Written by mainframe and midrange professionals George Farr and Phil Coulthard, Java for S/390 & AS/400 COBOL Programmers is designed to help COBOL programmers make the jump to Java. It teaches COBOL programmers how to read and write Java programs and helps them understand the concepts necessary to continue to improve their Java skills. Rather than serve merely as an overview, Java for S/390 & AS/400 COBOL Programmers is a massive work of more than 900 pages that addresses Javas syntax and much of the Java Development Kits (JDKs) functionality through comparisons with COBOL. It also introduces applets, Java Native Interface (JNI), Remote Method Invocation (RMI), serialization, JavaBeans, Enterprise JavaBeans, servlets, JavaServer Pages, and even Extensible Markup Language (XML). Because VisualAge for Java (VAJ) is by far the most widely used Java tool among AS/400 and S/390 programmers, the book also includes an introduction to VAJ with both AS/400 and S/390 details. The book contains separate appendices, geared explicitly to OS/400 and OS/390 readers, with platform-specific information. Many analysts are predicting that Java will overtake COBOLs commanding lead as the language of choice for business applications running on mainframe and midrange computers. This leaves COBOL programmers with a huge problem. They do not know Java, nor do they understand object-oriented concepts. They have never seen a function, let alone free-form C-style syntax, classes, objects, or methods. Although there are hundreds of books about Java on the market, they all assume C, C++, or Visual Basic knowledge. It can be a humbling, daunting, and frustrating experience for a COBOL professional to try to learn Java without the proper prerequisite knowledge. This book will make learning Java as comfortable as possible.

About the Author

Phil Coulthard is the lead architect for AS/400 application development projects at the IBM Toronto Laboratory. He has worked as a developer, team leader, manager, and general advocate of AS/400 application developments since 1986. An author of many industry magazine articles and a frequent speaker at AS/400 conferences, Phil currently resides in Aurora, Ontario.

George N. Farr is the technical development manager for RPG IV as well as VisualAge for RPG products. He has held the position of developer, team leader, and development manager, and has been an AS/400 planner and architect since 1985. He is a frequent speaker at AS/400 conferences and user groups worldwide and has written many industry magazine articles and books including ILE: A First Look and RPG IV by Example. He currently resides in Toronto, Canada.

Web sites. Collaboration. Document management. Paperless offices. We want it all in business today, but how do you achieve all of these goals? More importantly, if you work for one of the millions of small to medium–sized businesses, how do you find the time and build the expertise necessary to reach these goals? Even the most powerful tool will not allow you to succeed unless you can get the majority of your staff to use it efficiently and effectively. You need a guide that demonstrates a platform small to medium–sized businesses can use to reach these goals.

Office and SharePoint 2007 User’s Guide: Integrating SharePoint with Excel, Outlook, Access and Word demystifies the path every Microsoft Office user can follow to benefit from the synergism of tools they are already familiar with. Together with SharePoint 2007, users can achieve goals like web sites with a consistent single view, improved collaboration within their organization, better document management, and maybe even get one step closer to the paperless office we’ve been promised for years. This book has topics for Office users of all skill levels, from those just starting to use Office tools to the experienced power user. It examines each major Office tool and shows how it contributes to the support and use of SharePoint in today’s increasingly electronic–based office environment.

What you’ll learn

In this book, you will discover

• How to access, customize, share, and extend SharePoint document libraries in conjunction with Word, Excel, and other Office products
• Different ways to working through Office while interacting with SharePoint, like synchronizing your calendar and contacts, exporting databases, and modifying them with SharePoint’s list view, and so on
• The best ways of managing content across teams and your entire organization
• What it really means to leverage all of SharePoint’s capabilities by tying them directly into the Office applications you use every day

Who is this book for?

Office and SharePoint 2007 User’s Guide: Integrating SharePoint with Excel, Outlook, Access and Word is a perfect reference for everyone who works at a company or organization that is using or planning to use either Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 or Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 and who wants to make a difference by developing content, collaboration, and benefiting from the synergism working with several Microsoft products can provide.

