Highlights
The book's subtitle claims "Over 70 practical recipes for advanced application development techniques with DB2". There may be more than this, certainly more if you consider all of the examples offered.If I were the author, I would not have included DB2 "9.7" in the title. Many of the topics discussed are relevant to V9.1, V9.5, and even V10.1. It is unfortunate that V10.1 became GA just as this book was being published, for I think many of the ideas and concepts are relevant and useful in V10.1 as well.
I've been a hard core DB2 LUW DBA type guy since the early 90's. Application development and programming bores me ( thank goodness there are people in the world willing to practice this craft! ). But, let me "shoot you straight" - there are application design elements of this book that actually make the art of developing applications look appealing and interesting to me. Heck, I might even grab a keyboard and write a stored procedure someday just for the joy of it.
Bonus!
As a bonus, the book comes with electronic materials that provide many samples and examples of code. I can see this being a great advantage to anyone in a hurry to get quality applications written quickly.
A Closer Look
There are over 400 pages in this book. A blog review can't do it full justice. But, I'll share some bullet points that I found interesting or helpful:- You will find discussion, tips, and advice for DB2 9.7 Oracle Application Enablement. For Oracle DBAs, welcome home to DB2 LUW.
- Security is a necessary evil, and security options and methods in DB2 LUW continue to improve. You will find information about using DB2 security wisely.
- I like the discussion about Global Temporary Tables, and the use of indexes.
- Using Generated Columns is a very important topic.
- I like Chapter 4 on Procedures, Functions, and Triggers.
- For old timers like me, Java is still a coffee beverage. But, if Java is your language, you'll find good ideas about Java application development.
- Chapters 7, 8, and 9 seem more in the DBA world to me, but application development folks may likely benefit from the information shared on OLAP functions, Explains, db2exfmt, packages, registry variables, monitoring, insert performance, and SQL performance tips.
Summary
Application Developers and Database Administrators should be able to find several helpful topics and advice within this book, and don't be misled by "9.7" in the title. Much of the book content is applicable to DB2 LUW V9.5 through V10.1.
Of course, there is something missing from the book - a shameless marketing plug for DBI.
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2 FREE COPIES
By the way, during Episode #85 of The DB2Night Show™, we will be giving away two FREE copies of the book so be sure to join our studio audience!
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