Objectives

DB2 for z/OS Version 8 is the first DB2 version to make use of the 64-bit virtual storage addressing of z/OS. This simplifies management (no hiperpools, no data spaces) and improves scalability and availability. This version breaks through a lot of limitations, present in earlier releases of DB2. A second important change is a much better support for varying length text data, including UNICODE. More specifically, the catalog got converted to UNICODE.

Although these improvements are felt in the first place on the system-level by system-programmers, also other new or modified features become available in the new version. Some of them are of special interest for application developers and database administrators.

This course will give an overview of these new features that are mainly important for application development. Not only SQL enhancements are discussed, but also new facilities on the level of database objects. On one hand, the data definition is treated for these modified objects. On the other hand, the link with application development is discussed. In this context, improved functionality, performance and availability are treated.

New capabilities in utility use, are also covered by this course. They give more possibilities to the database administrator in maintaining database objects. They give also more opportunities to support application-related activities.

Main topics

• New SQL features:
• dynamic scrollable cursors • CTEs • recursive SQL • sequences • scalar fullselect everywhere • Unicode
• Enhanced availability
• on-line schema changes
• Dealing with partitioned tablespaces:
• new limitations • table-controlled partitioning • data partitioned secondary indexes
• Utility enhancements:
• support for schema evolution
• partitioned tablespaces: adding • rotating • rebalancing • recovering partitions
• Performance:
• more stage-1 • backward index scan • materialized query tables • variable length keys • distribution statistics