Related Titles

• SharePoint 2007 User's Guide: Learning Microsoft's Collaboration and Productivity Platform
• Pro SharePoint Solution Development: Combining .NET, SharePoint and Office 2007
• Workflow in the 2007 Microsoft Office System
• Pro Access 2007
• Pro InfoPath 2007

Coming from a background of developing in languages such as Java, one of the things that surprised me the most about the Ruby and Rails community, was the common practice of not using an Integrated Development Environment. Most of the members of the community, including the most relevant, were comfortable with just a programmer's editor.

At first I thought it was because, Ruby being a dynamic language, using a full IDE might be an overkill. But then I thought of the PHP community, in which several IDEs are popular, with PHP also being a dynamic language. So I still had to guess why using an IDE was not a common practice within the Ruby on Rails world.

Nowadays, there is a growing list of IDEs with support for Ruby on Rails, but two years ago the options were really scarce. Back then, I chose to use RadRails because it worked on top of the Eclipse IDE—which was the tool I was already using for other programming languages—and because it was the only free, open source, and portable option.

Truth is, the first version of RadRails I used was very promising, but still a bit too basic. It featured just a few specialized tools, Ruby syntax colorization, and a slow and faulty code-assistance. As a result, the difference between RadRails and a good programmer's editor was not really significant. However, as Ruby on Rails gained popularity, RadRails was vastly improved, and a lot of new features were added.

At the same time, several other IDEs started to provide support for Ruby too. Today, even if many Ruby on Rails developers still don't use an IDE, a growing number of them already.

During these two years, I've been developing projects almost exclusively with Ruby on Rails; and I developed all of them using RadRails. Of course I have been keeping an eye on every new IDE with Ruby support, just to see if there were any reasons for changing, but I still didn't find any.

For Web developers, one of the most exciting features of Microsoft(r) Internet Explorer 4.0 is Dynamic HTML, a powerful Microsoft extension of standard HTML that brings a new level of interactivity to content developers' Web sites. And INSIDE DYNAMIC HTML is the technical bible on this important new innovation. It's for Web developers, sophisticated content providers, users of JavaScript and other scripting tools, and anyone else who wants the lowdown on this widely embraced approach to a livelier Web. The book assumes proficiency with a scripting language and supplies an abundance of examples.

The World Wide Web ignited a computer revolution by enabling anyone to publish HTML documents. Until recently, the information in these documents was mostly static, requiring the server to respond to user interactions. With the introduction of Dynamic HTML, the Web paradigm has shifted away from requiring server interactions to creating interactive Web sites and Web applications. Because Dynamic HTML allows HTML documents to interact with the user and change completely on the client, you can create rich Web applications.

Dynamic HTML is built on an object model that extends the traditional static HTML document. This book introduces you, the Web developer, to Dynamic HTML and teaches you how to create pages that are live and interactive on the client. This book assumes a working knowledge of HTML and basic programming principles. It does not teach you HTML or show you how to program in JavaScript, JScript, or VBScript; instead, these languages are used as tools for dynamically manipulating the page.

Near the end of this introduction, you'll find a description of the four parts of this book. Before continuing, read this overview to get a feel for how Dynamic HTML will be presented here through a series of building blocks. By the end of this book, all the pieces for creating live and interactive Web pages will be in place.

When Microsoft introduced an alpha version of the Microsoft .NET Framework to a small group of developers, the developers were immediately excited. Those of us attending this kickoff meeting understood the vision of .NET right away:

• A common language runtime

• Different languages with the same code base

• Cross-language compatibility

• Full object-oriented programming (OOP) for all languages

• The chance to say goodbye to DLL hell

• The chance to say goodbye to memory leaks

• A truly integrated development environment, or IDE (even though the first alpha version crashed more often than it worked)

Most of us were anxious to get our hands on this new tool and couldn't wait to test its features for developing Web applications, dealing with disconnected data, building more powerful components, and creating applications easier, faster, and more reliably. Almost two years after that initial introduction and after using the public betas for over a year, we finally have the tool in our hands. We had the opportunity to build several large applications with late beta versions and were astounded at these applications' stability and the ease with which we could develop them. Naturally, we used the release version of the .NET Framework with our applications as soon as it was available. Again, we were amazed at the performance gains and even greater stability. One of the components we're going to present in Chapter 4 is a data access component for the data access layer. We created it in early betas, improved it over time, and compiled it in the release version. It has proven to be one of the most powerful and reliable tools we've ever seen. Millions of hits (data accesses to Microsoft SQL Server 7 and Microsoft SQL Server 2000 databases) have been handled by this component without the slightest indications of problems (obviously, after we debugged and performed initial testing). Even better, this component has taken advantage of the performance enhancements Microsoft ADO.NET can offer while decreasing the load on Web servers, middle-tier servers, and SQL servers in a way we never anticipated. This book offers you the full functionality and source code of this component and others for your own applications. In addition to being able to use the components we present in this book, you'll learn the details of how they were created so that you can extend and modify them if necessary.

