientation 1.1.3 Relational and Integrated Database.
This is a question I see frequently all over the place: how can you learn how to use an AS/400? Generally this is being asked by folks who are on job interviews with companies and organizations that use a 400 to run the business. Well the long and the short of it is from an end user standpoint it depends. Because the AS/400 is just a platform, just like Windows is a platform. The actual business software runs on top the platform. Does that make sense?
The way you enter in data and work with the programs will be different from software package to software package that runs on the AS/400. So ultimately there is not one good answer on how to learn the AS/400. However there are almost always commonalities in screen layout design that all users should be familiar with. For instance F3 exits a screen whilst F5 refreshes or updates a screen. If you need help with a specific field or screen then F1 usually brings up the help info. Learn the “F” keys and learn them well. The plus (+) key on the numeric keypad is generally mapped as a field exit key which slides your numbers over to the right in a field.
This is handy when entering in numeric data. Now this is an overly simplistic view of how things work on the AS400, but at least its a starting point for most total beginners. But there really is no good answer to learning an AS/400 from an end user perspective because you will need to learn the software that is being used. Hopefully the place you get hired at will at least train you on the software and it’s nuances.
Now there are some things that are good for you to know and can certainly give you a leg up or make you a power user. Like Operations Navigator, iSeries Navigator or i Navigator. Whatever IBM decides on renaming it does not matter, its what it can do for you that matters.
For instance almost every user would like to download spool files (aka reports) to there PC so they can send them electronically, email or import the data into another program like MS Excel. This is an area where i Navigator shines, you can simply track down your spool files within Navigator and then literally drag and drop it on your desktop where it is then instantly converted to a format compatible with your workstation. Pretty simple stuff that can save you hours of work. There is alot more to be said for Navigator and I am just barely scratching the surface but most of the other tools built into it are for system administration and configuration tasks, not for end users unless you have someone that is really a power user or sophisticated enough not to screw something up. Fortunately when installing Navigator you can pick and choose which modules a user will have installed and can access. End users should be familiar with the printing systems and how to control printable output in the form of spool files.
Everything that is printable is called a spool file. Spool files spool in output queues which are then prints the document on a physical printer. So you should become familiar with the Work With Spooled Files command WRKSPLF. WRKSPLF will show you all of your current spool files or the spool files of another user, where they are and what the status is. If you need to know why that report you just created isn’t printing this should be your first stop. There could be a message waiting.
If a printer has a bunch of documents printing on it you can use WRKSPLF to move the spooled file to another printer that may be idle. Another frequently asked question is where the heck is that job I just submitted? So users should familiarize themselves with the Work With Submitted Jobs command WRKSBMJOB. WRKSBMJOB displays all of the jobs you have submitted and where they are currently residing.
As400 Pdf Printer
Most importantly there is the “— status—” column that displays the current status of that job. This is important because if the job is waiting for it’s turn to actually run it the WRKSBMJOB display will show that it is waiting in the job queue so you know that it hasn’t run yet. If the job shows the status of “ACTIVE” then it is still processing and hasn’t finished running yet. If the job shows a status of “OUTQ” then it has finished running and the spool file is waiting on an output queue so you can go and print it.
See how easy that is? To make your life even easier the WRKSBMJOB screen allows you to take an option to look at a message that may be waiting on the job or to go directly to the spooled files it created so you can release them or move to another outq.John Andersen P.S. D-un.to.
If you need to, then for the best way I know how. You’ll be up and running in just a fraction of the time it takes to slog through a big heavy book or a listen to a boring lecture. Tags: Comments Off on How Do You Learn The AS/400?
By far one of the most used utilities by programmers on the AS/400 and iSeries systems is Programming Development Manager also known as PDM for short. This cool utility makes it easy to manage lirbaries, objects and source files on your system. Let’s first take a look at Work With Libraries function of PDM. At a basic level this option allows you to reivew and change libraries on your system, sort of like the Work With Libraries (WRKLIB) command but using a little bit better (depending on your preference) interface with some different capabilities.
By taking option 12 for work with from the Work With Libraries screen takes you into the second PDM option we will cover which is Work With Objects. Once again in work with objects you have all the familiar options to change, copy, delete, rename objects and so on.
As400 Work With Printers
So similiar options is a recurring theme throughout the utility.A nice feature built right into the PDM tool in the work objects screen is the ability to Position to a file name or object type which comes in really handy when you have to wade through libraries with hundreds and even thousands of objects. I am really only touching the surface of what can be done with the PDM utility. Like the name implies it really is a tool to make programmers jobs easier.
For instance Programming Development Manager comes with the ability to create user definable options. These options are essentially shortcut keys you enter on the option line to perform some sort of action. Many of the more popular commands are pre-programmed options for you, for example Work With Spool Files (command WRKSPLF) is setup as option SP. So if you simply enter SP on the option line it calls up your spooled files. The option WA calls the Work With Active Jobs (WRKACTJOB) command. Another handy option that has been pre-configured is the Call command which has been defined as option C. In this instance the option for Call is setup to pass parameters to the command for you.
So if you are working with source members and wanted to call a program you just compiled (or any program for that matter) simply put the cursor in the option field next the source file you compiled, enter ‘C’ in that option field and then press the enter key and that exact program will be called. I use the C option in PDM quite frequently when compiling and testing out programs that don’t require additional user entered parameters to be passed. Another technique to get around this is to create a small “wrapper” CL or CLLE program to pass the parameters for you. You can also setup your own PDM defined options by pressing the F6 key on the Work With User-defined Options screen and following the prompts. Lastly PDM makes working with any kind of source member easy by calling up the Source Entry Utility (also known as SEU) by using option 2.John Andersen Tags.