Introduction to DB2 UDB

• By Raul F. Chong, Clara Liu, Sylvia F. Qi, Dwaine R. Snow
• Apr 22, 2005
• Sample Chapter is provided courtesy of Prentice Hall Professional

This chapter is from the book
Understanding DB2®: Learning Visually with Examples

DATABASE 2 (DB2) Universal Database (UDB) for Linux, UNIX, and Windows is a relational database management system (RDBMS) developed by IBM. Version 8.2, available since September 2004, is the most current version of the product, and the one discussed in this book.

In this chapter you will learn about:

• The history of DB2
• The DB2 portfolio of information management products
• How DB2 is developed
• DB2 server editions and clients
• How DB2 is packaged for developers
• Syntax diagram conventions

1.1 A Brief History of DB2

Since the 1970s, when IBM Research invented the Relational Model and the Structured Query Language (SQL), IBM has developed a complete family of RDBMS software. Development started on mainframe platforms such as Virtual Machine (VM), Virtual Storage Extended (VSE), and Multiple Virtual Storage (MVS). In 1983, DB2 for MVS Version 1 was born. "DB2" was used to indicate a shift from hierarchical databases&8212;like the Information Management System (IMS) popular at the time&8212;to the new relational databases. DB2 development continued on mainframe platforms as well as on distributed platforms. ^[1] Figure 1.1 shows some of the highlights of DB2 history.

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Figure 1.1 DB2 timeline

In 1996, IBM announced DB2 UDB Version 5 for distributed platforms. With this version, DB2 was able to store all kinds of electronic data, including traditional relational data, as well as audio, video, and text documents. It was the first version optimized for the Web, and it supported a range of distributed platforms&8212;for example, OS/2, Windows, AIX, HP-UX, and Solaris&8212;from multiple vendors. Moreover, this universal database was able to run on a variety of hardware, from uniprocessor systems and symmetric multiprocessor (SMP) systems to massively parallel processing (MPP) systems and clusters of SMP systems. IBM included the term "Universal" in the name to represent the new capabilities of this version. All versions of DB2 on distributed platforms and on MVS, AS/400, VM, and VSE have adopted the name DB2 UDB.

Today, DB2 represents a portfolio of information management products. Table 1.1 shows the DB2 Information Management portfolio and the product offerings under each classification. To specifically refer to database servers, "UDB" needs to be added to the name, as in DB2 UDB . In most books and documents, including this one, the terms "DB2" and "DB2 UDB" are used interchangeably. Unless otherwise noted, when we use any one of these terms in this book, we are referring to DB2 running on Linux, UNIX, or Windows.

Table 1.1. DB2 Information Management Products