How to Master the AS400, iNavigator and CL

On Monday, October 10, 2016 at 8:30:42 AM UTC-4, James K wrote:
> I want to know where should I start so I can have a solid foundation on t=
his system. Also how to run jobs etc, navigate thru iNavigator and how to s=
tart learning the CL language

First comes the clarification on the name.  There is a significant continge=
nt of midrange people who continue to use the name 'AS/400' to describe the=
 system.  That's very unfortunate, as the actual machine known as AS/400 ha=
s been obsolete since about 2000.  The issue is that people who post inform=
ation on the internet in 2016 and tag it 'AS/400' are contributing to the c=
urrent knowledge base.  The problem is that such posts are easily jumbled i=
n with posts made in the 1990s - posts which are about as useful today as '=
Windows' posts from 1995 are.  Yes, there are dribs and drabs of informatio=
n from the 90s which are still useful, but such stuff does in fact age out.

So I urge everyone posting about the platform today to use the current, pro=
per, accurate name of the platform.  The operating system is called IBM i. =
 The hardware is Power6, Power7, and Power8.  Newcomers to the platform are=
 almost never interested in the hardware - almost everyone has an IBM Busin=
ess Partner to handle that side of things.

So.  That's a lot of words to say that posts about the platform today, in t=
he twenty-teens, should almost certainly be labelled IBM i.  At the very le=
ast, if you Google something tagged IBM i, it (likely) won't relate to some=
 ancient technology like twinax. :-)

The place to start looking at IBM i documentation is in the IBM i Knowledge=
 Center: https://www.ibm.com/support/knowledgecenter/ssw_ibm_i

The first thing you'll need to do is point to the version of the OS.  Proba=
bly the easiest way to find out is to get to a command line, type GO LICPGM=
 (I show caps to make this stand out; any case is fine to the system) and t=
ake option 10 to Display Installed Licensed Programs.  Once looking at that=
 display, press F11 to see the OS version.

Here are some useful links for 7.2:
IBM i Glossary https://www.ibm.com/support/knowledgecenter/ssw_ibm_i_72/rza=
at/as4glos.htm
Basic System Operations https://www.ibm.com/support/knowledgecenter/ssw_ibm=
_i_72/rzal2/rzal2kickoff.htm

The truth is that most IBM i knowledge is passed on as lore from current st=
aff to the newcomers.  This is part of the reason the AS/400 name has such =
staying power.  Anyway, a good source for information is the current staff =
where you work.  If you are in a situation where there staff are... unavail=
able, it may make sense to try to get more formal training from a company l=
ike Manta http://www.mantatech.com or AS400 School http://www.400school.com=
  There are probably others but these two popped up in my recollection.  I'=
ve not used either company.  There is a general-purpose mailing list at mid=
range.com which has many IBM i professionals.

I don't personally know of a good beginner's tutorial web site.  I myself l=
earnt via word of mouth, asking a lot of questions of my colleagues, and sp=
ending decades of my life.  There are people who think that 'on the job tra=
ining' is the best, but I disagree.  I fully believe that I could teach a n=
ewcomer something like 75% of what I know in under a month.  It would take =
a syllabus, a dedicated student, and an available machine.  This is why I'd=
 recommend taking a course: each thing you learn builds on the things you h=
ave already been taught.  OJT teaches you everything at once, complex and s=
imple, mundane and important.  And then you get to spend the next 20 years =
figuring out which is which :-/

  --buck
Buck
10/10/2016 7:44:40 PM