Common Europe Congress 2021: Full Schedule

Welcome to Common Europe Congress 2021 in Copenhagen, Denmark, the largest IBM Power Systems community gathering in Europe with in-depth workshops, deep dives, presentations. See the exciting agenda below; see more and register immediately: https://comeur.org/cec2021/

10:00 CET

Visual Explain workshop - Get hands-on experience - Workshop

Visual Explain is a short cut to better understand SQL requests and the performance. This hand-on workshop will introduced you to the tools used for analyzing SQL. You will have some labs that will get you started and guide you through different useful exercises. Visual Explain is part of Access Client Solution - ACS. The tool is constantly enhanced, and especially the last years, so the lab will guide you through ways to use the excellent tool. You will be guided through how to analyze and graphically view SQL statements. We will work with information from the Plan Cache snapshot. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
REMEMBER to bring your own laptop where you have installed the newest version of ACS.
You can download ACS here: https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/ibm-i-access-client-solutions

Speakers

Morten Buur Rasmussen

Power Performance Specialist, IBM

Morten Buur Rasmussen is a performance Specialist at IBM Technology Services. Morten has 38 years of experience in the computing field. He started working with the S/38 and AS/400 in 1988 as programmer.Before joining the Lab Services, he worked for IBM Denmark and several European... Read More →

Sunday October 31, 2021 10:00 - 13:00 CET
D20 - Room 20

SQL / DB2, Workshop

14:00 CET

Service Programs From Start to Debug

We will discuss all of the components of a service program, including how to bind modules, binder source and using binding directories. In addition, we will then compile the program, execute it in RDi debug mode and demonstrate the various functions of the RDi debugger.

Speakers

Charles Guarino

CEO & IBM Champion, Central Park Data Systems

Charles Guarino believes in the “power” of IBM Power Systems. His career reflects his dedication and interest in bringing the platform and its solutions to others and as a result has been recognized as an IBM Champion.He is a member of COMMON’s Speaker Excellence Hall of Fame... Read More →

Sunday October 31, 2021 14:00 - 17:00 CET
D20 - Room 20

Application Development, Workshop

09:15 CET

RPG In the world of open source

Almost any modern language can be used to produce open source and/or you can use open source packages in your own projects. Traditionally RPG has not been invited to that party, however, that game has changed over the last few years. More and more ILE open source is available and you can use modern open source tooling to speed up your RPG development with tools like yum, git and gmake. Come!! Be a player in the open source community – now with RPG!

Speakers

Niels Liisberg

Chief Software Architect, Partner & IBM Champion, System & Method

Niels has developed IBM i middleware used in numerous applications worldwide. He is the architect of the IceBreak application server for IBM i. Over the years he has contributed to the IBM i community with presentations, demos, and loads of open source: ILEastic and noxDB to name... Read More →

Monday November 1, 2021 09:15 - 10:15 CET
D20 - Room 20

Application Development, Open Source

10:30 CET

RDi configuration for RPG

RDi is the most versatile application development tools available today. It provides more and more functionality with each update, and the results are obvious. This session focuses on the particular attributes of enhancing your RPG development. How many of these features are you already using?

Speakers

Charles Guarino

CEO & IBM Champion, Central Park Data Systems

Monday November 1, 2021 10:30 - 11:30 CET
D20 - Room 20

Application Development, RDI

11:45 CET

Get started on your modernization journey through workflow visibility

Why prioritising is key to driving successful business results and how to do it. Digital transformation is critical for your business to not only survive, but also thrive in a volatile market. Modernisation of your IBM i applications is part of that larger strategy. Where do you start? How do you know which modernisation project will have the most impact to the business?

If you understand the details of operational workflows and processes on those applications, you can make a prioritisation decision using hard data, not assumptions. But often businesses struggle to reach that level of visibility.
Join Tommy Hueber, Principal Sales Engineer, for Rocket Software’s modernisation portfolio, to hear about building out and executing a smart modernisation plan.

Speakers

Tommy Hueber

Principal Sales Engineer, Rocket Software

Monday November 1, 2021 11:45 - 12:10 CET
D20 - Room 20

Application Development

13:10 CET

RDi'ing the New Way

Don't get caught in the trap! Some of us "know what we know" about application development and are not update to date with some of the latest available techniques. Join us at this session to see some cool ways of using RDi.

This session will discuss a variety of ways to optimize your RPG coding experience and usability using RDi.

Speakers

Charles Guarino

CEO & IBM Champion, Central Park Data Systems

Monday November 1, 2021 13:10 - 14:10 CET
D20 - Room 20

Application Development, RDI

14:25 CET

Modernization – An example from real life

During this session I will describe how we helped a customer to make their processes more automated, flexible, efficient and modern without risking a big system replacement and lock-in. Step by step is the way to go to meet the future and to lower the risk and costs.

