President's Message from Don Rima

Faster than greased lightning! More powerful than a Cray-4! Able to leap large databases in a single I/O...well, maybe two I/Os...OK, so maybe I spent a bit too much time on Bourbon Street while down at Common earlier this month, but topics like this month's presentation tend to really get my attention when it comes to making my programs really perform nicely, get the data out and minimize the impact on my systems performance.

YES! I'm talking about embedded SQL in my RPG applications. This is one way to improve performance with a minimal amount of effort. And it works! And it's really schweet!

We're happy to announce that Roland Mitchell is this month's presenter and his topic will be embedded SQL

in your RPG applications for performance improvement. Roland is the MIS Director for Hester Industries and is a regular JAM and Common speaker. His SQL sessions are usually standing room only. Further, since we know that this topic WON'T be presented at JAM '98, we encourage you to plan to join us for dinner and an evening that you can put to good production use immediately.

We'd like to welcome our newest member, Nagesh Kuchibhodla, who joined WAM at the April meeting. Welcome aboard!

Also we want to thank Carson for his very informative briefing on Thin Client technology at the April meeting.

There were some interesting happenings at this Common that specifically relate to user groups.

New liaisons have been formed with industry leaders and this is going to enable us to bring very high caliber presentations to JAM and in next year's schedule.

Speaking of the JAM, the session grid is all filled out. And it's the BEST program I've ever seen in town! In addition to the Industry Leaders such as Al Barsa, Jon Paris, and Susan Gantner, we have a tentative agreement with Wayne Madden, Publisher of News/400, to be the Keynote Speaker! So mark your calendar now (I know, I know, you already did!) December 4th, University of Maryland Conference Center.

Watch the web page http://www.wash-midrange.org as Peter will be posting detailed information as soon as it is available.

I don't normally mention what we are doing two month's from now, but I am making an exception for this July's meeting. In July we are privileged to present David Slater, WorldWide Campaign Manager for AS/400 Application Development Products. David is responsible for the AS/400 Year 2000 presentations/campaigns in US, Europe, Latin America, and Asia Pacific. David will give us some tips and tools for Y2K. No matter what your current Y2K status THIS IS A MUST SEE!

See you all at the May meeting!

-Don Rima

May Meeting

One of the most common elements of programming in a relational database environment is the joining, selecting, and ordering of data. Logical files provide fundamental capabilities, and the CL command OPNQRYF adds some flexibility and dynamic features. But there exist capabilities beyond what can be done with logical files and OPNQRYF. RPG/SQL programming combines the flexibility of a high-level language with the data retrieval tools provided by SQL. Dynamic selection and ordering of data from within an RPG program are the most basic possibilities. Externalized, user maintained SQL statements incorporated into the high-level RPG program provide functionality that cannot be otherwise obtained. This session will provide the concepts and details necessary to start using RPG/SQL to enhance yoru applications.

Roland has worked in the computer industry since 1967. He has worked as a programmer/analyst on all IBM midrange systems since System/32. He has supported construction, distribution, and manufacturing industries. He has worked as an in-house programmer, a consultant working for an IBM business partner, and now as the Director of Information Systems for Hester Industries, a manufacturer in the food services industry. He has used all the RPG languages as they have evolved over the years, and has recently specialized in the use of RPG/SQL. He lives in Winchester, Virginia, and tries to find time for a woodworking hobby.

Tuesday - May 19, 1998 - 18:00

Tyson's Westpark
8401 Westpark Drive
Tyson's Corner, Virginia

(Parking is FREE !)

Board Meeting Immediately After !

18:00 Buffet - - 19:00 Speaker - - 20:30 Adjournment

Back by popular demand: PASTA PASTA PASTA! Ravioli & tri-colored rotini with either marinara or alfredo sauce. Tossed Italian salad, bread and beverage.

