The deferred first Technology Refreshes of 2026 PTFs, IBM i 7.6 TR2 and 7.5 TR8, have been announced.
The first thing I do when any new TR announcement is made is to check out what enhancements have been made to Db2 for i (SQL) and RPG. Do note that there are a number of changes and additions made to IBM i 7.6 that have not been made to 7.5.
The SQL that have caught my eye are:
- Changes to SELF SQL_ERROR_LOG view
- Trigger pseudo columns that will allow the capture of the name of the file, library, and member that caused the trigger to fire
- New function usage QIBM_IOSYSCFG_DDM as an alternative to granting a user profile *IOSYSCFG special authority (7.6 only)
- New scalar function CHECK_COMMAND_SYSNTAX to check the syntax of a CL command
- New functions JOB_USER, JOB_NAME, JOB_NUMBER, and JOB_NAME_DETAILS functions to return the parts of a qualified job name
- New view OVERRIDE_INFO_ALL to return one row for each file override in the current job
- Change to the QCMDEXC scalar function to optionally write the CL command to the job log
- Change to GENERATE_SPREADSHEET scalar function where I can now use a text string for a sheet name, rather than a number, for spreadsheets in Microsoft Excel format
In RPG the same new and changes have been made to both IBM i versions:
- New operations code ASSERT-F and ASSERT-T to verify correctness
- New control option ASSERT to set the way the assert statements behave
- Wild card for message id in a MONITORstatement
- With DCL-S the LIKE keyword will now allow the use of the system short name or long name to be used for the external field name
- Use %LOOKUPNE and %TLOOKUPNE to search for the first element that is not equal to the search element
- Job type and subtype added to the Program status data structure, PSDS
Other changes include:
- A more details description of Migrate While Active has been made.
- Enhancements to Navigator for i
- Enhancements to BRMS
The new TR will be available for download Friday July 24, 2026.
Links to more information are:
For IBM i 7.6 TR2:
For IBM i 7.5 TR8:
When I find more information I will update this page.
I like the fact that the Job type and subtype have been added to the Program status data structure PSDS. Long overdue.
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