DB2(R) SQL Procedure Language for Linux, UNIX and Windows (IBM DB2 Certification Guide Series) (Paperback)

by Paul Yip (Author), Drew Bradstock (Author), Hana Curtis (Author), Michael Gao (Author), Zamil Janmohamed (Author), Clara Liu (Author), Fraser McArthur (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
SQL Procedure Language (SQL PL) is used in DB2 to write database-stored procedures. Stored procedures are used to encapsulate business logic on the database and yield the following benefits: significantly improved application performance, increased application scalability, simplified application development, and reduced network traffic. This book will teach the reader how to set up the development environment and use all language elements of SQL PL through concrete examples and thorough discussions. Also included are expert tips and best practices for achieving optimal performance and code manageability. This book will be a valuable reference for SQL PL code syntax and troubleshooting. There are currently no books on the market that cover the DB2 SQL Procedure Language, although it is extensively used by IBM business partners and other software vendors.

From the Back Cover

IBM DB2 UDB Express Edition Version 8.2 delivers everything small to medium-sized businesses need to accelerate time-to-value and dramatically reduce TCO in their database applications. Now, IBM's own experts show exactly how to get started with DB2 Express, and use it to develop, deploy, and manage superior applications from start to finish.

Like DB2 Express itself, this book cuts out the complexity--helping you achieve the full business benefits of today's most advanced database platform simply and quickly. You'll find step-by-step guidance and expert tips for every facet of DB2 Express development and administration, including: application design; development with both Visual Basic .NET and Java; security; deployment; performance tuning; day-to-day administration; and more.

IBM's own DB2 specialists demonstrate how to use DB2 Express' graphical tools to manage DB2 more easily than any other full-function relational database. Along the way, they help you make the most of DB2 Express' powerful "autonomic" features for self-administration, self-tuning, and self-healing to drive down costs throughout the entire application lifecycle.

This book will help you:

• Understand DB2 Express architecture and its implications for development and administration
• Install DB2 Express, create databases, and master essential DB2 Express tools
• Work with database objects: schemas, data types, tables, relationships, views, and indexes
• Develop VB.NET applications with ADO.NET and the DB2 .NET Data Provider
• Develop Java applications with JDBC and SQLJ
• Leverage DB2's concurrency model to design efficient transactions and improve user experience
• Introduce database functions, stored procedures, and triggers to improve application design
• Generate and manipulate data efficiently: LOAD, IMPORT, exporting to Microsoft Excel, reporting, and more
• Tune performance: optimize your configuration, analyze SQL with Visual Explain, and optimize SQL with Design Advisor
• Secure your applications: authentication, authorization, group privileges, and more
• Deploy to production, and master silent DB2 installations
• Define a solid database maintenance plan that fully leverages DB2 Express autonomic features
• Troubleshoot DB2 Express and avoid common pitfalls

Whether you're a developer, administrator, IT manager, or end-user, this definitive single-source guide will help you achieve results fast... and maximize DB2 Express' business value, every step of the way.

0131463977B08252004 --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Prentice Hall PTR (December 24, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0131007726
• ISBN-13: 978-0131007727
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 7 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,217,997 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book for developers/DBAs new to DB2, October 22, 2004

By	Ted J. Wasserman (Long Beach, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: DB2(R) Express: Easy Development and Administration (IBM Press Series--Information Management) (Hardcover)

If you are a developer or DBA who is new to DB2, I would highly recommend this book to you. Both administration and development topics are covered, helpful best practices and tips are included, and illustrative examples are used.

The fundamental DB2 concepts and the different DB2 tools such as the Control Center are introduced in a very straightforward and easy-to-understand manner. This allows DB2-newbies to get fully up to speed on DB2 terminology and functionality, while serving as a gentle refresher for those who might have prior DB2 experience. The book achieves a good balance of topic selection and level of detail. More advance topics that are covered are explained in a manner that most novices would comprehend and in enough detail to be useful.

The prime focus of the book is on leveraging the ease-of-use and autonomic capabilities of DB2. If you are a developer not wanting to memorize database and/or SQL command syntax, you will particularly appreciate this book. The book shows how most common administrative tasks can be very easily performed using the GUI tools and Wizards provided with DB2. Ease of application development is demonstrated in both Java and Microsoft .net environments. An easy and intuitive introduction to DB2 SQLPL is also provided.

Overall, I think that if you are new to DB2, or need to learn the essential concepts/features needed to develop and/or administer DB2 quickly, you will be very pleased with this book. It is a perfect starting point for introducing the most important concepts, features, and tools. As you gain more experience and familiarity with the product, a more advanced book can be obtained.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Fastest Path to Mastering DB2 Stored Procedures, January 8, 2003

By	James Huddleston (Newport, DE United States) - See all my reviews

This comprehensive yet concise introduction to DB2's SQL procedural language is the first and best place to find guidance on this crucial topic. Stored procedures are fast becoming the mainstay of successful client/server and Web-based DB2 applications, and this book WILL teach you how to develop them, even if all you currently know is just a bit of SQL.

Written by DB2 experts from the IBM Toronto Labs, this is one of those rare texts that actually imparts expertise. It is eminently readable and crystal clear in its explanations of concepts and their application.

Any and every developer of DB2 stored procedures should read -- and enjoy -- this book

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars embed yourself in db2, December 26, 2004

By	W Boudville (Terra, Sol 3) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: DB2(R) SQL PL: Essential Guide for DB2(R) UDB on Linux(TM), UNIX(R), Windows(TM), i5/OS(TM), and z/OS(R) (2nd Edition) (Hardcover)

The book describes IBM's Procedural Language, which runs on their db2 servers. It is not a general purpose language, like C or Java. Rather, it is tied directly to db2 and IBM's implementation of SQL. But within this context, the book explains the expressive power of PL. It shows at length how you can write stored procedures, triggers and functions in PL. The level of detail and the cited examples should reassure you of PL's capability.

But why even write business logic code at the database layer? There have been other books on n-tier application design, which call for the locating of business logic in a middle tier and not at the database. The authors' rejoinder is that while that makes for an elegant design, practical experience shows that often, crucial logic needs to be at the database. This reduces networks traffic and can heavily improve perforance. Hence the need for PL, or something like it.

Be wary of the book's claim that PL lets you write "portable application logic". It is portable only between instances of db2 running under linux, unix, Microsoft Windows or IBM's operating systems. When you write embedded logic in PL, you are also embedding yourself or your company into db2. Which may indeed be fine by you. But just so you know.