rdi: even better with isphere - tug€¦ · susan gantner susan.gantner @ partner400.com...

Susan Gantner

Susan.Gantner @ Partner400.com www.Partner400.com SystemiDeveloper.com

RDI: Even Better with iSphere

Your partner in IBM i Education

It's no secret that Susan is a big RDi fan. But even a great tool can be made even better with the help of plug-ins. If you're an RDi user and you don't have the iSphere plug-in installed into your RDi, you're missing out on a wealth of new/enhanced functionality. Susan will demonstrate a few of her favorite features from iSphere - things such as a better "Find String" capability, tools to make working with message files a breeze and the ability to see text for objects and members in your Remote Systems lists. She will also outline the simple installation process along with some suggestions for how to manage updating iSphere when new releases become available.

The author, Susan Gantner, is co-founder of Partner400, a firm specializing in customized education and mentoring services for IBM i (AS/400 and iSeries) developers. After a 15 year career with IBM, including several years at the Rochester and Toronto laboratories, Susan is now devoted to educating developers on techniques and technologies to extend and modernize their applications and development environments. This is done via on-site custom classes for individual companies as well as conferences and user group events.

Susan is also a partner in System i Developer, a consortium of IBM i educators who host events such as the RPG & DB2 Summit.

Susan and her partner, Jon Paris, author regular technical articles for the IBM publication, IBM Systems Magazine, IBM i edition (formerly iSeries Magazine and eServer Magazine, iSeries edition), and the companion electronic newsletter, IBM i EXTRA (formerly iSeries Extra). You may view articles in current and past issues and/or subscribe to the free newsletter or the magazine at: www.ibmsystemsmag.com/IBMi View their weekly blog at ibmsystemsmag.com/Blogs/iDevelop/

© Copyright Partner400, 2018.

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iSphere Plug-In Features

My personal favorites (from a much longer list of features): • Decorators for members & objects in the RSE tree view • Message Files: Searching and Editing • Binding Directory Editor • Fast multi-member search feature for source files • Task Tags • Copy Members ... RSE option - very similar to PDM option 3 • Many, many more features we won't have time to cover

✦ See chart at the end for a partial list ...

Frequently they add new/improved iSphere features • sourceforge.net/projects/isphere/ • Many thanks to: Task Force Consulting and Thomas Raddatz

Remote Systems Decorations!Remember Text? • It's back - in RDi!

✦ without using Object Table View

• Thanks to iSphere Decorations

Install iSphere • Then go to

✦ Window > Preferences > General > Appearance > Label decorations

✦ Select: - iSphere Display Object and

Source descriptions - Note there are 2 of them: i

Projects & Remote Systems

And Voila - Text appears!


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Message File Search and EditVery flexible and easy to use • Green screen message edit commands are painful

✦ RDi's base support is only marginally better - prompts CL command to edit • Searching for message content is tough in either case

iSphere adds options for: • iSphere Message File Search

✦ Multiple search criteria - "contains" or "contains not" - 1st & 2nd level search

✦ Search multiple message files ✦ Retains multiple search result sets shown in tabs ✦ Export results to Excel • iSphere Message File Editor

✦ Just as flexible as you would expect from an IDE

• iSphere Message File Compare Editor ✦ Compares message from 2 different message files

Message File Search

Select 1 or more Message Files in Remote Systems, choose "iSphere

Message File Search" to get here.

Search Results: Select message file in left pane to see messages found

for that file.

Double click on a message to edit it


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iSphere Message File Editor

Get list of messages in a

message file from Remote Systems > iSphere Message

File Editor

Double click on a message to get

to this edit dialog

Binding Directory EditorFinally - maintain your Binding Directories using RSE

✦ Before this, I used to create User Actions for ADDBNDDIRE • Right click for New/Change/Copy/Delete, etc.


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iSphere Source File SearchLike RDi's "native" Find String... • It can search 1 or more members

✦ Across 1 or more source files ✦ Across 1 or more libraries

Unlike RDi's Find String ... ✦ Multiple search criteria

- Option to match any or all - "contains" and "contains not"

✦ Export results to Excel or create a new Member filter from results ✦ Different interface ✦ More obvious access to past search results ✦ Is often much faster than RDi's native source search

- 1st search a little slower - Builds the "Area" first, After that amazingly fast

iSphere Source File Search in Action

Multiple search items, match any or all

iSphere builds this list for you from your selections in RSE


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iSphere Source File Search ResultsDifferent interface • Select source file from left panel to see matching statements on right • Double click to open for edit or browse

✦ You control which (edit or browse) via tool bar icon ✦ As with RDi's search, you will be positioned to the line of code • A new tab for each set of search results • Export results to Excel or to Member filter for RSE

Automatic Task Tags Manual Tasks in RDi base tooling:

✦ Right click in editor margin to the left of the sequence # and choose "Add Task..." ✦ You can fill in text for the task and press Enter (or OK) ✦ Task is added to Tasks view ✦ Task will be associated with that line of code in that specific member ✦ Later double clicking on a task will:

- Open the associated member, if necessary and position cursor to the line of code

iSphere automates adding (and removing) Tasks • Enabled by specific keywords in source comments

✦ No need to right click to add task

• Configurable keywords (tags) ✦ ToDo and FixMe are there by default ✦ Preferences > iSphere > LPEX Task Tags - look for "Configure task tags" upper right corner

