Frequently asked questions

IBM i ILE RPG Mastery is a structured video course that takes developers from IBM i platform fundamentals through modern free-format ILE RPG development. It's built for working developers who want production-grade, practical training rather than generic tutorials.

The course is created and taught by Lawrence (Larry) D'Souza, an IBM i developer with over thirty years of production experience across manufacturing, retail, telecom, insurance, and non-profit organizations in Canada, the United States, and internationally.

Most existing RPG content is either outdated or written for absolute beginners. This course is built around how real enterprise IBM i systems are actually structured and maintained, drawing directly on decades of production experience rather than textbook examples.

The course is designed for developers who want to build genuine platform fluency and modern ILE RPG skills — whether you're new to IBM i, working with legacy RPG and modernizing your skills, or bridging into the platform from another background.

No. IBM i Platform Foundations, available now, assumes no prior IBM i experience and starts with platform fundamentals. Later phases build progressively from beginner through advanced ILE RPG, so you can join at the level that matches where you are.

You can start with whichever IBM i Platform Foundations lessons cover gaps in your platform knowledge, then move directly into the upcoming ILE RPG phases once they're released, without needing to repeat material you already know.

The website launches with all 12 lessons of IBM i Platform Foundations. This phase covers the platform itself — architecture, objects, libraries, the job model, source and development tools, DB2 for i, application structure, file types, and security — before any RPG coding begins.

The course is organized into five phases: IBM i Platform Foundations, Beginner ILE RPG, Intermediate ILE RPG, Advanced ILE RPG, and Real-World Capstone Projects, each building directly on the phase before it.

You'll learn how IBM i actually works — its object and library model, job and subsystem behavior, source and development environments including PDM, SEU, and RDi, core CL commands, DB2 for i fundamentals, and platform security basics.

Yes. IBM i Platform Foundations is the starting point, with additional phases covering beginner through advanced ILE RPG development, and eventually real-world capstone projects, being released at regular intervals after launch.

Each lesson includes a full video lesson, a short self-assessment quiz, and a hands-on practical exercise you can complete on a live IBM i system, so you can apply what you've learned right away.

Each individual lesson is priced at USD 10.

Yes. The complete 12-lesson IBM i Platform Foundations series is available as a bundle for USD 120, the same as purchasing all 12 lessons individually, with the added convenience of one single purchase.

At launch, two coupons are available: one worth $10, which gets you the first lesson free, and one worth $30, which lets you purchase the full IBM i Platform Foundations series for $90 instead of the regular $120 price.

Purchased lessons remain accessible to you going forward — there's no subscription or recurring charge involved in accessing content you've already purchased.

Not yet. At launch, pricing is limited to individual lessons and the full IBM i Platform Foundations series. Subscriptions, multi-phase bundles, corporate licensing, and an e-book companion are all being considered for future releases.

No. Lessons and exercises are designed around PUB400, a publicly available IBM i system that anyone can access for free, so you can follow along and practice without needing your own environment.

You'll want access to a 5250 emulator such as IBM Access Client Solutions (ACS), which is free, to connect to PUB400. Some lessons also cover IBM Rational Developer for i (RDi) as a modern development environment.

Yes. Every demonstration and exercise is built to work on PUB400 using display and inquiry-level activity, so you can replicate what's shown in the lesson on your own without needing special permissions.

Details on how to reach out with lesson-specific questions will be provided on the website. In the meantime, following the course on YouTube and LinkedIn is a good way to stay engaged and ask questions.

Not at this time. The current launch is focused on the video course. An e-book companion is being considered for a future release.

New lessons and phases are announced through the course website and the IBM i ILE RPG Mastery YouTube channel. Subscribing to the channel or checking back on the site regularly is the best way to stay current.