If you are an RPG developer coding on the IBM i for a while, you know the feeling: deadlines looming, a request lands on your desk, and suddenly you’re knee-deep in something outside your comfort zone. Maybe it’s integrating with a cloud service, building a REST API from scratch, or formatting JSON in a way that doesn’t make your head spin.
APIs are the connectors that let your IBM i communicate with the outside world, whether that’s a shipping service, a payment gateway, or your own company’s mobile app. But traditionally, wiring those connections together meant:
RPG API Express gives you a complete set of API development tools designed to make those moments less stressful. You can design, build, and consume APIs without losing days or sanity wrestling with syntax and unfamiliar protocols. This keeps you productive without forcing you to learn a completely new development environment.
Let’s take a look at different scenarios RPG developers might find themselves facing, and how RPG API Express helped complete successful projects
The Challenge
Your operations team comes to you on Tuesday afternoon with an urgent request: integrate real-time shipping rates into the order-entry system before the end of the week. They need it for a new high-volume customer who’s signing a contract on Monday.
The Hurdle
You’ve never worked with this carrier’s API before, and the documentation is thick enough to double as a paperweight. You’re short on time, and your other projects can’t wait.
How RPG API Express Helped
Using built-in functions to quickly call the carrier’s REST API, you were able to parse the JSON response and display rates directly in the order-entry screen. The prebuilt tools handled the heavy lifting with no need to write complex HTTP code or manual parsers. By Thursday, the system is live, the customer’s impressed, and you get to be the hero of the week.
The Challenge
Your company adopts a new cloud-based Customer Relationship Management system (CRM), and management wants your IBM i sales data to sync automatically every night.
The Hurdle
Exporting data to CSV and manually uploading isn’t an option for this project. They want it automated, secure, and fully integrated. You know the CRM offers a REST API that accepts XML data, but you’ve never built outbound integrations before.
How RPG API Express Helped
You used RPG API Express commands to generate XML handling code, added it to a program that gathered the needed data, and sent it to the CRM API endpoint using RPG API Express’s straightforward subprocedures. Within a few days, you have a rock-solid integration running on schedule, saving your sales team hours of manual work and ensuring the CRM is always up to date.
The Challenge
You’re working with a new vendor with an API that will only accept JSON. Your previous integrations have always been XML-based.
The Hurdle
You don’t want to build JSON in RPG from scratch because it takes too much time, and you are under a tight deadline.
How RPG API Express Helped
You leveraged RPG API Express’s commands to generate the code to build and process the JSON dynamically. In a fraction of the time it would have taken manually, you’ve built a clean, valid JSON document that passes every validation test. The integration works on the first try with no endless cycles of finding missing commas or mismatched brackets, thanks to the RPG API Express development tools.
RPG API Express isn’t just software. Along with its powerful API development tools, it comes with online documentation, API tutorials, example programs, and expert support from people who understand RPG and both legacy and modern API integration standards.
You also have access to Kato Integrations’ professional services, giving you a trusted partner for planning, building, and deploying API integrations when your in-house resources are stretched thin or you simply need specialized expertise. Whether an RPG developer needs help designing a custom API strategy, troubleshooting a complex integration, or accelerating a high-priority project, Kato’s team ensures you hit your goals without sacrificing quality.
That means whether you’re:
…you’re never starting from zero. You have a toolkit and a team that bridges the gap between legacy systems and today’s API-driven world. Bottom line: For any RPG developer looking to stay relevant, meet deadlines, and deliver integrations with confidence, RPG API Express is the ultimate toolkit for API success; just review our customer stories!