1. IBM DB2 Express-C Available Free in the Cloud

An alternative to MySQL, the no-cost IBM database solution can be deployed on-premise or in the cloud with no size constraints. Written by Chris Smith There are many applications today built on top of MySQL, but widespread concerns about Oracle's i

2. Technology Focus: Basic Database Query Tools Still Have a Place at the Table

With the scope and features of business intelligence applications hitting new stratospheric heights of splendiferousness, are simple query tool products being left behind? Apparently not just yet. Written by John Ghrist Sometimes you just don't wan

3. Selling Information Governance to the Business

Learn how to tackle the challenges of poor data quality, inconsistency of business terms, fragmented view of the customer and product, and security and privacy. Written by Sunil Soares Editor's note: This article is an excerpt from the book Selling

4. Move Over DB2, Here Comes Zend DBi

Customers waiting for a solution from IBM to support their PHP applications running on IBM i can breathe a sigh of relief. Written by Chris Smith Most of the estimated 1,000 PHP developers at ZendCon this year were excited about Zend Technologies'

5. QuickLook: NGS-IQ Release 7.0 from New Generation Software

NGS-IQ is New Generation Software's flagship query, reporting, and business intelligence suite for companies that need to move beyond Query/400 and other IBM i query tools. Written by New Generation Software, Inc. NGS-IQ is an integrated suite of

6. Unraveling the Mysteries of Data Warehousing and Business Intelligence on IBM i

Vendors have so many different types of products to offer. How do you sort through it all? Written by Alan Jordan It's easy to get confused when investigating the requirements and options for implementing a successful business intelligence (BI) ini

7. Partner TechTip: Deliver Critical Enterprise-Wide Data to Your Users Quickly and Easily

Empower users so they can get the data they want to see. Written by Floyd Del Muro How do you deliver the information your users need to do their jobs? Can they answer business questions quickly and correctly? Are they empowered with the tools and

8. Get Your System Humming: 7 Great Tips for Tuning DB2 for i

Faster! Faster! Everybody wants their apps and reports to run faster! Written by Kent Milligan All of you have users and bosses who regularly ask if it's possible to make applications and reports run faster on your IBM i. Usually, these application

9. Real-Time Database Sharing: What Can It Do for Your Business?

Would you like to effortlessly replicate data from DB2 databases into Oracle, Informix, and Microsoft SQL databases and back again without custom programming or large-scale integration costs? Written by Vision Solutions Editor's Note: This article

10. Partner TechTip: Using Your Data Anywhere Is Easier Than You Think

How do you leverage business information for on-the-spot analysis? Written by Floyd Del Muro Need to provide critical business data to executives, managers, and business analysts, but find that the amount of training and supervision required is pre

11. How Will IBM DB2 Web Query for i Benefit Your Shop?

Learn about the IBM query and reporting tool for the IBM i market. Written by Gene Cobb If you have been following recent IT industry trends, you may have noticed that there has been a lot of activity in the area of Business Intelligence (BI). Merg

12. DB2 for i: Observing, Learning, Adapting, and Generating Faster Queries Automatically!

Having AQP is like having "quality control" inside your query plans. Written by Mike Cain According to Wikipedia, "adaptive behavior" is a type of behavior that is used to adjust to another type of behavior or situation. This is often characterized

13. With the DB2 Storage Engine for MySQL, It's YourSQL

Deploy open-source applications on IBM i without having to change the source code. Written by Erwin Earley Those readers who have dabbled in open-source technologies may already be aware of the availability of the MySQL open-source database server

14. Enable Transparent Encryption with DB2 Field Procedures

New in 7.1, FieldProc allows column-level encryption without requiring changes to existing applications. Written by Kent Milligan With all the scrutiny and legislation associated with protecting personal sensitive data, a good number of IBM i devel

15. Oracle Drops the Ball with MySQL on the i. Will IBM or Zend Pick It Up and Run With It?

With Oracle announcing end of life for IBM i distributions of MySQL, I'll discuss the potential for alternatives of MySQL on the i. Written by Tom Snyder Oracle has decided to no longer support MySQL on the IBM i, and I for one am very disappointed

16. IBM DB2 Web Query for i: New and Improved!

Version 1.1.2 of DB2 Web Query is teeming with product improvements. New features such as InfoAssist, the JD Edwards adapter, and RIA can help you create eye-popping reports. Written by Gene Cobb On December 10, 2010, a new and improved version of

17. QuickLook: Linoma Software's GoAnywhere Director

Exchange files with customers, trading partners, and other servers without writing tedious scripts. Written by Linoma Software Editor's Note: To download and try GoAnywhere Director at no obligation, visit the MC Software Center.   GoAnywhere Di