Speakers

Mats Lidström

CPO, IBM i Chief Architect, Apper Systems AB

I work as the CPO and IBM i Chief Architect at Apper Systems AB in Sweden. I am also the Director of Common Sweden, a member of CEAC - Common Europe Advisory Council and since 2020 an IBM Champion. In my daily work I help customer to use the full advantages of the IBM i operating... Read More →

Monday November 1, 2021 14:25 - 15:25 CET
D20 - Room 20

Application Development, DB2

16:50 CET

Round Table Application Development

Div. Speakers

Moderators

Niels Liisberg

Chief Software Architect, Partner & IBM Champion, System & Method

Speakers

Charles Guarino

CEO & IBM Champion, Central Park Data Systems

Birgitta Hauser

Database and Software Architect, IBM Champion, Independent Consultant

Birgitta Hauser worked on the IBM i and its predecessors since 1992. She graduated with a business economics diploma, and started programming on the AS/400 in 1992. She worked and works as traditional RPG Programmer but also as Database and Software Engineer, focusing on IBM i application... Read More →

Mats Lidström

CPO, IBM i Chief Architect, Apper Systems AB

Monday November 1, 2021 16:50 - 17:50 CET
D20 - Room 20

Application Development

08:00 CET

Decouple your IT transformation process with SQL-PL and Microservices.

Maybe your organization struggles with a generation gap in both age and culture. Modern applications are made as microservices with JAVA/Spring-boot, Python/Flask or node.js/Seneca. But the people that know about the business are working with RPG. However, for some reason any generation working on IBM i knows about SQL – So why not let people meet on common ground? This is why SQL-PL these years are used more and more as the preferred universal language in IT transformation projects.

Speakers

Niels Liisberg

Chief Software Architect, Partner & IBM Champion, System & Method

Tuesday November 2, 2021 08:00 - 09:00 CET
D20 - Room 20

SQL / DB2, Open Source

09:15 CET

Source code refactoring with a side order of Rdi

Sloppy code, beautiful code. They both produce the same results, so who cares how it looks? If you have heard this before, or are living with this scenario, this is a MUST ATTEND session. How bad can source code be since it never rusts? Or does it? Learn about code refactoring (aka "modernization") with discussion to help rejuvenate old code into maintainable, flexible and scalable components. We will also review how RDI can assist in this process.

This session idenitifies the "weak" points of source code and provides a road map to make it more readable and maintainable.

Speakers

Charles Guarino

CEO & IBM Champion, Central Park Data Systems

Tuesday November 2, 2021 09:15 - 10:15 CET
D20 - Room 20

Application Development, RDI

10:40 CET

Node-red introduction

Speakers

Koen Decorte

Owner and CEO, IBM Champion, CD-Invest

Koen Decorte is owner of CD Invest, an international IBM business partner with offices in Belgium andSpain. CD-Invest is specialized in innovating and modernizing IBM i applications.Koen studied philology and computer linguistics.His focus is mainly on integrating and using open source... Read More →

Tuesday November 2, 2021 10:40 - 11:40 CET
D20 - Room 20

Application Development, Open Source

11:50 CET

Create beautiful IBM i web apps in minutes, with little or no coding

The Valence framework for IBM i, available for free download, includes a browser-based low-code development utility called Nitro App Builder (NAB). Using this tool, anyone with a solid understanding of their IBM i database can, in a matter of minutes, create slick-looking web or mobile apps, including dashboards and data grids with download-to-Excel functionality. Running entirely on IBM i, NAB can also be used to create intricate file maintenance apps through which users can adjust content in one or more physical files — you control which fields they can see or edit.

All of this can be achieved with no coding, though IBM i developers can easily extend the app's functionality with RPG or SQL code to handle business logic as needed. Advanced programmers comfortable with HTML5 and JavaScript code can take things even further, creating super elaborate data-entry apps that work hand-in-hand with server-side RPG logic through the Valence Portal.

The bottom line: With Valence, whether you're a seasoned RPG developer or a database-savvy user, you can crank out highly functional web and mobile apps on IBM i in no time — no prior experience in web or mobile development required! Join us in this quick demo session to see the latest release of the Valence framework, and how easy it is to build and deploy such an app on your system.

Speakers

Robert Swanson

Senior Partner, CNX Corporation

Rob has worked as an in-the-trenches IBM i developer since 1992, with the past 15 years focused on developing modernization efforts for legacy systems written in RPG. Currently serving as Senior Partner for CNX Corporation in Chicago, Rob is a strong advocate of introducing highly... Read More →

Tuesday November 2, 2021 11:50 - 12:15 CET
D20 - Room 20

Application Development

13:15 CET

Panel Session - Application Development

Moderators

Niels Liisberg

Chief Software Architect, Partner & IBM Champion, System & Method

Speakers

Charles Guarino

CEO & IBM Champion, Central Park Data Systems

Mats Lidström

CPO, IBM i Chief Architect, Apper Systems AB

Birgitta Hauser

Database and Software Architect, IBM Champion, Independent Consultant

Tuesday November 2, 2021 13:15 - 14:15 CET
D20 - Room 20

Application Development

14:30 CET

Learn to learn on IBM i (Ai Intro)

Speakers

Koen Decorte

Owner and CEO, IBM Champion, CD-Invest

Tuesday November 2, 2021 14:30 - 15:30 CET
D20 - Room 20

Application Development, Open Source

15:55 CET

Connect RPG and Db2 to the World - live-stream

This session will cover, at a high level, many techniques for integrating Db2 and RPG workloads with almost anything. There will be particular emphasis on the recently announced HTTP functions in Db2. These functions enable HTTP requests to be made through simple SQL. The new functions are leaner, faster, and easier to use than their SYSTOOLS predecessors!

