Database Design and Programming for DB2/400

I wish I had this book as soon as it was published. After programming on the S/38 and the AS/400 (in RPG) for over 14 years now (with some interruptions), I consider this one the best AS/400-related computing book I have purchased - ever! And compared to other computer books, well, if only that kind of quality would be available on other topics as well more frequently, either DBMS's or programming languages. The book saved one of my clients hours of work: with no previous SQL knowledge but having this book they were able to do some work with SQL that otherwise would have required them to write a program. Another client (and myself for my own system) took advantage of the chapters on Referential Integrity. If you're serious about accessing your data on your DB2/400 database, you owe it to yourself to buy this book !

It has become my daily Bible in my job as an AS/400 DBA. Even after reading the whole book last winter, I still seem to read a passage from it everytime I need inspiration on doing something new or different (or that I can't remember how it is done) with DB2/400.I am looking to modernize our AS/400 database development with the latest modeling tools and functions without disrupting the traditional DDS-centric RPG development efforts of my programmer customers. I serve customers in dozens of countries with varying levels of SQL/400 knowledge, but being an ex-mainframe DBA, I appreciate the effort IBM has placed into DB2/400 (or "DB2 for AS/400") into giving it mainframe-DB2-like capabilities. I am hoping Paul Conte will come up with a new edition of this book for OS/400 V4.3 because I would love to see these issues addressed in the same manner that DB2/400 V3.6 is presented in this book. Maybe even a chapter devoted to interoperability issues between DDS and SQL/400 and why/how to make the migration would be splendid.

Having programmed the AS/400 since its inception, I thought I knew everything about the DB2/400 database. But Conte's insightful volume reveals new possibilities and capabilities. Filled with a perfect mix of theory and hands-on examples, this book allows a reader of any level of experience to benefit from the author's many years of expertise. Conte is a stickler for professionalism and attention to detail, and "Database Design And Programming For DB2/400" not only typifies his love of excellence, but encourages the reader to raise his or her own personal expectations. If you're a manager, buy every programmer a copy and make it mandatory reading. If you're a programmer who wants to be the best, you must have this book; my copy rests at arm's length on my desk. If you're an educator, this would make an ideal textbook.

This is the best work on the subject available today. Paul obviously put his heart, soul and considerable talent into this book. It's hard to believe that a book so filled with useful information is available at the rather low price of $75. ----small errata---- There's an error on page 410, 2nd paragraph. The sentence which starts out "Although the SQL precompiler requires Declare Cursor statements to be coded in the procedureal part of a program..." is not true for Cobol. Cobol allows you to put Declare Cursor in the Working-Storage Section as well.