RSVP (by Friday 05/15) to Peter 703/834-3706 or 1stplace@crosslink.net $25.00/non-member

Not Preparing For Y2K? Your Company Will Pay The Price.

So why hasn't your company mapped out a contingency plan for system and business failures related to the Year 2000 problem?

Some companies may still view the millenium problem as hype, and clearly there has been hyperbole. But two truths have emerged: there will be system failures and business interruptions--and most compaies are not prepared for them.

Don't tell me you're still skeptical. OK, let's go through the numbers, as published by three different consulting groups in the past four months:

Forty-four percent of companies surveyed by the Information Technology Association of America last month said they have already experienced Y2K-related failures in their production systems. Yet, in a December survey published by Cap Gemini, that number was only 7 percent. If the year 1998 caused such heavy upturn in date-related failures, imagine those that will be caused by 1999 and 2000.

* In the ITAA study, executives said that about 57 percent of their applications will not be renovated before date problems begin to affect them. A Cutter Consortium study indicates that 79 percent of companies do not plan to offer guarantees of Y2K compliancy in their products and services. These figures indicate that most companies--and this means your suppliers--have already conceded they will not be able to fix the date bug before it hits.The numbers concerning the industry's lack of preparedness are even more staggering. Consider:

* Thirty-three percent of companies surveyed have not even begun to develop contingency plans for handling Y2K problems, according to Cap Gemini. Of those that have, many are still incomplete.

* Seventy-seven percent of companies say they have changed their approach to the problem since they started their Y2K programs, the Cap Gemini survey said. Some of these are companies that have changed from date extension--in which two more digits are added to application code--to windowing, in which the two-digit dates are carved up between this millenium and the next. Others are companies that underestimated the scope and complexity of the problem.

* According to the Cutter Consortium, 91 percent of companies have not assessed the direct costs of Y2K compliance, much less the indirect costs of system and business failures. That means nine-tenths of U.S. companies have no idea how deeply the date glitch will affect their businesses. And the United States is considered to be far better prepared than Asia--which has been slower to adopt Year 2000 measures--and Europe, which is already embroiled in an application-torturing conversion to the Euro dollar.

Remember too, that most of the numbers listed here are concerned only with internal applications renovation. Problems assiciated with supply-chain operations and embedded microchips--which are now used in everything from toys to cars to pacemakers--have not even been assessed, let alone resolved, in most industries.

Business interruptions caused by the Y2K problem are not a probability, they are an inevitability. IT managers will be fired. Companies will go out of business, either because of service disruptions or becuase of the hurricane of negligence lawsuits that have already begun in the court system. These are not the predictions of a few grandstanders. They are the virtual unanimous opinion of everyone who has studied the problem, including IT managers who have nothing to gain from spreading panic or fear.

If your company has begun a Y2K remediation program, great. Keep it going--and hold onto whoever is working on it, because in six months or a year, there may not be any bodies available anymore. If your CFO balks at the cost of the program, ask how much it will cost your company to be out of business for a month, a week, even a day. The time to invest is now, not after the problems occur.

But remember too, that internal IT remediation is only part of the program. You must persuade your business units to participate in risk-assessment and system recovery plans. You must evaluate and prioritize your company's relationships with its suppliers and audit the Y2K progress of your firm's most critical business partners. And you must develop alternative methods of doing business if your computer-driven processes are terminated by the date glitch.

The asteroid is coming. What will you do? By Tim Wilson, Editor-at-Large, InternetWeek.

IBM Provides Y2K Readiness Database

http://www.yr2k.raleigh.ibm.com.

Sponsor New WAM Members - - Win $100 Gift Certificate

To qualify for the drawing, please ensure that you let John Rodrigues know the name and telephone number of each new WAM member that you have sponsored. John can be reached at 703/519-1569 or at majobo@aol.com. (This promotion is effective April 1, 1998.)

John Rodrigues developed this great idea as a means of delivering more value to our members. Thanks John!

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