DB2 books?

[Frank Swarbrick]

I was wondering if anyone has any thoughts on a DB2 book that might be
useful for me.

We are currently a mainframe shop running VSE/ESA 2.7. We are in the
process of installing z/VM, which we'll run VSE guests under. We're
also going to give Linux for zSeries a shot for at least a few things.

We are a COBOL shop using CICS/TS/VSE 1.1.1, DL/I VSE 1.11 and VSAM. We
have both CSI's TCP/IP for VSE and Barnard Software's TCP/IP-Tools stack.

We do *not* have z/OS. There is, of course, always talk about going
there, but it doesn't look like it's in the near future.

We are considering an RDBMS. I believe there are a few alternatives
such as CA-Datacom and Adabas, but I'm guessing that DB2 is really the
only way to go in our environment. Our Java web developers and our
Windows application developers (using Delphi) use Oracle. Oracle has
neither a server nor even a client product available for VSE.

DB2 Server for VSE is available, but from everything I've heard it has
not kept up with DB2 for z/OS or DB2/UDB for Linux, Unix and Windows.

So our thought is this, perhaps. Supposedly(?) we might be able to
install DB2 Server for VSE but just use (and pay for!) the DRDA
Application Requestor client functionality. We would then put DB2/UDB
on a Linux for zSeries guest.

So, given all of this, can anyone recommend any useful books (other than
the obvious IBM manuals) that I might find of use? Our mainframe
application developers (of which I am one) don't have any DB2 experience
(or any RDBMS, as far as I can tell), so we'd definitly want something
to help us learn DB2 application development. I'd also be curious to
learn something about database adminstration of DB2/UDB for Linux. In
the end I'd guess we'd either utilize our current Oracle DBA or perhaps
even hire a DB2 DBA (?). Who knows. We're not even really in the
thinking stage at this point.

Any other thoughts would also be of interest.

Thanks!

Frank Swarbrick
Senior Developer/Analyst - Mainframe Applications
FirstBank Data Corporation - Lakewood, CO USA

[Phil Sherman]

A good starting point is the self-study books for UDB certification.
I've purchased them used, in excellent condition, from Amazon. Your
specific interests (application coding, administration) will lead you to
other books.

Subscribe to the IBM Training News Dispatch
https://www.ibm.com/services/learnin...entID=a0000092
Watch for free online education offerings.

I'd also scrounge a retired (zero cost) PC from your IT department.
Purchase IBM's UDB universal developer kit and a version of Linux (with
support) that is certified as an operating system for UDB. You now have
a sandbox to play in. (The developer's kit license does not allow use of
the software for a production environment.) If you can't get any
funding, then UDB Personal Edition is downloadable and can give you a
great deal of experience with the product. UDB PE may also be included
with the certification books.

The other licensed flavors of UDB are also downloadable and usable for a
short period (90 days?) under the default try-and-buy license.

Good luck
Phil Sherman

Frank Swarbrick wrote:

I was wondering if anyone has any thoughts on a DB2 book that might be
useful for me.

We are currently a mainframe shop running VSE/ESA 2.7. We are in the
process of installing z/VM, which we'll run VSE guests under. We're
also going to give Linux for zSeries a shot for at least a few things.

We are a COBOL shop using CICS/TS/VSE 1.1.1, DL/I VSE 1.11 and VSAM. We
have both CSI's TCP/IP for VSE and Barnard Software's TCP/IP-Tools stack.

We do *not* have z/OS. There is, of course, always talk about going
there, but it doesn't look like it's in the near future.

We are considering an RDBMS. I believe there are a few alternatives
such as CA-Datacom and Adabas, but I'm guessing that DB2 is really the
only way to go in our environment. Our Java web developers and our
Windows application developers (using Delphi) use Oracle. Oracle has
neither a server nor even a client product available for VSE.

DB2 Server for VSE is available, but from everything I've heard it has
not kept up with DB2 for z/OS or DB2/UDB for Linux, Unix and Windows.

So our thought is this, perhaps. Supposedly(?) we might be able to
install DB2 Server for VSE but just use (and pay for!) the DRDA
Application Requestor client functionality. We would then put DB2/UDB
on a Linux for zSeries guest.

So, given all of this, can anyone recommend any useful books (other than
the obvious IBM manuals) that I might find of use? Our mainframe
application developers (of which I am one) don't have any DB2 experience
(or any RDBMS, as far as I can tell), so we'd definitly want something
to help us learn DB2 application development. I'd also be curious to
learn something about database adminstration of DB2/UDB for Linux. In
the end I'd guess we'd either utilize our current Oracle DBA or perhaps
even hire a DB2 DBA (?). Who knows. We're not even really in the
thinking stage at this point.

Any other thoughts would also be of interest.

Thanks!

Frank Swarbrick
Senior Developer/Analyst - Mainframe Applications
FirstBank Data Corporation - Lakewood, CO USA

[Frank Swarbrick]

Phil Sherman wrote:

A good starting point is the self-study books for UDB certification.
I've purchased them used, in excellent condition, from Amazon. Your
specific interests (application coding, administration) will lead you to
other books.

Subscribe to the IBM Training News Dispatch
https://www.ibm.com/services/learnin...entID=a0000092

Watch for free online education offerings.

I'd also scrounge a retired (zero cost) PC from your IT department.
Purchase IBM's UDB universal developer kit and a version of Linux (with
support) that is certified as an operating system for UDB. You now have
a sandbox to play in. (The developer's kit license does not allow use of
the software for a production environment.) If you can't get any
funding, then UDB Personal Edition is downloadable and can give you a
great deal of experience with the product. UDB PE may also be included
with the certification books.

The other licensed flavors of UDB are also downloadable and usable for a
short period (90 days?) under the default try-and-buy license.

Thanks, Phil. I have now ordered _DB2 UDB V8.1 Certification Exam 700
Study Guide_ and _DB2 UDB V8.1 Certification Exams 701 and 706 Study
Guide_ from amazon.com for a total of $64.95 including shipping. I've
also had UDB PE on my Windows machine for a few weeks. Seems quite
nice. Thanks for the help.

Frank