18. Get Your Modernization Plan Underway; Give Your Users Graphical Dashboards

If your planned large-scale UI modernization program is mired in the economic slowdown, consider upgrading your query, reporting, and BI solution now to present graphical reports and dashboards. Written By Bill Langston Editor's Note: The following

19. Create ASCII Text Files Using DB2 in Qshell

Pipe iconv into your Qshell command to create ASCII instead of EBCDIC. Written by Tom Snyder In my previous article, "Using DB2 with Sed, Tail, Pipes, and Redirection from Within Qshell," we used SQL to export files directly to text files on the IF

20. DB2 for i 7.1: More Than Meets the Eye

So you think you've already heard about all the enhancements to DB2 for i? Don't be so sure. Written by Kent Milligan The IBM i 7.1 announcement materials have given the most ink to DB2 enhancements for XML integration and column-level encryption e

21. Navigate DB2 for i Through the SQL Server Galaxy

Explore current methods of interconnecting SQL Server to the IBM i in batch or real time. Written by Michael Sansoterra Astronomers tell us that many galaxies are colliding, which can cause quite an upheaval. "Collision" is a good word to describe ho

22. New Solutions from IBM and Avnet Technology Address Growth in Data

IBM responds to Oracle's Exadata 2 database appliance with DB2 pureScale clustering feature. Written by Chris Smith I remember once I was on my high school cross country team. Only a limited number of runners were going to be chosen to travel across

23. How Will IBM DB2 Web Query for System i Benefit Your Shop?

 Learn about the new IBM query and reporting tool for the i5/OS market. By Gene Cobb If you have been following recent IT industry trends, you may have noticed that there has been a lot of activity in the area of Business Intelligence (BI). Mergers,

24. Web 2.0 Business Intelligence: IBM i, Windows, or Both?

Achieve an impressive ROI using i-based reporting and BI software to connect users to the latest Web 2.0 technology. Written by Bill Langston Editor's Note: This article is a distillation of the Webcast "Migrating from IBM Query/400?" which is availa

25. Technology Focus: Choices Abound for Buying System i BI

Economic uncertainty is putting more emphasis on making smarter business decisions. Business intelligence tools, which can help, offer more choices than ever for System i shops. Written by John Ghrist One of the most important areas in which computin

26. Using Business Intelligence Can Serve to Fight Back on the Economy

More than just a replacement for Query/400, DB2 Web Query is business intelligence light. Written by Chris Smith In one of the sessions on DB2 Web Query at the OCEAN User Group's Technical Conference this week, the speaker, Doug Mack, asked for a sho

27. OmniFind, Part II: Integrating OmniFind Text Search Server with DB2 Web Query

Organize and secure your documents, and create a GUI to perform text searches on them. Written by Gene Cobb In my previous article "OmniFind, Part I: Add Sizzle to Your SQL with OmniFind Text Search Server for DB2 for i," I introduced IBM OmniFind Te

28. Migrating from Query/400? Avoid Unnecessary Costs, Complexity, and Confusion

DB2 Web Query (QU2) is not your only option and may not be the best one. By Mary Lynn Treadwell Editor's Note: This article introduces the white paper "Replacing IBM Query/400: Understanding Your Options" available free from the MC Pre

29. What if Business Intelligence Solutions Were Available for Free?

Palo BI Suite 3.0 gives users a chance to try the latest open-source BI software at no cost. By Chris Smith One of the more interesting developments at the COMMON conference in Reno last week was the announcement by Key Info that its Smart i bus

30. OmniFind, Part I: Add Sizzle to Your SQL with OmniFind Text Search Server for DB2 for i

With this text search server, you can locate documents that contain specific search strings in Excel, Word, PDF, PowerPoint, etc. By Gene Cobb V6R1 of the IBM i operating system introduced many exciting new features, including numerous DB2 for i

31. Avoid the Hassle of Accessing DB2 Data from .NET Applications

HiT Software's snappy Ritmo/i middleware makes accessing the IBM i a pleasure, say loyal customers. By Chris Smith If you're a .NET programmer developing applications that need to access data in DB2 for i, you might be concerned that the

32. Smart i Business Intelligence Solution Debuts in Los Angeles

Initial installation of the low-cost BI solution based on DB2 Web Query running on IBM i is ready for user-acceptance testing. By Chris Smith The first installation of Smart i, a new and bold business intelligence utilization of a Power System s

33. Strategies for Successful Data Warehousing Projects

Data warehousing can add significant value by facilitating enhanced business intelligence, but success isn't automatic. This article explores critical data-warehousing success factors. By Henry Martinez Operational databases are predominantly optimiz

