The announcement of IBM i 7.6 included notice that the following application development tool set commands were no longer available:
- STRSDA: Start Screen Design Aid
- STRRLU: Start Report Layout Utility
- STRAPF: Start Advanced printer Function
- MRGFORMD: Merge Form Description
- STRCGU: Start Character Generator Utility
- CPYIGCSRT: Copy DBCS Master Sort Table
- MRGFORMD: Merge Form Description
The web page with this information is here.
In the past week there were rumors circulating in social media that this is not true, and it is still possible to use the STRSDA command in 7.6 .
I am fortunate that I have access to a partition running IBM i 7.6. This is what I found.
I started by entering the following on a command line:
strsda |
After pressing Enter the following message was displayed at the bottom of the screen:
Command STRSDA in library *LIBL not found. |
I positioned my cursor to the message, and pressed F1. The message's details were shown:
Additional Message Information
Message ID . . . . . . : CPD0030 Severity . . . . . . . : 30
Message type . . . . . : Diagnostic
Date sent . . . . . . : DD/DD/DD Time sent . . . . . . : TT:TT:TT
Message . . . . : Command STRSDA in library *LIBL not found.
Cause . . . . . : If a library was not specified, the command was not found
in the libraries in the library list. If a library was specified, the
command was not found there. One of the following special values may have
been used to specify the library:
*LIBL - The command was not found in the libraries in the library list
*NLVLIBL - The command was not found in the national language version
libraries in the system library list.
*SYSTEM - The command was not found in library QSYS.
Recovery . . . : Change the command name or correct the library name, and
then try the command again.
|
Was it true that the STRSDA command is no longer in the library QSYS?
I used the Work Object command, WRKOBJ, to look for STRSDA in any library:
WRKOBJ OBJ(*ALL/STRSDA) OBJTYPE(*CMD) |
Which displayed:
Work with Objects
Type options, press Enter.
2=Edit authority 3=Copy 4=Delete 5=Display authority 7=Rename
8=Display description 13=Change description
Opt Object Type Library Attribute Text
STRSDA *CMD QSYSV7R4M0 START SDA
STRSDA *CMD QSYSV7R5M0 START SDA
|
There is no STRSDA command in QSYS, only in the libraries used for compiling for previous releases.
What would happen if I tried to use STRSDA for the previous release, IBM i 7.5?
I entered the following at a command line:
qsysv7r5m0/strsda |
And pressed the Enter key. The following message was shown at the bottom of the screen:
Command STRSDA not valid for current release. |
I used the F1 key to see the message's details:
Additional Message Information
Message ID . . . . . . : CPD0118 Severity . . . . . . . : 30
Message type . . . . . : Diagnostic
Date sent . . . . . . : DD/DD/DD Time sent . . . . . . : TT:TT:TT
Message . . . . : Command STRSDA not valid for current release.
Cause . . . . . : The command STRSDA in library QSYSV7R5M0 can not be run on
the current system. The command is valid only for compiling CL programs for
previous release level V7R5M0.
Recovery . . . : Omit the command or use the current version of the
command.
|
The same message appeared when I used this command:
qsysv7r4m0/strsda |
I tried some other ideas too. I don't want to describe them here as they circumvent system security. They also produced error messages.
Before anyone asks me if I tried putting the option '17' next to a member in PDM. I did and it return the same message as entering the command on command line.
Command STRSDA in library *LIBL not found. |
What we to do if we need to design and edit display files in the future?
Steve Will, CTO and Chief Architect of IBM i, said during his webinar "IBM i in 2025! AI, Power11, 7.6 and AS400 roots" on July 24, 2025, that there is an equivalent of STRSDA available in the Visual Studio Code "Code for i". This is a clear sign that it is time to update our skills from using IBM i based tools, and move to the modern toolset.
This article was written for IBM i 7.6.
I understand that the CRTDSPF command will remain active… please confirm.
ReplyDeleteYes, CRTDSPF is still available in base IBM i 7.6
ReplyDeleteI'm the only programmer (consultant) at my client. I still use SEU. It's a small company. I'll advice not to upgrade. Sorry.
ReplyDeleteYou have that prerogative. Eventually you will risk their business with an old operating system that would be vulnerable viruses, ransomware, etc. The myth that the "AS400 is unhackable" is just not true.
DeleteIf you are a consultant don't you owe it to your clients to keep both your skills and advice up-to-date? And you can still use SEU (shudder) to edit the DDS it is just the SDA deisigner that won't work. As Simon notes - your approach is condemning your client in a number of ways.
DeleteThanks "consultant" for helping make the IBM i less secure :) one of the key Jobs of a consultant is to help the client live in the modern more secure world as best they can. Having that stance you are technically going to shoot yourself in the foot.
DeleteWhat is the alternative, using rdi for creating and changing screens? I wish IBM would create a native way to create http based screens on the system that can be used directly in rpg programs. If it can, please point me in that direction.
ReplyDeleteAre we talking about IBM i Renderer? It lets you preview your DSPF but you can't use it to manipulate the source a la SDA. Maybe there is another extension that I haven't seen? The RDi DSPF tool is pretty good but that can be a huge cost if your shop isn't footing the bill.
ReplyDeleteCurrently RDi has a good alternative to SDA and RLU for that matter. It has for a long time. I haven't used SDA in over 20 years. I started using RDi since it's first inception as Code/400 and then Websphere Development Studio Client.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't go out and get RDI though. VS Code should be the IDE moving forward.
There is a dedicated team of really good individuals working on making a SDA-Like extension available for VS Code.