Product Description

*The definitive DB2 UDB V8.1 Family Application Development (Exam 703) preparation guide--straight from IBM *Covers database objects, SQL, embedded SQL, CLI/ODBC, JDBC, SQLJ, transactions, stored procedures, and user-defined datatypes and functions *Reviews advanced programming concepts such as compound SQL, two-phase commit, and locking *Contains extensive sample questions based on the actual exam's format and approach *Includes authoritative coverage of the DB2 exam and certification process *By Roger Sanders, best-selling DB2 certification author and active participant in IBM's exam development process Recognition as an IBM DB2 Certified Application Developer demonstrates your exceptional expertise in developing for DB2 UDB 8.1, the world's #1 enterprise database platform. If you're an IBM Certified Database Associate, you can achieve certification by passing one exam: IBM DB2 UDB V8.1 Exam 703. Straight from IBM, this is the only official Exam 703 self-study guide. Roger E. Sanders, the world-renowned DB2 expert who helped develop Exam 703, covers every objective you must master in order to pass. Sanders walks step-by-step through basic data manipulation; core DB2 programming methods; SQL and embedded SQL; ODBC/CLI; Java and SQLJ; stored procedures; transactions, user-defined routines; and much more. Every chapter contains an extensive set of practice questions closely modeled on the actual exam, along with carefully explained answers. Coverage includes: *In-depth explanations of database objects, privileges, and constraints *SQL and DML statements for storing, manipulating, and retrieving data *Embedding SQL in high-level programming language source code *CLI/ODBC development, including conversion into executables *JDBC objects and methods for developing Java database applications *Using SQLJ to embed static SQL statements in Java applications *Transactions, stored procedures, user-defined functions, and other advanced techniques *Complete information on certification prerequisites and requirements Whether you're currently preparing for Exam 703, or you simply want to deepen your skills as a DB2 developer, you'll find this book indispensable.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1044646 in Books
• Published on: 2004-05-25
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 352 pages

From the Back Cover

• The definitive DB2 UDB V8.1 Family Application Development (Exam 703) preparation guide--straight from IBM
• Covers database objects, SQL, embedded SQL, CLI/ODBC, JDBC, SQLJ, transactions, stored procedures, and user-defined datatypes and functions
• Reviews advanced programming concepts such as compound SQL, two-phase commit, and locking
• Contains extensive sample questions based on the actual exam's format and approach
• Includes authoritative coverage of the DB2 exam and certification process
• By Roger Sanders, best-selling DB2 certification author and active participant in IBM's exam development process

Recognition as an IBM DB2 Certified Application Developer demonstrates your exceptional expertise in developing for DB2 UDB 8.1, the world's #1 enterprise database platform. If you're an IBM Certified Database Associate, you can achieve certification by passing one exam: IBM DB2 UDB V8.1 Exam 703.

Straight from IBM, this is the only official Exam 703 self-study guide. Roger E. Sanders, the world-renowned DB2 expert who helped develop Exam 703, covers every objective you must master in order to pass.

Sanders walks step-by-step through basic data manipulation; core DB2 programming methods; SQL and embedded SQL; ODBC/CLI; Java and SQLJ; stored procedures; transactions, user-defined routines; and much more. Every chapter contains an extensive set of practice questions closely modeled on the actual exam, along with carefully explained answers. Coverage includes:

• In-depth explanations of database objects, privileges, and constraints
• SQL and DML statements for storing, manipulating, and retrieving data
• Embedding SQL in high-level programming language source code
• CLI/ODBC development, including conversion into executables
• JDBC objects and methods for developing Java database applications
• Using SQLJ to embed static SQL statements in Java applications
• Transactions, stored procedures, user-defined functions, and other advanced techniques
• Complete information on certification prerequisites and requirements

Whether you're currently preparing for Exam 703, or you simply want to deepen your skills as a DB2 developer, you'll find this book indispensable.

About the Author

ROGER E. SANDERS, database performance engineer with Network Appliance Inc., is author of several books about DB2, including DB2 UDB V8.1 Certification Exam 700 Study Guide, DB2 Universal Database SQL Developer's Guide and DB2 Administration All-in-One Exam Guide. He has worked with DB2 for well over a decade, and holds eight IBM DB2 certifications, including IBM Certified Advanced Technical Expert (DB2 for Clusters) and IBM Certified Solutions Expert. A regular contributor to DB2 Magazine, he has authored database tutorials for IBM's DeveloperWorks website and presented at three International DB2 User Group conferences.

Customer Reviews

You must do the problems
In the world of large commercial databases, there are really only two choices: IBM's dB2 and Oracle. While MySQL and Postgres are increasingly try to break up this cosy duopoly, they are still small players. So as a professional DBA, or an aspiring one, dB2 is a good choice. Given this, IBM provides several levels of certification. Sanders here supplies the official study guide for the 701 and 706 exams.

Thumbing through this book, you see lots of SQL commands. But a lot of the SQL appears to be syntax specific to managing dB2. A dB2 programmer/user can largely deal with generic SQL. But for you, that's not enough. The value of this book is heavily in the specifics of dB2 and how to optimise its performance.

The questions and answers in each chapter are at least as important as the text. If you are at all serious, you MUST tackle these. Otherwise, you've just discarded half the value of the book. Of course, the actual questions in the exams will differ. But by being able to do the book's problems, it forces you to clarify your understanding.

My own SQL background is mostly with MySQL. So most of this book is new to me. I tried a couple of chapters and their problem sets. Not bad. The problems are not trivial. But the volume of material in each chapter is succinct enough to be doable in a few hours.

Another Excellent Certification Exam Study Guide
If you studying for the Family Application Development Exam (703) certification exam, you will find the book to be quite helpful. I wish I had this book when I was studying 703 certification exam.

Many of us concentrate on only one or two of the methods of communicating with DB2 in our programs. The book does a good job of explaining embedded SQL programming, CLI/ODBC programming and Java programming. It is difficult to remember all the information about all of these and the book gives a great review of the programming methods.

The book opens with a detailed roadmap on DB2 certification that explains the various tracks. It also has a good explanation of how to register for tests and how the tests work. Understanding how the tests work can save you valuable time on test day.

Like Roger's other certification books, this one is arranged around the test sections, which seems like a good way to study for the tests. Roger likes to white space, pictures and diagrams to improve the readability of his books and this book follows that pattern. Each chapter closes with a section of practice questions, which have very informative answers that follow.

Use for competitive analysis of dB2
This is one of the latest in a series of study guides that Sanders has put together for various dB2 certifications. As with his earlier books, a lot of its value is in the focus on what you need to know to pass an exam, in this case, the 703 exam. You will find an extensive question set at the end of each chapter, with answers later in the book. These question sets are indispensible for testing your knowledge understanding.

But there is a second potential use of this book. It lets you concisely see various technical abilities of dB2. Useful if you are considering using dB2 or one of its competitors, like Oracle or Postgres or MySQL. For example, MySQL's most persuasive argument is that it is free. But it has limitations. No stored procedures [yet]. By contrast, Sanders describes these in dB2 in various chapters, and how they can reduce bandwidth in a client-server application, to cite only one instance.

Another example of using this book to compare dB2 and MySQL might be the book's discussion of using foreign key constraints in dB2. Whereas currently in MySQL, foreign keys are not permitted. (Except in a very limited sense.)

So with a little imagination, you can use this book as part of a competitive analysis of dB2. Perhaps not what Sanders or IBM fully intended. But the flexibility is useful.