34. Making the Case for a Database Administrator (DBA) on IBM i

Do you need a DBA for DB2 for i? Maybe more than you realize. By Mike Cain As I travel around the world engaging clients, one question that I am always asked is "Do we need a DBA"? Sometimes, the question takes the form of apparent con

35. Is Working with the .NET Tribe a Secret to Surviving in Paradise?

LANSA's Open for .NET solution is designed to help make integrating Microsoft applications and IBM data a trouble-free experience. By Chris Smith Ever roll into work and think you're actually in Gabon on the set of Survivor? Everyone has

36. A Good Search Engine Can Augment Business Intelligence Use

The Go! Search module in IBM Cognos 8 V4 supports unstructured data, thereby expanding a searcher's reach while enhancing the BI user's self-reliance. By Chris Smith Recent articles raise the question about the positioning of enterprise

37. Employ Best Practices When Integrating Disparate Data

Disparate data can inhibit value creation, but data integration best practices allow organizations to fully leverage the inherent value in their information resources. By John Gay Silos of disparate data plague many companies. The reasons for the dat

38. MySQL and IBM i: Where Does MySQL Fit in a DB2 World?

DB2 is the only database many of us have ever known.  This article shows you how you can broaden your database options. By Joe Pluta If you're an i programmer, you've been using DB2 from the beginning of your career (unless, of cour

39. Making Better Use of DB2 Web Query with *LIBL

Search the library list when accessing and querying a referenced database object such as a physical file or SQL view. By Gene Cobb In a previous article titled "Maximize SQL Query Engine (SQE) Usage of Your DB2 Web Query Reports," I ex

40. Exploit IBM DB2 for i Database Development with JDBC 4.0

Learn how to exploit enhanced BLOB/CLOB support, SQL XML data type, and better connection management. By Jarek Miszczyk If you were, like me, watching closely the evolution of the JDBC specification, you probably noticed how it morphed from a ru

41. Finding SQL Server Mode Connecting Jobs

Now it's much easier to understand QSQSRVR usage and isolate QSQSRVR-related problem domains and origins. By Scott Forstie IBM DB2 for i customers are accustomed to seeing SQL server mode job activity, otherwise known as QSQSRVR prestart job

42. Tech Tip: Converting Legacy Date Fields to DB2 Web Query Dates, Part II

Extend your legacy date fields to support a richer set of date values and improve the performance of your reports. By Gene Cobb In my previous TechTip, "Converting Legacy Date Fields to DB2 Web Query Dates, Part I," I described how to

43. Could Open-Source Collaboration Be Key to Solving the World's Toughest Socioeconomic Challenges?

One author says the current subprime mortgage meltdown might have been avoided if large financial players had been more collaborative. By Chris Smith Regardless of the hardship it is causing many people, the subprime mortgage meltdown may have a

44. V6R1 SQL Query Engine Delivers on Its Promise

Learn how to prepare for the new DB2 for i5/OS query engine. By Jarek Miszczyk With V6R1 DB2 for i5/OS, the transition of SQL workloads from Classic Query Engine (CQE) to the new SQL Query Engine (SQE) has been basically completed. So far, the SQE

45. V6R1 DB2 for i5/OS Highlights

New capabilities allow designers and programmers to continue to produce new and exciting applications. By Jim Flanagan Because DB2 for i5/OS is embedded within i5/OS, application designers and programmers likely expected that with the V6R1 relea

46. V6R1 Breathes New Life into DB2 for i5/OS .NET Provider

Learn how to exploit ADO.NET 2.0 enhancements, DAAB, distributed transactions, and more.   Over the last couple of years, I wrote several articles and white papers that dealt with Microsoft .NET Framework integration with DB2 for i5/OS. Judging from

47. With Perseverance and Luck, You Can Conquer the DB2 Web Query Install

You have to be running at least V5R4 to load DB2 Web Query, and there are some PTFs to install. But help is just a phone call away. By Chris Smith Those folks at Centerfield Technology certainly are on their toes. An opportunity arises in their

48. Maximize SQL Query Engine (SQE) Usage of Your DB2 Web Query Reports

Ensure top-notch DB2 Web Query reports by using QAQQINI, exit points, database monitors, and Visual Explain. By Gene Cobb In July of 2007, IBM announced DB2 Web Query for System i, a product positioned as a query and reporting tool for the System

49. Putting Business Intelligence at Your Fingertips, Part II

Sophisticated DB2 for i5/OS features provide important benefits within the business intelligence environment. In the first part of this two-part series, we covered business intelligence concepts, architecture, and methodology—ideas that emb

50. Auto Backup for MySQL Automates Backups to Avoid Data-Loss Nightmares

Auto Backup for MySQL Professional Edition 2.1 from SwordSky Software promises to save database administrators and Web masters from unexpected data loss.