COMMON POWERUp 2026: Full Schedule

Unlock the Power of IBM i at POWERUp 2026!

Join us in New Orleans, Louisiana for POWERUp 2026, the premier conference for IBM i professionals. Whether you’re an experienced expert or just starting your IBM i journey, this event offers unparalleled education, hands-on workshops, and valuable networking opportunities. Stay ahead of the curve with insights from industry leaders, explore the latest innovations, and connect with a thriving community that shares your passion for IBM i. Don’t miss this opportunity to expand your knowledge, grow your skills, and power up your career!

4:30pm CDT

Recursion, Recursion, Recursion

Monday April 27, 2026 4:30pm - 4:50pm CDT

Galerie 6

Evaluation Survey

Why write endless loops when your code can elegantly call itself? This session will demystify recursion and show practical examples in RPG and SQL - perfect for cracking hierarchical data problems. With this superpower in your toolkit, you'll be ready to replace clunky iteration with clean, powerful recursion.

Learning Objectives:

1. Understand what recursion is 2. Use recursion in RPG 3. Use recursion in SQL

Speakers

Patrick Behr

Senior Consultant & Instructor, Seiden Group & imPower Technologies

Monday April 27, 2026 4:30pm - 4:50pm CDT
Galerie 6

General Programming, Database, Programming: RPG

9:15am CDT

Getting Started with SQL Functions and Procedures

Tuesday April 28, 2026 9:15am - 10:15am CDT

Studio 7-8

Evaluation Survey

SQL includes a full-fledged programming language, SQL PL. Come learn about the programming constructs, including error handling, that this language contains. You will leave with all the knowledge you need to start writing your own SQL functions and procedures.

Learning Objectives:

`- Understand the difference between SQL procedures, scalar functions, and table functions. - Become familiar with the SQL statements used for writing SQL routine logic.

Speakers

Ryan Moeller

Software Engineer, IBM

Ryan Moeller is a software engineer working on Db2 for i, specifically on the SQL Query Engine (SQE) team. He joined the team in the Rochester, MN development lab in 2020. Ryan specializes in SQL, database development, and query performance analysis.

Tuesday April 28, 2026 9:15am - 10:15am CDT
Studio 7-8

General Programming, Database

8:00am CDT

SQL Services for the Developer

Wednesday April 29, 2026 8:00am - 9:00am CDT

Balcony M-N

Evaluation Survey

IBM i offers a wide array of SQL services to allow programmers to interact with database and system resources. In today’s modern SQL world, SQL can replace coding to many APIs, all while being more flexible and easier to use. This session will cover a wide variety of powerful SQL services, including how to view and manage data areas and data queues, an example of interacting with IFS files, running CL commands from SQL, and much more.

Learning Objectives:

`- Learn how to manage data queues and data areas with SQL - Learn to read/write from IFS files with SQL - Learn strategies for debugging SQL procedures and functions - Learn how to develop more efficiently with the help of SQL services (SPLIT, SEND_EMAIL, SPOOLED_FILE_DATA, QCMDEXC, RELATED_OBJECTS)

Speakers

Ryan Moeller

Software Engineer, IBM

Wednesday April 29, 2026 8:00am - 9:00am CDT
Balcony M-N

General Programming, Database

1:00pm CDT

SQL for the RPG Programmer “How To”: Working with SQL Services

Thursday April 30, 2026 1:00pm - 2:00pm CDT

Balcony K

Evaluation Survey

SQL is THE recommended interface from applications into your data. This session focuses on how using SQL services extends what you can do in these application. This session Includes services added with IBM i 7.6.

Learning Objectives:

1. Learn what SQL services are and where to get more information 2. Focus on SQL services that are most useful for developers

Speakers

Vern Hamberg

Senior iSeries Developer, OneMain Financial

Vern has worked on IBM midrange systems for over 35 years, beginning with the System/38 and AS/400. At present he is a Senior iSeries Developer at OneMain Financial. He serves on the Strategic Education Team (SET) of COMMON and is one of the SMEs for Db2. He is also honored to have... Read More →

Thursday April 30, 2026 1:00pm - 2:00pm CDT
Balcony K

General Programming, Database

4:15pm CDT

Stored Procedures for Hybrid Development

Thursday April 30, 2026 4:15pm - 5:15pm CDT

Studio 9-10

Evaluation Survey

Accessing business logic from Open Source application and off platform has evolved a great deal over the years. In this session we’ll look at some of the reasons for centralizing this business logic in the database via Db2 Stored procedures. We’ll look at RPG and SQL procedures and work through examples of how these are used from exhibit languages like PHP and Python.

Learning Objectives:

1) Learn how to create and execute stored procedures in SQL and HLL (RPG). 2) See examples of how to use Db2 Stored Procedures in OSS languages. 3) Review tips and best practices when working with Db2 Stored Procedures.

Speakers

Mike Pavlak

Solution Architect, Programmers.io

Mike Pavlak has been working with IBM midrange solutions since 1992 and IBM Mainframes before that. After years of developing applications using RPG, CL and PHP he managed IT development and IT for power protection manufacturer Tripp Lite. Later Mike was instrumental in developing... Read More →

Thursday April 30, 2026 4:15pm - 5:15pm CDT
Studio 9-10

General Programming, Database

COMMON POWERUp 2026

4:30pm CDT

Patrick Behr

9:15am CDT

Ryan Moeller

8:00am CDT

Ryan Moeller

1:00pm CDT

Vern Hamberg

4:15pm CDT

Mike Pavlak

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