This week: Spotlight on DB2

[SearchDatabase.com]

Title: SearchDatabase.com

Published by SearchDatabase.com  August 16, 2004 >> Receive this e-mail as text  >> About this e-mail   In this Issue >> From the editor: The DBMS is safe from middleware >> Featured Topic: Spotlight on DB2 >> Technical Advice: Featured expert advice >> Site Highlights: * Independent BI solution comparisons * Training and career resources at your fingertips * Interact directly with database pros  From the Editor: by Tim DiChiara, Editor Last week, I asked the question: Does good middleware give your DBMS a bad name? Database Trends and Applications columnist Joe McKendrick had recently opined that sophisticated middleware is increasingly stealing power from traditional database management systems. He wrote "Could the database itself evolve to a point where it merely serves as the low-level repository for primary data-handling tasks handled at the middleware level? ... In two or three years, when you build an application, it will talk to services within the SOA, not the database." Many of you wrote in with your thoughts. Here is a sampling: James V. wrote: "There seems to be a desire to describe the database as being almost irrelevant because the middle tier will figure out how to talk to whichever database package is used (i.e.; it's better to be ?database agnostic?). While I can understand this desire for certain types of applications, it strikes me that we potentially preclude our ability to use some pretty powerful features of whatever DBMS we are using if we adhere too tightly to idea of DBMS as a dumb repository. I would agree that in an SOA system, the consumer of the service doesn?t care what the database processing model looks like behind the scenes as long is it meets the service level agreement of the contract. But the developer of the service should care very deeply. For those types of processes that must act on large volumes of data particularly. From an architect?s standpoint then, we continually need to address the question 'Do we bring the data to the processing, or bring the processing to the data?'" Lee D. wrote: "I would argue that if databases are becoming more deeply embedded, it only makes them more important, not less. Someone is going to have to understand how to hook up these middleware products -? someone who understands databases and all the issues of moving and maintaining data. My guess is that DBAs will be the ones to step forward and master the application of these products. This is the stuff of opportunity, not worry. With each added layer of abstraction, there is more opportunity for those whose minds are trained to handle it." Michael S. agreed and offered this sound summary: "I don't think the proliferation of middleware should concern DBAs. A good DBA must understand all the technology between the data and the end user. Middleware does not install, configure, and tune itself. For the DBA willing to step outside the database box, it provides the opportunity to learn something new and make themselves even more valuable to the organization." So, DBAs, your fellow geeks believe that your job is safe from the middleware threat...for now. As Lee D. wrote: "Keep smiling. The sky has been falling for twenty years, at least." Thanks everybody for your feedback! Cheers, Tim  Featured Topic: Spotlight on DB2 by Tim DiChiara, Senior Site Editor IBM's multi-platform relational database management system in on the move. Newbies and gurus alike will benefit from our collection of free DB2 tips, tutorials, news analyses, webcasts, and expert advice inside... Read more about this topic  Expert Technical Advice: Featured Expert Mich Talebzadeh, Principal Consultant, Peridale Ltd Category: Sybase Mich Talebzadeh is a database expert with DBA and architecture experience using Sybase and Oracle. He specializes in creating database architectures for large global trading systems involving heterogeneous databases. Mich is based in London and serves as Chairman of the Sybase Future Forum. He is a frequent speaker at Sybase Techforum and other international database conferences. Dr. Talebzadeh holds a Ph.D in Particle Physics from Imperial College, University of London and C.E.R.N., Geneva, Switzerland. He can answer any of your Sybase questions. Ask Mich a question Featured expert advice >> Ask the Expert: Dropping a column in a DB2 7.2 database Our DB2 expert Craig Mullins answers the question: "I would like to drop a column from a DB2 7.2 database. Is it possible to do this by backing up the table, setting integrity off, dropping table, restoring the table without the field to be dropped, and then setting integrity immediate checked?" Tip of the Week: SQL Server: Performing incremental inserts/updates to reduce lock conditions Inserts and updates are two of the most common operations in SQL Server that cause locking. Here is a quick overview of these types of locks and how to prevent them. >> Performing incremental inserts/updates to reduce lock conditions  Site Highlights Independent BI solution comparisons Download "Summary Results from The OLAP Survey 3" and access comprehensive research of 1,047 organizations worldwide currently implementing BI solutions. Download the survey results now Training and career resources at your fingertips Could your career use a boost? Check out SearchDatabase.com's "Training and Careers" Best Web Links. You'll find a comprehensive collection of training and certification tips, events, DBA profiles and more from around the Web. Browse career resources Interact directly with database pros Register today Check out ITKnowledge Exchange -- an online community on SearchDatabase.com where you can exchange knowledge and get answers from other database professionals like yourself. More advanced than list servs or forums, you can invite only those people you want to answer your questions. Resources for database pros Select newsletters you would like to receive from the list below. DB2 Tips E-Business Suite Update Small Business IT Tech Tip E-mail    Not a member? We'll activate your membership with your subscription. Learning Guide Are you a database professional looking to get up to speed on SQL Server? Check out SearchDatabase.com's exclusive SQL Server Basics Learning Guide and learn common terms, expert tips and more. Download now Free SAP conference Seats are filling quickly for The SearchSAP.com Conference, so register today. One of the first 400 attendees who attend this free conference will win an all-expenses paid trip to Las Vegas. Details here Expert Answer Center Check out the new Expert Answer Center where you can find advice and solutions from over 100 technology, management and career experts from TechTarget's family of IT-oriented Web sites. Browse solution   A B O U T   T H I S   N E W S L E T T E R Contact us: SearchDatabase Member Services 117 Kendrick Street, Suite 800 Needham, MA 02494 This e-newsletter is published by SearchDatabase.com, a targeted Web site from TechTarget, the most targeted IT media and events company. TechTarget offers magazines, Web sites, e-newsletters, Webcasts and conferences for enterprise IT professionals. Copyright 2004 TechTarget. All rights reserved. To unsubscribe from "Updates on new site content": Go to unsubscribe: http://searchDatabase.techtarget.com/unsubscribe?track=NL-78&ad=489370 Please note, unsubscribe requests may take up to 24 hours to process; you may receive additional mailings during that time. A confirmation e-mail will be sent when your request has been successfully processed.