RPG Programming in ILE

ILE RPG is an implementation of the RPG IV programming language in the Integrated Language Environment. It is one of the family of ILE compilers available on IBM i.

ILE is an approach to programming on IBM i. It is the result of major enhancements to the IBM i machine architecture and the IBM i operating system. The ILE family of compilers includes: ILE RPG, ILE C, ILE COBOL, ILE CL, and VisualAge for C++. Table 1 lists the programming languages supported by the IBM i operating system. In addition to the support for the ILE languages, support for the original program model (OPM) and extended program model (EPM) languages has been retained.

Table 1. Programming Languages Supported on the IBM i
Integrated Language Environment (ILE) Original Program Model (OPM) Extended Program Model (EPM)
C++ BASIC (PRPQ) FORTRAN
C CL PASCAL (PRPQ)
CL COBOL  
COBOL PL/I (PRPQ)  
RPG RPG  
Compared to OPM, ILE provides RPG users with improvements or enhancements in the following areas of application development:
  • Program creation
  • Program management
  • Program call
  • Source debugging
  • Bindable application program interfaces (APIs)

Each of the above areas is explained briefly in the following paragraphs and discussed further in the following chapters.