COMMON Fall Conference & Expo

Node.js is just getting started, but it is very hot! Everyone seems interested in getting started with this language today, and it may very well represent the future of Application Development on IBM i. In this session, we'll look at Node.js, discuss how it works and how to write simple applications. Then, we'll take a look at the Node Package Manager (npm) and the power it brings to the Node.js environment.

Learning Objectives:
1, Why Node.js? How do you learn it?
2. The value of the "eco-system" surrounding Node.js
3. Demonstration of putting together some Node.js modules to build a business application

The most important operation for a Node.js server running on the IBM i is connecting to the internal Db2 database. There are approximately 6 official packages that simplify the process of connecting a querying, but their quality varies widely. This session begins with an overview of all of these packages and their relative strengths and weaknesses. From there, I select the two packages that are the future of Node.js and Db2 connections and go in-depth with how to configure, connect, and perform both simply and complex queries and stored procedure calls, enabling users to achieve the full potential of Db2 inside the Node.js environment.

Learning Objectives:
1. How to set up a Node.js environment on the IBM i.
2. How to connect to Db2 on IBM i through different packages, including odbc, which allows development across platforms.
3. Learning how to run everything from simple queries to stored procedure calls in Node.js