IBM Mainframe Books

I used Phil Levinson's book after graduating with an As/400 degree. The subfile book is essential, and unique. It is the only on of it's kind to go into such detail about subfiles. The examples are easy to understand. The entire book and exercises takes you step by step so you can follow and learn. I would recomend this book to anyone who is new at using subfiles.

For anyone looking to get a great understanding of what eBusiness is really all about this is the book for you. Covering all sorts of different aspects from page design and layout, to webserver setup and dynamic page and content generation you really cant go wrong.

It is full of examples you can use, so that within a couple of hours you can get dynamic access to your information without the need to really tax your mind. Just how it should be! It shows that eBusiness is more than just technology, its about bringing many different processes together. And best of all you get to really make use of your AS/400, although it equally fits any other platform in all the concepts it covers.

Review by Jon Paris.

Although I have rarely had problems using the C-style APIs from RPG, for some strange reason, the system APIs have always intimidated me. Perhaps it is the arcane terminology that IBM use to describe them. Perhaps it is the lack of good RPG examples in the manuals. Or perhaps I'm simply API-phobic. Whatever the reason, I have often turned to the experts when I needed to use an API. During my time with IBM I quickly learned that "the" expert was Bruce Vining. Bruce was not only involved in the design and implementation of many of the APIs, he was also one of the few in the Rochester Lab who was RPG and COBOL literate and could therefore "translate" the arcane terminology of the documentation into something that we mere humans could understand.

Bruce's knowledge of APIs is unparalleled and over the years he has added to that knowledge the ability to communicate it effectively to others. In recent years Bruce has authored a number of articles for various publications, and we were thrilled when he agreed to become a featured speaker at our RPG and DB2 Summit conferences. As a result of these activities, together with his contributions to various internet lists, many more have been able to benefit from Bruce's knowledge and teaching skills. But it is only with the publication of this book that his expertise becomes available to an even wider audience, as and when they need it.

It is difficult to imagine a more comprehensive guide to APIs than that contained within these covers. From list APIs, to Telnet, to encryption, Bruce covers them all and does so in an informative and entertaining fashion. Not content simply to detail their naked operation, Bruce also demonstrates the usage of these APIs as the foundations for a number of utility programs that most shops will soon spot a use for in their daily operations. Even better - the examples are terrific demonstrations of the power of the RPG IV language. If you were to purchase this book for no other reason than to study the examples you would get excellent value for money. Hopefully some of the folks involved in producing IBM documentation will read this book and take the hint! COBOL users are not left out either - Bruce provides COBOL versions of all of the code.

At well over 700 pages this is indeed a weighty tome, but unlike so many others there's no "fat" here - just solid content that will satisfy your hunger for knowledge.

One last comment - this is advertised as a "second edition" but it really is a completely new book - those of you who have the original in your collection should treat this not as a revision but as "part 2".

If you have any interest in making your AS/400, System i, i Series, i5, or whatever you want to call it really sing then buy this book - you won't regret it.
IBM System i APIs at Work

The IBM Redbooks are excellent resources. This one provides basic mainframe concepts and fundaments. If you require a solid grounding in mainframe z/OS, this is a very good place to start. Note - this book, and the other IBM Redbooks, are available for free at the redbooks.ibm.com website. There is no need to pay for what can be obtained for free from the vendor.

I've purchased many Java books and several Java books geared towards AS/400 professionals. This is the first book that actually made sense from cover to cover. I HIGHLY recommend this book for AS/400 professionals wanting to learn Java, JSP, Servlets and the latest features of the AS/400 toolbox for Java.

I had a bit of knowledge about Java before reading this book and was able to get to the next level using this book.

Although the examples were very informative and efficiently conveyed the lessons, I found some errors in the example code (First example has one). My only wish would be that the examples had more cleanup and error handling in them but I guess they didn't want the code to be too complicated and stay focused on the lesson at hand.

In addition to learning Java, I was able to quickly configure a Tomcat Web Server on our AS/400 using this book. The book also covered JDBC 2.0 which is a must, especially for database oriented AS/400 professionals.

Don Denoncourt has a very clear way of explaining and illustrating the concepts of Java.

Finally a book in real English that uses concrete words to explain computer concepts. Excellent material on MVS giving both CLEAR overview and detail. Excellent insight on connectivity problems/options and what vendors' products address which problems. If you like books that BUILD ON CONCRETE CONCEPTS and are arranged in an orderly, hierarchial fashion, this is the book.

Oh, did I mention the content is impecable? Old MVS guys? Gotta have this one.

This book is a pocket-size reference that allows you to quickly and easily find all commands, code, function or statements you may need without the cumbersome use of the IBM reference manuals. Seems to be very easy to use and I would highly recommend it if you need a reference guide.

I've worked with Midrange systems for over 25 years and I can tell you this is not a good book, it's a great book. If you're an iSeries or AS/400 administrator, you need this book. If you're a programmer on the iSeries, you need this book. If you're studying to prepare for IBM Certification as an AS/400 System Administrator, you need this book.

The Starter Kit covers everything you're likely to need including messaging, CL, Backup and Recovery strategy, general system administration, security, work management, database concepts and much more.

The code samples alone are worth many times the price of the book and the authors not only understand the system, they explain it with a sense of humor. This book is a bargain.

Jeff Gunter

I not only bought the book, but I use it as a text book for the AS/400 Operations Classes that I teach. Material is placed in the correct order and explained in simple terms that are easy to follow. The authors also provide access to Powerpoint Presentations for each chapter - these are also wonderful. For the new user this is the best book to buy - or if you are studying for the IBM professional operator exam - this book also contains the right information to accomplish that goal.

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