New Feature Planning -
Code Name: DB2XML
We receive many RPG-XML Suite downloads  per month and the needs for the toolset vary greatly.  We have found that  some RPG shops simply want to give third-party access (anything from internal  .NET/Java development teams to trusted business partners) to a subset of their  tables by using industry-compliant XML SOAP-based web services described by a  WSDL.  We know it is not always desirable to give out System i5 profiles  and passwords for ODBC or JDBC access - considering the variety of security  risks that exist.

The Krengeltech development staff has come up with an  approach to address this need.  We are adding functionality to RPG-XML  Suite that would allow an administrator of sorts to configure access to  certain tables on the System i5 through an RPG-XML Suite configuration table.   This means System i5 profile and passwords are not handed out to  ODBC/JDBC developers – a positive across many fronts.  Once a .NET or  Java developer has been given access to a table they can then make an XML  request including an SQL SELECT statement to the System i5.  RPG-XML  Suite will then return the result set in XML form to the requester.  Note  that with this portion of the product there is ZERO RPG coding  necessary because all of the XML and data handling is done dynamically by  the RPG-XML Suite engines!  Also note that this would be for READ ONLY  access - meaning SQL INSERTs, UPDATEs, and DELETEs would not  execute.

If this feature interests you please contact us at  800-KRENGEL or sales@krengeltech.com.  We are currently searching for  beta testers.  Look for this feature to be in RPG-XML Suite version 1.5  or 1.6 – coming in December 2007 and March 2008  respectively.

That’s Cool! RPG-XML Suite Tips & Tricks for Developers

This months Tip: SOAP Body Encoded Content
There is a common “gotcha!” associated  with web services when working from the Microsoft .NET environment that causes  the consumption of .NET web services to be more cumbersome than necessary. Check out this month’s cool tech tip!

Did you know…
Did you know that an RPG-XML Suite web service can be  more easily debugged using WDSC's Service Entry Points (SEP)?   Traditionally debugging web service programs involves first finding the  job and then issuing a STRSRVJOB (Start Service Job) command against that job.   The hardest part about the STRSVJOB process is wading through the  potentially many jobs that could be servicing your web service requests.   With Service Entry Points that isn't an issue - as it simply waits for  ANY job to execute your program and then appropriately start a debug session  in WDSC for you to walk through your code.

To see this in action we created a video tutorial which can be viewed here.

If WDSC is not currently available to you then STRSRVJOB  debugging can be used.  See a video tutorial of how to debug a web  service from the green screen using STRSRVJOB here.