Choose the DB2 9.5 client connectivity option that is right for you

The author details The evolution history of IBM DB2 Data server connectivity options since DB2 Version 8 through DB2 9.5. In addition, learn about the specifications for each connectivity option in DB2 9.5: including fingerprint (fingerprint) level, lightweight, and all memory-intensive options, along with some tips for you.

Brief introduction

In several published IBM DB2 for Linux UNIX, and Windows (DB2) versions, there are a variety of DB2 clients and drivers that allow you to connect applications to DB2 data servers. From standard deployment to lightweight runtime, to minimizing the need for a single connection string to run without any tools, our client parameter selection is almost ready for any user choice.

In the past few distributions, the DB2 client connectivity options are evolving, trying to keep up with the evolution of the client's "on disk" parameter selection. In this article, I'll introduce you to the latest information on the available DB2 clients and drivers from the DB2 9.5 release, and develop the options that affect client connectivity, giving you a clearer understanding of DB2 9.5. Although you may not be using the DB2 9.5 release, this article can help you understand how to choose connectivity options in future deployments, while also introducing the development direction of connectivity software.

One last hint: you should understand that, starting with DB2 9, the server component of the DB2 product set only accepts new features for the full version or important upgrades (such as DB2 9.5) in most cases. In contrast, the connectivity options for DB2 (client or driver) can continue to be updated and can accept new functionality from maintenance (patches), new versions, and single point distributions. Developers try to ensure backward compatibility. As a result, you can more flexibly enjoy the benefits of the latest client functionality. For example, starting with DB2 9.5 Fix Pack 1, Visual Studio 2008 supports becoming part of the IBM Database add-ins for Visual Studio. Our ability to deliver visual Studio 2008 support in a timely fashion is precisely the result of this new client delivery architecture.

A brief history of DB2 client connectivity

The client connectivity of the DB2 data server has undergone some changes in the last few distributions. While names and features can be confusing, they do provide a range of more streamlined, advanced, and flexible connectivity options for data servers. So I'm writing this article to help you better understand the options in DB2 9.5.

Name change

As mentioned earlier, the client connectivity options have undergone some changes in the previous DB2 distributions in terms of name and functionality.

In DB2 8, the smallest client available is called the DB2 run-time client. In DB2 9, this client was renamed to DB2 Runtime Client (note that the descriptive part of the client name changed Run-time to Runtime). In DB2 9.5, the name of this client has changed once, and is now called the IBM Data Server Runtime Client (I will explain the reason in the following article). In this article, if I am referring to the DB2 run-time client, I am referring to the DB2 8 version of the client code. If I refer to DB2 Runtime client, then I refer to the DB2 9 version of the client code, and similarly, when I refer to the IBM Data Server Runtime client, I actually refer to the DB2 9.5 version of the client code. I'll use this naming convention for all the different client connectivity components in this article.

For another example, if I refer to "IBM DB2 Driver for JDBC and SQLJ," I mean the content that came with DB2 9. If I refer to "IBM Data Server Driver for JDBC and SQLJ," I am referring to the same driver in DB2 9.5 (although it has been some enhancements).

For the sake of understanding, and if you feel some difficulty in understanding these changes, you can use the following table, which summarizes the naming changes of the DB2 client connectivity options in the last few distributions:

Figure 1. The evolution of the DB2 client connectivity option in the last few DB2 distributions

The client in DB2 8