Last week, we had the pleasure of inducting some new members into the RSE fan club. We taught RSE (the Remote System Explorer in WDSC and RDi) to a group of RPG developers in a company where we ran a private hands-on class. The class included several days of RPG and ILE related topics as well, but we began, as we do most of our customized classes, with an introduction to RSE so the students could get several days of experience with the new toolset while working on the class exercises. The use of SEU is banned during our classes!
Last week's class members, like most of our students, quickly grasped the value of the tools offered in RSE and, since we had a total of four days with them, most also gained enough experience that they began to feel comfortable with using the new tools to replace SEU. But this class is among the first to have one extra advantage to help them continue on the path of greater productivity via RSE--they also have the newly published book, The Remote System Explorer--Modern Developer Tools for the System i written by RSE developers Don Yantzi and Nazmin Haji.
Don and Nazmin's book is probably as useful to current RSE users as it is to newbies. We have both learned many new tips from the book and refer to if often as a source to help answer questions that are asked of us via e-mail. This book is a boon to existing RSE users as well as RSE neophytes and wannabes (and whether you realize it or not, if you're an SEU user, you're likely to be an RSE wannabe soon!)
Of course, we still feel that when learning RSE initially, you can't beat a customized hands-on class with an experienced RSE-user instructor looking over your shoulder, but we also realize that ideal is outside the grasp of many IBM i programmers. But if you can't afford the time or money for a hands-on class, read this book. It's a great resource you'll probably use over and over, even after you become proficient with the basics. It's published by MC Press Online and is also available via Amazon.
Great as it is, this book is far from the only source of help after you begin using RSE. Midrange.com has a very active community of RSE users who hang out on its WDSCI-L Internet list. You can subscribe to the list to follow the discussions regularly or simply peruse the archives to search for discussion on a specific topic. A wiki at Midrange.com also includes some good information about WDSC/RDi/RSE etc. You can find other resources online, including a blog written by a few of the IBM developers of WDSC and similar toolsets.
So there's one less excuse now for sticking with SEU as your primary source editor--learn RSE. There are many ways to get started and lots of ways to get help, including now a new book. So what are you waiting for?
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