COBOL comes first (this time)
Posted: September 27, 2007 Filed under: Don Yantzi, Remote Systems LPEX Editor, RSE, Tips, WDSC 5 Comments »I was just writing some COBOL source code (which is a challenge since I don’t really know COBOL) to test some of the new features we are working on when I cam across a cool editor feature for COBOL that I didn’t know we even had for COBOL. And it doesn’t exist yet for RPG!
Normally when we add new features to the RSE we put them in for RPG first and then COBOL either at the same time or later on. Simply because RPG is more widely used on System i than COBOL.
Back to my story. Like any good programmer I was trying to add comments to my source. Not knowing how COBOL expects comments to appear, I first tried // comment. Nope, synatx error. Next I tried /* */ which worked, but at the same time I accidently hit some key combination that put a * in column 7. Updated: apparently /* */ doesn’t work.
Whoa, backup. We have an auto comment / uncomment action for COBOL? Apparently so. Just like the Java editor, if you press Ctrl + / it automatically comments out the current line (or selection of lines). And Ctrl + \ automatically uncomments the line.
I’m going to assume that kudos goes to Adrian for that one. Now, if we only had that for RPG like everyone asks for :)
Closing Multiple Editors
Posted: September 11, 2007 Filed under: Don Yantzi, Remote Systems LPEX Editor, Tips, WDSC 1 Comment »For some reason this week I keep finding myself with a lot of open editors and wanting to close all of them except for just one or two. Normally I’m working on a problem and someone stops by and we get off track investigating something else. When they leave I want to close all the other editors to get back to my original task.
I’ve discovered a pretty cool way to do this:
- Press Ctrl + Shift + E which opens the Switch to Editor dialog.
- Select the editors you want to keep open.
- Click the “Invert Selection” button.
- Then click on”Close Selected Editors”.
Viola, only the editors you want are still open. I’ve been using this with the Java, XML and properties file editors, but because of the beauty of Eclipse it works for any editors, including the Remote Systems LPEX editor for RPG and COBOL.
Upcoming Events
Posted: September 7, 2007 Filed under: Conference, Debug, RSE, WDSC 2 Comments »Fall and spring are usually busy times for conferences and user group meetings. This fall is proving to be no exception. Here is a list of upcoming events this fall that include content on WDSC and / or the RSE to help you plan your fall :)
- IBM webcast series on Accelerating the Modernization of System i Applications
- RPG and DB2 Summit (October 2 – 4)
- COMMON Focus (October 14 – 17)
- FASUG Application Development Day (October 23) (I’m presenting at this one)
- LISUG monthly meeting (October 24) (I’ll be presenting WDSC 7.0 What’s New and Creating Web Services with WDSC at this one)
- NESTU monthly meeting (October 25) (me again; FASUG, LISUG and NETSU are the 3 New York area user groups)
- System i Fall Technical Conference (November 5 – 9th)
- COMMON European Events (November 6 – 15th)
Updated: just got an email about SystemiNetworks’ RPG & Beyond Web conference September 18-19 and 25-26th. Looks like Susan Gantner is doing an RSE session and Aaron Bartell is doing a WDSC Goodies session.
Updated Sept 12: I built the original list from memory which apparently isn’t so good anymore! I forgot another one: iSeries DevCon2007 October 29 – 31st (thanks to Davin Wilfrid for the reminder!)