• Must save the member before the task appears • Removing the comment (or the keyword) followed by save removes the task • Otherwise, these tasks behave much like manually added tasks • Warning: Anyone who opens the source member with the keywords saved in it will get

tasks added ✦ Assuming they have the same keywords configured ✦ Be careful when using the default keywords: ToDo and FixMe


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Automatic Task Tags

Copy Member(s) to...Built-in RDi has Copy/Paste for members • Select multiple members, but it validates & copies them one at a time • Must wait for "duplicate name" message before renaming • It insists on prompting the CPYSRCF command every time

✦ Can be excruciatingly slow, especially for multiple members iSphere's "Copy Member(s) to..." option • Much closer to the behavior of PDM option 3 • Can choose multiple members to copy with 1 action

✦ Fill in new names and/or locations for the copies on following dialog


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Copy Members - Step 1In Remote Systems view, select 1 or more members • Right click, select "Copy Member(s) to ... • Resulting dialog box shown on next page

Copy Members - Steps 2 & 3

Change "to" file, library

and/or member &

Press Copy

Results including

errors, if any

Existing members or data loss stop

the copy?


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Ready to install iSphere?To install the Client - required by every RDi/iSphere user • Help > Install new software ...

- Note: May need to be running as Administrator • Right Click when starting RDi to choose run as Administrator

✦ Available Software dialog - Click the Add button (top right) ✦ Key in a name (e.g., iSphere) ✦ Location: http://isphere.sourceforge.net/eclipse/rdi8.0/

- Note that this mean RDi 8.0 or later - it will work for later releases - If WDSC installed, then use this instead: http://isphere.sourceforge.net/eclipse/wdsci7.0/

✦ Then with your new location selected, check the box for iSphere for RDi 8.0+ ✦ Hit Next and follow instructions from there ✦ Don't forget to turn on the RSE decorations as covered on earlier chart ✦ Check out other Preferences - Window > Preferences > iSphere ✦ A few things will work without it, but most require host library install (next page)

• To update to a new release ✦ Help > Install new software ...

- Select the iSphere location and proceed as for a new install ✦ You may sometimes be required to update the host library as well

- More info on this coming up

The Host Library InstallationHost - only required to be installed once on your IBM i • Until a new release is desired (see next chart)

✦ Then rename or delete iSphere library before downloading new one • In RSE - Window > Preferences > iSphere > Library

✦ Fill in host name - modify port and/or library name, if necessary ✦ Click on Transfer iSphere Library button

- Sign on when prompted - save file will be transmitted and restored

• A shortcut: iSphere menu in RDi > Transfer iSphere Library ✦ This will download to the library name that you have set in your preferences

- The default name is ISPHERE - see next chart for why you may want to change it ✦ If you want to be sure you're installing to the correct place, check the preference

page mentioned above - You may be replacing an existing ISPHERE library that others may be using


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Managing iSphere Library UpdatesHost iSphere library must match the client plug-in version • Host libraries are not necessarily backward-compatible • Therefore requires planning and/or coordination when new iSphere

versions come out ✦ Multiple iSphere users may not be able to upgrade all at once • Each client installation may specify the iSphere library name it wants to

connect to ✦ In RDi Preferences > iSphere > Library

- Default is "ISPHERE" ✦ Consider maintaining multiple host iSphere libraries

- Examples: • 1 per release: e.g., ISPHERE203, ISPHERE602... • 1 per developer: e.g., ISPHERESG, ISPHEREJP...

✦ Then each developer upgrades client site when they want - But must then either change the host library name they are connecting to - Or (if 1 per developer) must re-download their own host library after upgrade

• Or copy the new library if someone else has already downloaded

There's a Lot More Where That Came From!Data Space tools • Data Space = Data areas and User spaces • For each, there's a design tool, an editor and a monitor (view data)

Data Queues • Monitor (view) contents

✦ Because there is no CL command to display messages on a data queue

Job Log Explorer • View and filter job log messages

LPEX Editor Extensions • Comments and Indentations

Message Subsystem • Monitor, view, send, forward, remove messages

Retrieve Binder Source • From context menu of service programs

RSE Filter Management Source File Compare and Merge • Similar, but not identical, to what RDi has "natively" in V9.6

Spooled File Subsystem • View (or save) spooled files in text, HTML or PDF format • Some basic spooled file control, such as hold, release, change attributes

Start Pre-processor • Special utility to insert compile/build commands into source members

And more ...


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iSphere - The Greatest Thing Since RDi

Many Thanks for sharing this great toolset: • Thomas Raddatz of Tools400, • TaskForce IT-Consulting GmbH • And everyone else involved with the iSphere project

If you use RDi and you're not using iSphere, what are you waiting for?

Learn More about iSphereA Closer Look at iSphere

✦ http://ibmsystemsmag.com/ibmi/developer/rpg/isphere-details/

Looking for Stuff with iSphere ✦ https://www.itjungle.com/2015/07/07/fhg070715-story01/

iSphere Enhances RDi Features ✦ http://ibmsystemsmag.com/blogs/idevelop/july-2015/isphere-enhances-rdi-features/


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rdi: even better with isphere - tug€¦ · susan gantner susan.gantner @ partner400.com...

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