About the authors..

Here you’ll find bio’s of the IBMers who have made a post on this blog so far.
This is a live document, which will grow over time. Thanks for stopping by!

Don Yantzi

Welcome everyone. My name is Don Yantzi and I live in a small town called Sharon (near Toronto, Canada) with my wife, two kids and black lab. I work (play) at the IBM Toronto Lab where I’m currently one of the technical leads for WDSC. The lab is a research and development facility so a large part of my work is to research into new technologies, tools and application development for System i.

My current areas of interest are around tools to assist developers in understanding and modularizing large native i5/OS applications (the Application Diagram in WDSC 7.0 is the first iteration of this) and Web Services. I started at the lab as a tester for the VisualAge RPG compiler and then moved onto the team that designed and implemented the Remote System Explorer (RSE). I’m frequently out talking with customers via COMMON, the IBM System i technical conferences, user group meetings, webcasts and briefings here at the lab. Recently I graduated with my Masters of Science in Computer Science from The University of Western Ontario. My thesis focused on applying automated software test verification using log file analysis to industrial software.
My plan is to write posts on the RSE, application modernization, Web services and generally whatever I happen to be researching as part of my work or personal interest. I can see these posts focusing on topics like developing application development tools, using tools effectively, tips and techniques, and exploring what’s possible in i5/OS application development.

My recreational activities outside of work include cutting the grass (summer), shoveling the snow (winter), playing with the kids, and boating. I would like to add reading to that list but I don’t ever seem to get around to that. I also look up at the stars at night while walking the dog if that counts as amateur astronomy.

Violaine Batthish

I graduated from the University of Toronto with an Honours Bachelor of Science with distinction, specializing in Software Engineering. I then joined IBM in 1996 and worked in the developement and testing of PDM and SEU. Following that, I worked on CODE/400 from its first days on Windows and authored the book “Understanding CODE/400 on the AS/400′. Currently, I work on the development of WDSC, in particular the Remote Systems LPEX Editor and RSE, with a focus on customer support.

On a personal front: since I was diagnosed with MS in 2000, I walk every year in the Supercities Walk for MS. I also volunteer for the XXYY Project as my son Jacques has XXYY Syndrome. In my spare time, I like to do needlework – particularily embroidery and cross stitch. My favorite TV shows are Miami Ink, and How Not To Decorate, and my favorite color is orange. And if Bon Jovi comes back to Toronto on his next tour, I _might _ try to get tickets.

Li Ding

I joined IBM Toronto Lab in 2000 as a staff software developer. Most recently I work on Application Diagram and Integrated iSeries Debugger. My post will focus on these projects as well as the topics I am interested in, including software visualization, program understanding, runtime analysis and Web2.0.

Brian Farn

As a software developer, I have been involved with desktop and web based user interfaces. I am primarily a Java developer and have had stints with IBM products including ImagEdit and ImagePlus, VisualAge for RPG, VisualAge for Java, Eclipse, and currently WDSC for System i. A few years ago, I attained the level of an IBM Master Inventor within the IBM Toronto Lab. Prior to developing software, my BSc degree in physics and BESc degree in electrical engineering allowed me to be a test engineer who designed computers and equipment for circuit board testing. As for hobbies, I was fortunate to have inherited enough of my mother’s musical abilities to become a proficient clarinetist. I also dabble in photography and ray traced images, and enjoy learning about the latest advances in technologies.

Abe Batthish

I joined IBM in 1996 after graduating from the University of Toronto with an Hon. BSc. in Computer Science Specialist degree, though I also took several courses in Astronomy, Music History, and Archeology. When I joined the Toronto Lab, I started as in the C/400 compiler team where I eventually became team lead before switching gears and heading over to the client tools, at that time they were called WDT/400. I then took on the role of technical release lead for the iSeries AD Tools products until the release of WDSc 4.0, at which point I decided to dive back into Web technology by working on the IBM WebFacing Tool. I’m now the development manager for WDS, the WebFacing component of HATS, and the Java and Web Services tools components of RDi. I also try to attend and speak at various System i conferences including COMMON and TUG when possible.

From my personal blog, you’ll also notice I have interests in Music Theory, Usability, Astronomy, and novice Photography. As you can see my interests are quite diverse, but within this blog my posts will likely cover topics related to software development and research. In particular I’m interested in application modernization, both through the modernization of the user interface you interact with, as well as the structure of the logic that drives the application and performs the necessary business services. Personally, I’m also fascinated with the Web 2.0 phenomenon and its impact to both business and society. So I’m sure many of my posts will dive deep (head first) into those topics. Hope there are no sharp rocks down there. :)

Hania Abd-El-Razik

I joined the WebFacing team (and IBM) in 2005. My main focus has been on testing, teaching me a lot of how-to’s that I plan to share here. I’m interested in design of many sorts: software, web, graphic, and industrial, as well as human-computer interaction, visual arts, technology, astronomy, history, and science in general. (Basically I have a lot of interests :))

Howard Lau

coming soon…

Adam Schwabe

I’m a part of the small team of Information Developers that puts together the documentation and help material that will hopefully assist you in using WDSC. Specifically, we take care of anything that resides under that “Help” menu in WDSC. This including help topics, technical manuals, tutorials, samples, programming language support, and tours.

Personally, I’m interested in usability, user interface design, blogging, podcasting, and new media trends on the Net.

Edmund Reinhardt

Hi, my name is Edmund Reinhardt and I live with my wife and four kids in two wooded acres on the Niagara Escarpment.

I started with IBM in June 1989 and I have been working on one form or other of DDS tooling ever since. I started with SDA on the green screen and then went on to DSU on OS/2. I ported that to the 32-bit OS/2 API and then led a team to rewrite it for Windows. That is how CODE Designer for CODE/400 came about. I worked on WebFacing from almost the beginning. I led a small team in writing the initial middle tier runtime as well as the conversion from DDS to JSF.
I then wrote then DDS object model in Java that is used for WebFacing conversion as well as for the outline view for the JLpex editor. In version 7 this same DDS DOM is used to enable the Screen Designer Technology Preview.

I intend to write posts about application modernization, WebFacing, DDS tooling in WDSc, the Screen Designer and tips for effective use of the Eclipse platform.

Outside of work I am a lay pastor at a small Anabaptist church and am involved in various ministries. My four kids keep me pretty busy as well especially since they are homeschooled. Sleep, what’s that?