Use the SQL diagnostics area

The SQL diagnostics area is used to keep the returned information for an SQL statement that has been run in a program. It contains all the information that is available to you as an application programmer through the SQLCA.

There are additional values available to provide more detailed information about your SQL statement including connection information. More than one condition can be returned from a single SQL statement. The information in the SQL diagnostics area is available for the previous SQL statement until the next SQL statement is run.

To access the information from the diagnostics area, use the GET DIAGNOSTICS statement. In this statement, you can request multiple pieces of information at one time about the previously run SQL statement. Each item is returned in a host variable. You can also request to get a string that contains all the diagnostic information that is available. Running the GET DIAGNOSTICS statement does not clear the diagnostics area.

• Update applications to use the SQL diagnostics area
  You might consider changing your applications to use the SQL diagnostics area instead of the SQL communications area (SQLCA), because the SQL diagnostics area provides some significant advantages over the SQLCA.
• iSeries server programming model
  In the iSeries™ Integrated Language Environment^® (ILE), the SQL diagnostics area is scoped to a thread and an activation group. This means that for each activation group in which a thread runs SQL statements, a separate diagnostics area exists for the activation.
• Additional notes on using the SQL diagnostics area
  In an application program, the SQLCA is replaced with an implicit or stand-alone SQLSTATE variable, which must be declared in the program.
• Example: SQL routine exception
  In this application example, a stored procedure signals an error when an input value is out of range.
• Example: Logging items from the SQL diagnostics area
  In this example, an application needs to log all errors for security reasons. The log could be used to monitor the health of a system or to monitor for inappropriate use of a database.