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Free IBM i Education: Tricks with Spool Files Using SQL

Posted on January 23, 2025 by Bill Langston

IBM i: A Specialized Enterprise Computing Environment

IBM i software developers, operators, and system administrators deserve a lot of respect. Their mostly invisible efforts literally enable businesses around the world to process trillions of dollars of economic output each year. However, IBM i and the integrated Db2 on i database make up a very specialized enterprise computing environment. IBM i doesn’t run on ubiquitous personal devices like phones, laptops, and tablet computers; it runs exclusively on IBM POWER servers. In other words, you aren’t likely to find a lot of useful IBM i education on YouTube or tips on social media.

Unless you work for a company that relies on IBM i, you may not know it exists, much less appreciate the benefits it provides. If you do work on IBM i, you might not live near a user group, and your job, budget, and personal obligations might make traveling to IBM i events difficult. As a result, IBM i education can seem a bit hard to access.

IBM i Champion, Simon Hutchinson

In business, companies tend to focus on achieving quarter-to-quarter or year-to-year revenue targets. We’re no exception. The NGS staff focuses on developing, supporting, and marketing NGS-IQ – our widely used IBM i query, reporting, and analytics software. But we’re IBM i specialists, and our success depends on the broader success of IBM i and that depends on IT professionals in IBM i shops making the platform shine. So, periodically, we shift our focus from NGS-IQ to the support of IBM i education. We also maintain an IBM i resources page on our website.

One of the best sources of IBM i education is the RPGPGM.com blog, founded and actively updated by independent IBM i Champion, Simon Hutchinson. This blog is Simon’s gift to the people who use the platform he loves. Simon isn’t on the payroll of IBM or any IBM Business Partner. He’s not an NGS customer or a consultant hoping to sell his services. He has a day job just like you. Fortunately, his passion for IBM i drives him to document and share original, practical educational content on RPGPGM.com. He also speaks at COMMON and regional IBM i user group meetings and conferences around the world.

IBM i Educational Event: Tricks with Spool Files using SQL

On Thursday, February 6, 2025, we’ve asked Simon to bridge the geographical, work and personal commitments that separate IBM i professionals and share some of his knowledge during normal business hours. His topic is “Tricks with Spool Files Using SQL.” We encourage you to register and attend this webinar. We plan to record the session, so please register even if you can’t attend live, and we'll send you the link to the video as soon as it is available.

During this event, you won’t see a demo of NGS-IQ. Of course, we hope you’ll attend an NGS-IQ webinar in the near future or visit our video library and watch a previously recorded demonstration. Even if you don’t write queries, once you see what NGS-IQ can do, we think you'll understand why it's so popular.

Please take advantage of this free opportunity to learn from one of the best IBM i educators.

FREE Webinar: February 6, 2025
Time: 11:00am PT | 1:00pm CT | 2:00pm ET
RSVP to attend

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