Distributed database programming

Distributed database programming describes the distributed relational database management portion of the i5/OS™ licensed program. Distributed relational database management provides applications with access to data that is external to the applications and typically located across a network of computers.

This information is intended primarily for application programmers responsible for the development, administration, and support of a distributed relational database on one or more iSeries™ servers.

Application programmers who are not familiar with the iSeries database can also get a view of the total range of database support provided by the i5/Operating System (i5/OS). Application programmers might use this information to see the server context in which distributed relational database applications run.

Before using this information, you should be familiar with general programming concepts and terminology, and have a general understanding of the iSeries server and the i5/OS operating system.

• What's new for V5R4
  This topic highlights the changes made to this topic collection for V5R4.
• Printable PDF
  Use this to view and print a PDF of this information.
• Introduction to distributed database programming
  Distributed relational database support on the iSeries server consists of an implementation of IBM^® Distributed Relational Database Architecture™ (DRDA^®) and integration of other SQL clients by use of Application Requester Driver (ARD) programs.
• Planning and design
  The first requirement for the successful operation of a distributed relational database is thorough planning. You must consider the needs and goals of your enterprise when making the decision to use a distributed relational database.
• Initial setup
  The runtime support for an iSeries distributed relational database is provided by the operating system. Therefore, when the operating system is installed, distributed relational database support is installed.
• Security
  The iSeries server has security elements built into the operating system to limit access to the data resources of an application server. Security options range from simple physical security to full password security coupled with authorization to commands and data objects.
• Application development
  Programmers can write high-level language programs that use SQL statements for iSeries distributed application programs.
• Administration
  As an administrator for a distributed relational database, you are responsible for work being done on several servers.
• Data availability and protection
  In a distributed relational database environment, data availability not only involves protecting data on an individual server in the network, but also ensuring that users have access to the data across the network.
• Performance
  No matter what kind of application programs you are running on a server, performance can always be a concern. For a distributed relational database, network, server, and application performance are all crucial.
• Troubleshooting
  When a problem occurs accessing a distributed relational database, it is the job of the administrator to determine the nature of the problem and whether it is a problem with the application or a problem with the local or remote system.
• Examples: Application programming
  This example application for distributed relational database use is written in RPG/400^®, COBOL/400^®, Java™ and ILE C/400^® programming languages. This example shows how to use a distributed relational database for functional specification tasks.
• User FAQs
  This topic collection concentrates on describing iSeries support for distributed relational databases in a network of iSeries servers (a like environment).
• Interpret trace job and FFDC data
  This topic collection provides additional problem-analysis information. It is useful to specialists responsible for problem determination. It is also for suppliers of software products designed to conform to the Distributed Relational Database Architecture™ who want to test connectivity to an iSeries server.
• Related information for distributed database programming
  Listed here are the product manuals and IBM^® Redbooks™ (in PDF format), Web sites and information center topics that relate to the distributed database programming topic. You can view or print any of the PDFs.