Nick Litten - IBM i Software Developer

Nick Litten - IBM i Software Developer https://www.nicklitten.com Nick is an Information Technology professional. Passionate about systems and upgrading older and software.

Software Developer specializing on the IBM-i/iSeries/AS400 platform, WordPress Web Design, legacy code modernization, writing web services and other propeller headed technologies. He spends his time day dreaming about internet technologies, software development, designing mobile apps and modernization of old legacy computer systems.

Source Orbit is Dead! Long live TOBi!I was just happily working away and VSCODE (and IBM BOB) popped up this message: "Y...
06/16/2026

Source Orbit is Dead! Long live TOBi!

I was just happily working away and VSCODE (and IBM BOB) popped up this message: "YIKES!!!" I thought. Yes. I do still think in 100 year old English language style... By Jove! But don't worry, a quick search and I found this to ease my fears: Status of Source Orbit and TOBi Source Orbit is no longer actively developed - its GitHub repository was archived on March 26, 2026, and the maintainer has confirmed it is deprecated…...

I was just happily working away and VSCODE (and IBM BOB) popped up this message: “YIKES!!!” I thought. Yes. I do still think in 100 year old English language style… By Jove! But d…

When is SQLCODE not SQLCODE?If you have ever written a tidy little subprocedure that does some embedded SQL, then checke...
06/11/2026

When is SQLCODE not SQLCODE?

If you have ever written a tidy little subprocedure that does some embedded SQL, then checked SQLCODE afterwards only to find it stubbornly sitting at zero even though the statement clearly failed, you have probably met this gotcha. Today we are going to answer three questions that trip up plenty of IBM i developers: What actually is SQLCODE? Can we define it again inside a subprocedure?...

If you have ever written a tidy little subprocedure that does some embedded SQL, then checked SQLCODE afterwards only to find it stubbornly sitting at zero even though the statement clearly failed,…

From Meh to Magic: A Sortable, Searchable Subfile on IBM iSQLRPGLE – A Sortable Subfile with Column Headings and Search ...
06/11/2026

From Meh to Magic: A Sortable, Searchable Subfile on IBM i

SQLRPGLE – A Sortable Subfile with Column Headings and Search using RTNCSRLOC If you have been following the subfile series, you will know we already have a solid working example in the SORTSFLBOB program. Now it is time to add the finishing touches that make it feel properly modern. Let's go with the assumption that our users are demanding! They want to click a column heading and have the data sort....

SQLRPGLE – A Sortable Subfile with Column Headings and Search using RTNCSRLOC If you have been following the subfile series, you will know we already have a solid working example in the SORTSFLBOB …

IBM BOB vs VSCODE AI – “Fix This RPG Program For Me”Code Modernization, Upgrading, Refactoring with an AI Coding Compani...
06/10/2026

IBM BOB vs VSCODE AI – “Fix This RPG Program For Me”

Code Modernization, Upgrading, Refactoring with an AI Coding Companion - Which to use? I have been playing with a little experiment this week and I thought I would share the results while they are still fresh. The star of the show is a classic little RPGLE subfile program I wrote years ago, it's languished in a dusty corner of my old hard drive for a few years....

Code Modernization, Upgrading, Refactoring with an AI Coding Companion – Which to use? I have been playing with a little experiment this week and I thought I would share the results while the…

Node.js Security on IBM i: Don’t Twist Your Melon (But Do Pay Attention)A subscriber left a great comment on one of my r...
06/08/2026

Node.js Security on IBM i: Don’t Twist Your Melon (But Do Pay Attention)

A subscriber left a great comment on one of my recent vlogs. They’re worried that all this Node.js stuff IBM is encouraging means we’re opening up security holes. npm had that supply chain mess with Red Hat back in 2024, and now hundreds of packages with their own dependencies are sitting on our systems. Is IBM i suddenly less secure? Are we giving attackers a bigger target in what used to be a pretty locked-down world?...

