Re: Retrieve iSeries data in Excel spreadsheet

You can have an SQL/400 statement inside an Excel Cell that is on a PC that is connected to the i/400. I have no problem with a SELECT statement where the i/400 is being used to read info & put the latest story into the Excel at the time that it is opened, or as a result of someone changing the conditions of the SELECT.

Where I have a problem is if someone puts UPDATE in the Cell to have the Excel update data in the i/400, without the usual checks & balances on veracity of the data going in, and testing any new software, and then there are the performance issues associated with a poorly crafted query. We have files with millions of records, where any software using SQL/400 or query/400 against those files, now run via JOBQ. Seems to me this architecture could bring the 400 to its knees very rapidly.

This is not a topic that I am an expert in.
I studied it several years ago & backed away because of security concerns.

There are also 3rd party vendor solutions such as Globalsoft Executive Dashboard, where you have an Excel-like icon on your desk top that interconnects i/400 data with other kinds of computer data in a SEQUEL-like report, that is READ ONLY relevant to the original source data. I am not familiar with the performance issues with these products. My first interest was security and ease of use.

Al Macintyre

I am not an excel data person (rpg programmer by trade), and have been
asked to see if I can come up with a solution for a problem we have.

I have an excel spreadsheet, that contains 5 columns, I need to use the
first 4 columns as keys to an file on the iSeries and fill the 5th column
with a field from that file. I would prefer that the fifth column be a
user defined function if possible. So in column E, we would code the
following

=get400data(a1,b1,c1,d1)

and it will retrieve the record from the system and populate column E with
the field.

I know this has to be possible, I have searched and can not make heads or
tails of what I find. Can anyone point me in the right direction?

Mike

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