This session is a live-stream.

Speakers

Jesse Gorzinski

Business Architect, IBM

Jesse Gorzinski works for the IBM i development lab in Rochester, MN. He is a Senior Business Architect and Senior Technical Staff Member (STSM) responsible for open source technologies on the platform. Jesse, who was doing RPG programming at the age of 18, is an expert on application... Read More →

Tuesday November 2, 2021 15:55 - 16:55 CET
D20 - Room 20

Application Development, DB2

17:10 CET

Recent Db2 Enhancements: Greatest Hits - live-stream

New features are added to the database twice a year. With this continual delivery of enhancements, it is easy to overlook some of the new additions. In this session, Sue will share some of her favorites from the last several years.

This session is a live-stream.

Speakers

Susan Romano

Technical Lead Db2 for i Development Team, IBM

Sue Romano is a technical leader on the Db2 for i development team and has worked on the SQL parser for almost 30 years. She is involved in designing and implementing SQL enhancements and defines new SQL services. Sue represents Db2 for i on IBM’s SQL Language Council, which ensures... Read More →

Tuesday November 2, 2021 17:10 - 18:10 CET
D20 - Room 20

SQL / DB2

08:00 CET

Giving your reports a new facelift using open source tooling

Speakers

Koen Decorte

Owner and CEO, IBM Champion, CD-Invest

Wednesday November 3, 2021 08:00 - 09:00 CET
D20 - Room 20

Application Development, DB2

09:15 CET

Me and ILE, please go **free!

In this session Mats will explain why he think it is so important and good to use modern full free format RPGLE, Service Programs, Modules, Procedures and Embedded SQL etc. when building applications optimized for IBM i and combining it with Open Source when and where needed.

Speakers

Mats Lidström

CPO, IBM i Chief Architect, Apper Systems AB

Wednesday November 3, 2021 09:15 - 10:15 CET
D20 - Room 20

Application Development

10:45 CET

Microservices on IBM i

The design paradigm of enterprise solutions has changed dramatically over the last couple of years. Why is SOA not the big buzz any longer and how come can a much simpler technology gain all the focus? Microservices is easy to work with and runs in any environment on IBM i. From node.js and JAVA to Python and RPG. You can expand and deploy to any platform – on premise - In the cloud. It's so flexible!!

Speakers

Niels Liisberg

Chief Software Architect, Partner & IBM Champion, System & Method

Wednesday November 3, 2021 10:45 - 11:45 CET
D20 - Room 20

Open Source, Microservices

12:00 CET

Ask the Experts

Moderators

Niels Liisberg

Chief Software Architect, Partner & IBM Champion, System & Method

Speakers

Petra Bührer

Technical Sales Leader, Technology Infrastructure DACH, IBM

Birgitta Hauser

Database and Software Architect, IBM Champion, Independent Consultant

Jens Churchill

Power systems evangelist, System & Method

Rudi van Helvoirt

Technical Director, Easi Nederland

After having started as a System/38 programmer in 1986. In 1989 the switch was made to system programming and systems management.Being passionate about systems management he founded van Helvoirt Automatisering in 1993.Rudi enjoys helping IBM i customers ever since for running their... Read More →

Koen Decorte

Owner and CEO, IBM Champion, CD-Invest

Charles Guarino

CEO & IBM Champion, Central Park Data Systems

Pete Massiello

IBM i Advisor, Massiello Holding Corp.

Pete Massiello has been working with the AS/400, iSeries, IBM i since 1989, focusing on systems management and technical support. He has held numerous technical positions through out his career. He is the President of iTech Solutions Group, an IBM Premier Business Partner delivering... Read More →

Wednesday November 3, 2021 12:00 - 12:50 CET
D20 - Room 20

Keynote

12:50 CET

Closing Session – CEC 2022 announcement

Speakers

Shrirang "Ranga" Deshpande

Vice-President, IBM Champion, Common Belgium

* Ranga has been using IBM i and its predecessors in his entire IT professional career at Jules Bordet Institute, the Comprehensive Cancer Centre of the University of Brussels, Belgium.* Ranga is passionately active since 1987 in IBM Power Systems user groups with special interest... Read More →

Juan Manuel Alcudia

IBM

Former WebSphere Portal Server Specialist and Specialist on Performance and DB2 on IBM i Software Services and RPG programmer . I'm also a longbow archer and a bass player. A renaissance man.

Wednesday November 3, 2021 12:50 - 13:00 CET
D20 - Room 20

Keynote