DB2 Magazine E-Newsletter

August 28, 2002

DB2 MAGAZINE EMAIL NEWSLETTER
VOLUME 3, ISSUE 8
http://www.db2mag.com

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IN THIS ISSUE:
1. Asked and Answered: Checking recovery status; Connecting to DB2 from a Java application
2. IBM News: IBM software, service, and chief top Enterprise Systems picks
3. Skills and Certification: Certifying for Less; IBM Partner Training Provider Program
4. Now Playing at the DB2 Developer Domain
5. At the Bookstore: Database Administration: Practices and Procedures


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1. ASKED AND ANSWERED

How do I inquire about crash recovery status? I'm in the middle of a crash recovery (DB2 UDB v. 6.1) that's completed the forward stage (according to the db2diag.log). But after that, there are no updates in the log stating any kind of completion or state change in crash recovery. (Read advice from IBM at http://www.db2mag.com/qanda/020828a.shtml .)

I've been told I must use DB2 Connect from a Java application to extract data from DB2 tables. One of the columns contains group data that is a DCLGEN and looks like this:
G_AGCY_LOB_STAT_TB
(AGENCY LINE OF BUSINESS STATUS TABLE)
05 G-AGCY-LOB-STATUS-TBL OCCURS 7 TIMES.
10 C-AGCY-LOB-STATUS PIC X.
10 D-AGCY-LOB-CLOSE PIC 9(7) COMP-3.
10 D-AGCY-LOB-FINAL-CLOSE PIC 9(7) COMP-3.
I need to access the data in the sixth occurrence of this table. Do I need to worry about the Comp-3 data and how it will be interpreted by an ASCII machine? (Robert Catterall shares his insight at http://www.db2mag.com/qanda/020828b.shtml .)

2. IBM NEWS

Enterprise Systems magazine readers named IBM their top pick for software for large systems. Of the 500 readers who completed a reader's choice survey, 47 percent named IBM as their favored software vendor, compared with 18 percent for second-place finisher Oracle. Readers also gave IBM the nod in storage, post-sales support, backup and recovery, and operating system security. The magazine's editors picked IBM CEO Sam Palmisano to top their list of influencers, forces, technologies, and products in large enterprise computing. (Palmisano earned additional props from the readers, who named him the most credible IT leader.) IBM actually garnered two spots on the editors' list, with VP of technology strategy Irving Wladawsky-Berger landing at number 20 for his forward-looking work on grid computing. You can read more about the survey at http://www.esj.com/features/article.asp?EditorialsID=109 .

3. SKILLS AND CERTIFICATION

Certifying for Less
In his current Certification Strategies column ( http://www.db2mag.com/ db_area/archives/2002/ q3/certification.shtml ), consultant Howard Fosdick compares the certification programs from the three major database software vendors. One of the differences he notes is the cost of materials and classes to prepare for certification. You can find out about free resources from IBM that help DBAs on the road to DB2 certification at http://www-3.ibm.com/software/ data/education/ certprep.html .

IBM Partner Training Provider Program
Partners who wish to offer education as part of a complete solution can now choose from several IBM offerings. The IBM Business Partner Training Provider Program helps IBM partners become teacher partners. Three different programs grant partners the ability to deliver classes to customers, distributors, and employees. For details, go to http://www-3.ibm.com/software/ data/db2/skills/ trainingproviders.html .

4. NOW PLAYING AT THE DB2 DEVELOPER DOMAIN

Coping with Disparate Web Data,
http://www7b.software.ibm.com/dmdd/ library/techarticle/0208saracco/ 0208saracco.html

Using Materialized Query Tables,
http://www7b.software.ibm.com/dmdd/ library/techarticle/0208kuznetsov/ 0208kuznetsov.html

Creating No-Data-Loss Standby Databases with DB2 UDB V7.2, EMC TimeFinder, and EMC SRDF,
http://www7b.software.ibm.com/dmdd/ library/techarticle/0208cialini/ 0208cialini.html

What's New in DB2 Universal Database for iSeries and V5R2,
http://www7b.software.ibm.com/dmdd/ library/techarticle/0208milligan/ 0208milligan.html

5. AT THE BOOKSTORE
Database Administration: Practices and Procedures, by Craig S. Mullins

Database Administration explains and examines each of the components that comprise the discipline of database administration. The book provides an overview of virtually every task a DBA is likely to encounter. Highlights include installation and upgrading issues, data modeling and normalization, database and application design, and performance management. Mullins, a data management strategist for BMC Software, writes for DB2 Magazine and other data management publications. You'll find more information about this book at the DB2 Magazine online bookstore ( http://www.db2mag.com/bookstore/ ).