Many of the early adopters of the technology—authors of Microsoft .NET books and attendees at .NET-centric conferences—share a common feeling: the fun is back in creating applications. Many years ago, we remember having to write applications in various assembler languages; passing individual bytes in and out of processor registers and stacks; packing code for applications into 8 or 16 KB of memory (that's kilobytes, not megabytes or gigabytes, which we're used to today); and creating accounting applications, calculators, games, and so on. That was tough as nails, but it was fun. Around the time when Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Windows 95 entered the scene, we started stepping on each other's toes with conflicting DLLs, quirky windows message calls, and pervasive memory leaks, to name a few issues, and the fun we experienced in the earlier days was slowly but surely dwindling away. We can truly say that it's back again.

Between the time a team is launched and the time it delivers results, managers need to know that the team is on course. Whether they have launched a team to achieve a business objective or have inherited a team, they need to monitor effectiveness on an ongoing basis and make course corrections that keep small problems from becoming major disasters.

Monitoring and maintaining team performance is a key element of leading a team. You can provide that leadership by paying attention to four important dimensions: team member effort, team member knowledge and skills, team tactics, and group dynamics. By focusing on those four areas, you can assess your team’s performance, zero in on areas of weakness, and take the corrective measures necessary to ensure peak performance and to deliver expected results.

As the leader of a team, your responsibility includes monitoring and maintaining its performance. Using the suggestions and tools in this guidebook, you will be able to zero in on areas of weakness and take the corrective measures that will fix particular problems. It will help you keep your team on course so that it can deliver the results the organization is looking for.

About the Author

This series of guidebooks draws on the practical knowledge that the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL) has generated, since its inception in 1970, through its research and educational activity conducted in partnership with hundreds of thousands of managers and executives. Much of this knowledge is shared-in a way that is distinct from the typical university department, professional association, or consultancy. CCL is not simply a collection of individual experts, although the individual credentials of its staff are impressive; rather it is a community, with its members holding certain principles in common and working together to understand and generate practical responses to today's leadership and organizational challenges.

The purpose of the series is to provide managers with specific advice on how to complete a developmental task or solve a leadership challenge. In doing that, the series carries out CCL's mission to advance the understanding, practice, and development of leadership for the benefit of society worldwide.

Kim Kanaga is the director of CCL’s Greensboro Campus, overseeing all campus site resources and day-to-day activities in support of CCL’s strategic direction. He has an extensive background in team-building initiatives, which he has used to customize team effectiveness programs for many CCL clients. He holds a Ph.D. in communication from Michigan State University.

Henry Browning was an important contributor to the design of CCL’s Leadership and High-Performance Teams program. He has an MBA from the University of Colorado.

This is a book about leading dispersed teams—teams that are made up of people who don’t work in the same geographical area. Such teams don’t often meet face-to-face. Usually their members are separated by time and distance, and they often bring different cultural views to bear on their work. Solving potential communication problems and devising processes for making decisions and managing conflict are challenges for leaders of dispersed teams. But before they can address those challenges, they need to analyze the support such a team will get from the organization as a whole.

Dispersed teams are a necessary, strategic work unit in a world that continues to grow more interconnected every day. Guiding them to their full potential is a difficult challenge for even the most seasoned team leader.

About the Author

This series of guidebooks draws on the practical knowledge that the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL) has generated, since its inception in 1970, through its research and educational activity conducted in partnership with hundreds of thousands of managers and executives. Much of this knowledge is shared-in a way that is distinct from the typical university department, professional association, or consultancy. CCL is not simply a collection of individual experts, although the individual credentials of its staff are impressive; rather it is a community, with its members holding certain principles in common and working together to understand and generate practical responses to today's leadership and organizational challenges.

The purpose of the series is to provide managers with specific advice on how to complete a developmental task or solve a leadership challenge. In doing that, the series carries out CCL's mission to advance the understanding, practice, and development of leadership for the benefit of society worldwide.

