DB2 Developers Guide 6th Edition

Are you new to DB2 for z/OS and looking for that ONE document that holds all the information you'd ever need to know about DB2 for z/OS? Are you an experienced DB2 for z/OS professional who wants to take advantage of new DB2 10 features? Well, there's one book for both of you: "DB2 Developers Guide: A Solutions-Oriented Approach to Learning the Foundation and Capabilities of DB2 for z/OS," by Craig Mullins. The sixth edition was recently released and published by IBM Press.

I reviewed this book prior to publication, and you'll find my recommendation in the front pages: "Once you’ve picked up and read DB2 Developers Guide, you will know why people on the DB2 List Serve forum refer to this book as the BIBLE. You will find that the DB2 Developer’s Guide is a comprehensive guide for both the beginner and experienced in DB2 and relational database technology…I cannot say enough about the DB2 Developer’s Guide."

I'll briefly expound on my accolades. What makes this book unique is the case studies illustrating various DB2 10 features and capabilities. A good example is the chapter on Temporal Data in DB2. There's 20 pages that go through in-depth examples of how to use temporal data.

This example shows how temporal extensions to SQL are used to simplify the SQL. The code is written to display the price of the ethics course as of 2011-12-25.

SELECT PRICE

FROM COURSE

FOR BUSINESS_TIME AS OF '2011-12-25'

WHERE TITLE = 'ETHICS';

Now here's how to code this without the temporal functions:

SELECT PRICE

FROM COURSE

WHERE BUS_START < '2011-12-25'

  AND BUS_END > '2011-12-25'

  AND TITLE = 'ETHICS';

 

If you don’t understand this SQL, don’t worry. Craig will walk you through the process of creating the DB2 table and indexes, providing numerous sample SQL code snippets that utilize temporal data.

Another nice thing is that the latest DB2 features are highlighted with an icon (V9 or V10). See the Amazon page for the table of contents and other information.

Have you already purchased this book? Let me know what you think.