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IBM System i Innovation Challenge

For Europe and South Africa

   
Veni, Vidi, Vici:  iCame, iSaw, iConquered

Overview Details Educators Students Official rules
Registration  |  Part 1: Discover  |  Part 2: Create and Explore  | 
Part 3: Innovation Challenge  | Challenge FAQs  |


This contest officially ends 31 December, 2007 11:59:59 PM GMT.


Part 2: Create and Explore

Now that you have completed Part 1, it's time to explore the System i environment. There are two tasks in Part 2.


Task 1 – Complete several tasks in the System i environment

You'll need your User ID and case sensitive password that you received from the Innovation Challenge team when you completed Part 1. If you did not receive your ID, or if you need it resent, please contact us. Each team member receives a unique user ID so that you can each gain the learning experience with System i. We only need one entry from one of the team members to successfully complete this task for your team, per the instructions to follow – but take advantage of this opportunity for each student to explore the environment. The first step is to access the system.

The object of this section of the Challenge is for you to sign on to our System i and perform a few tasks. By following the instructions below, we will lead you through exactly what you need to do to complete this section successfully. You'll see how easy it is to access the system and get some work done.

In this section of the Challenge, you will use Access for the Web to create a table, populate the table, and generate HTML and XML files from the table. You will also have the opportunity to explore more of the system through this web interface.

The first step is to access the system. The URL is http://rhea.sealinc.org:2052/webaccess/WAHome. You will be prompted for your unique User ID and case sensitive password that you were provided earlier.

Your task is to create a table of information about vacation travelers. The table name should be TRAVELER and it should contain the following fields:

  • LastName – Char(30)
  • FirstName – Char(30)
  • Middle Initial – Char(1)
  • Address1 – Char(50)
  • Address2 – Char(50)
  • City – Char(50)
  • State/Province – Char(15)
  • Country – Char(50)
  • Postalcode – Char(10)
  • email – Char(100)
  • Phone – Char(13)

This table can be created with SQL. You will have to qualify the table name with your group ID, which is the name of your group's library. (Hint: Run SQL is an option under Database.)

The next step is to populate the table. While that can be done with SQL INSERT statements, it might be easier to create a file containing the data and "Copy data to table". For this exercise, the table should contain at least 4 entries.

After the table is populated, we want to generate a file that contains a report of the data in PDF format and a file that contains the data in XML. (Two hints: SQL is a good way to generate a report, and the Integrated File System (IFS) is a good place to put this type of data.) (Additional hint: Your team has a directory in IFS.)

The last step is to send those report files to the Innovation Challenge team. (One more hint: "Browse files" option.)

There are many other options available through Access for the Web, you might want to spend some time exploring those options. There is even a "green screen" terminal interface for the truly adventurous.


Task 2 – Design a Poster advertisement

The second task in Part 2 involves each team designing a poster advertisement for System i.

  • Must be in English
  • Must be titled with your team name. This will be used by the judges as a reference
  • Must contain at least one (non-title) reference to any one of the following: IBM System i platform, PHP, Zend, or IBM
  • Poster must be submitted in PDF format

Here is a web site link that can offer you advice when creating your poster. Poster help.

TIPS FOR CREATING YOUR POSTER

Think about the size and space you have available on a single sheet poster. The poster can be whatever size you wish. Studies show that you will have 11 seconds to grab and retain your audience's attention, so make the punch line prominent and brief. To explain the content of the poster, you can if you wish, attach this on a separate sheet or document and attach it to the file containing your poster.

Design the main message. Make it short and clear and make this your title! Only show information that is central to your message. Space on a poster is important too. Give your reader the time to pause and think about the message before moving onto the next visual image on your poster.

Consider the font size you will use for each message. For instance, larger fonts and capital letters will draw your readers attention first and will therefore emphasize that particular message.

Think about how your poster can be used for different media. The overall affect should be effective whether in print or on a web site.

When you are ready to submit your completed poster, send it to the Innovation Challenge team. Please submit your poster in PDF format only.




www.cutewriter.com. This free download will allow you to create the PDF format.


Judging

Poster submissions will be judged by COMMON Europe using the following criteria:

  • Meets all poster advertisement criteria: 1 – 10 points
  • Creativity: 1 – 10 points
  • Uniqueness: 1 – 10 points

Good luck!