In a message dated 02-25-97, Andrew Grillet said to David Noon about Db2/2

Hi Andrew,

 DN> I don't need front ends; I currently use DB2/2.

AG>I'd like to hear an informed comparison.

Comparison with what? DB2/2 is all I have under OS/2.

Well, as IBM's literature says, it's "industrial strength".

I shall assume you are [at least vaguely] familiar with DB2 under MVS
(nowadays OS/390).

The DBMS is fairly easy to install, and brings some other stuff with it,
such as FFST/2 and UPM. FFST/2 is First Failure Support Technology and logs
hardware and system software errors. UPM is User Profile Management and is
more or less the same security stuff that's used by OS/2 LAN Server. You do
need to logon in order to use DB2/2.

Once you get DB2/2 installed you then have the job of setting up your
databases. This is done with SQL DDL, just like on a mainframe. I still use
V1R2 of DB2/2 and this does not use tablespaces; however, I have been
assured that this extra level of complication/compatibility has been added
in V2R1 and later.

All the SQLCODE values are the same as on the mainframe, where appropriate.
This makes debugging a lot simpler for those of us who use both platforms.

You load your databases the same way as you do on the mainframe: use a
RESTORE; use an IMPORT; or write a program.

After you have loaded your database there is QMF (replaced by Visualizer in
V2) to perform simple reporting tasks and browse the database. It is rather
easier to use than the TSO version of QMF. That doesn't mean it's perfect,
just better than TSO.

The response times are acceptable. The update mechanism is journalized, so
you can rollback in the case of an error. Concurrent access is safe, so
multiple processes and threads are fine.

I'm a satisfied user. [And consultant: it pays my mortgage.]

Regards

Dave

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 * MR/2 2.25 #353 * Alzheimer's advantage: New friends every day.

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