Michael E. Kossler is a senior enterprise associate at CCL’s Greensboro campus. He works with new global clients to assess their organizations’ leadership development needs and then to design and implement custom solutions. He served as the project manager for CCL’s research on geographically dispersed teams. Mike holds an M.A. in communications from the University of Akron and an M.M. in organizational development from Aquinas College.

Sonya Prestridge is a former senior program associate at CCL’s Greensboro campus. She was a member of CCL’s research team investigating geographically dispersed teams. Sonya holds an M.A. from Peabody College and a Ph.D. in adult education from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Influence is an essential component of leadership. Your position in an organization and the power it gives you aren’t always enough to motivate people to do what you ask. Developing your influence skills can help you gain commitment from people at all levels: direct reports, peers, and bosses.

This book includes an assessment tool to help you determine the influence tactics you currently use. Some tactics depend on logic, others appeal to emotions, and others are cooperative appeals. You may discover tactics you rarely use, and you can develop those tactics to become more effective.

You will learn what to do before, during, and after an influence session. Every influence attempt can become a learning experience, and you can continue to enhance this crucial leadership capability.

About the Authors

David Baldwin is a CCL faculty member based at the San Diego campus. Since 1995, he has managed and delivered leadership initiatives, including global blended learning programs, for CCL clients. As an executive coach, he engages clients to consider how to maximize their influencing capabilities. David holds a B.A. in speech communication from San Diego State University and an M.S. in organizational communication studies from Illinois State University.

Curt Grayson is a senior program associate at CCL's San Diego campus. He is a full-time faculty member and specializes in leadership and team assessment and development, executive coaching, influential leadership, and organizational transformation. Curt holds a B.S. in psychology from San Diego State University, an M.A. in clinical psychology from Rosemead School of Psychology, and a Ph.D. in organizational psychology from California School of Professional Psychology in Los Angeles.

Leaders often have to make decisions without complete information, and those decisions are expected to be not only right but also timely. Using reflective techniques can help you learn to depend on your intuition for help in making good decisions quickly. Reflective practices may seem time-consuming at the beginning, but the time you put in on the front end is well worth the investment. It will pay you back both in time and in the quality of the decisions you make.

About the Author

This series of guidebooks draws on the practical knowledge that the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL) has generated, since its inception in 1970, through its research and educational activity conducted in partnership with hundreds of thousands of managers and executives. Much of this knowledge is shared-in a way that is distinct from the typical university department, professional association, or consultancy. CCL is not simply a collection of individual experts, although the individual credentials of its staff are impressive; rather it is a community, with its members holding certain principles in common and working together to understand and generate practical responses to today's leadership and organizational challenges.

The purpose of the series is to provide managers with specific advice on how to complete a developmental task or solve a leadership challenge. In doing that, the series carries out CCL's mission to advance the understanding, practice, and development of leadership for the benefit of society worldwide.

Talula Cartwright is a senior faculty member at CCL’s Greensboro campus. She is a trainer in several open-enrollment programs, and helps design and deliver CCL’s custom leader-development initiatives. A certified feedback specialist and executive coach, she holds an Ed.D. in higher education from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

Being able to communicate effectively across cultural differences, understanding how to negotiate complex social situations, and being familiar with the customs and norms of many cultures are important skills in organizations today. Perhaps even more important than possessing those essential pieces of cultural knowledge is the skill of cultural adaptability—the willingness and ability to recognize, understand, and work effectively across cultural differences. Proficiency in this area helps managers to build the relationships needed to achieve results in today’s global organizations, especially when those relationships are forged across borders and cultures.

About the Authors

Jennifer J. Deal is a research scientist at CCL with interests in global and generational issues of leadership. She is the author and coauthor of several works related to executive selection, global management, and other issues. She holds a Ph.D. degree in industrial/organizational psychology from The Ohio State University.

Don W. Prince is manager of the Leadership Development Program (LDP) at CCL’s campus in Brussels, Belgium. He is associated with CCL’s Global Initiatives group, assisting in the facilitation of internal communications about CCL’s global work. Don has extensive international travel experience, having conducted business or executive training in sixteen countries. He holds degrees from the University of North Texas and Southwestern Seminary.