A subscriber left a great comment on one of my recent vlogs. They’re worried that all this Node.js stuff IBM is encouraging means we’re opening up security holes. npm had that supply chain mess wit…

IBM-i Password Expiration MonitoringThe 3am Wake-Up Call You Didn't Need: Service Account Password Expiration If your we...
06/03/2026

IBM-i Password Expiration Monitoring

The 3am Wake-Up Call You Didn't Need: Service Account Password Expiration If your web services or overnight batch jobs have ever thrown a wobbly because a password decided to expire at the worst possible moment, you are not alone. On IBM i systems, password expiration is one of those security features that works brilliantly for normal interactive users and can become a right pain for everything else....

The 3am Wake-Up Call You Didn’t Need: Service Account Password Expiration If your web services or overnight batch jobs have ever thrown a wobbly because a password decided to expire at the wo…

Install Mapepire on IBM i to Unlock Modern Database ConnectivityMapepire on My IBM i System: Finally Database Connection...
06/01/2026

Install Mapepire on IBM i to Unlock Modern Database Connectivity

Mapepire on My IBM i System: Finally Database Connections That Dont Make Me Want to Scream into the Void! Picture this: you are building a slick modern app and you just want it to chat nicely with Db2 for i without wrestling ancient ODBC drivers or wrestling with client libraries that feel older than your first green screen. Enter Mapepire the open source superhero that runs a super light daemon right on your IBM i....

Mapepire on My IBM i System: Finally Database Connections That Dont Make Me Want to Scream into the Void! Picture this: you are building a slick modern app and you just want it to chat nicely with …

So, what exactly is IBM-i Mapepire?Mapepire, a type of pit viper native to South America, boasts a logo that’s arguably ...
05/30/2026

So, what exactly is IBM-i Mapepire?

Mapepire, a type of pit viper native to South America, boasts a logo that’s arguably the best creation from Big Blue since the original IBM emblem. As for how to say it, IBM-i Mapepire GitHub says Mapepire is pronounced ‘mapəpɪə’ or ‘MAH-pup-ee’ which seems nonsense to me! I've been pronouncing this as Mape (like V**e) Pire…...

Mapepire, a type of pit viper native to South America, boasts a logo that’s arguably the best creation from Big Blue since the original IBM emblem. As for how to say it, IBM-i Mapepire GitHub says …

Rogue Rules Files are Twisting My Melon Man!TOBi Builder MAKEi Fails with BLEUUURGH Error Code - A Quick Debugging Tale ...
05/29/2026

Rogue Rules Files are Twisting My Melon Man!

TOBi Builder MAKEi Fails with BLEUUURGH Error Code - A Quick Debugging Tale Hey there, fellow IBM i programmers. Today we're diving into a real-world head-scratcher I hit while working with TOBi (the IBM i Object Builder) and its MAKEi component. If you've ever tried to compile from your local source copies and instead of the usual nice "X programs compiled, Y failed" summary, you got a horrible mess of Python script errors, "failed to download a file", "no such file", or some equally unhelpful BLEUUURGH, then this one's for you....

TOBi Builder MAKEi Fails with BLEUUURGH Error Code – A Quick Debugging Tale Hey there, fellow IBM i programmers. Today we’re diving into a real-world head-scratcher I hit while working …

10 (MORE) Essential IBM i CommandsNew to the IBM-i platform? Read on...Experienced IBM-i Admin? Don't bother! If you are...
05/27/2026

10 (MORE) Essential IBM i Commands

New to the IBM-i platform? Read on...Experienced IBM-i Admin? Don't bother! If you are Older, Experienced, Gray Haired and Grumpy on the IBM-i platform, like me, then stop reading now because this stuff is for beginners. If you know your way around the IBM-i command line, you will definitely know each of these commands in details, so I suggest you go and enjoy a nice cup of tea in the garden instead....

New to the IBM-i platform? Read on…Experienced IBM-i Admin? Don’t bother! If you are Older, Experienced, Gray Haired and Grumpy on the IBM-i platform, like me, then stop reading now bec…

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