Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Interview QA- SQL DB2

SQL(Structured Query Language):

Structured Query Language (SQL) provides the ability to create and define relational database objects. After these objects are defined, the language permits one to add data to these objects. Once data has been added, one can modify, retrieve, or delete that data. The language provides the capability of defining what type of authority one might have when accessing the data.

Data Definition Language

As the name implies, there is a group of SQL statements that allows one to define the relational structures that will manage the data placed in them. The “CREATE” statements brings Relational Database Management System (RDMS) objects into existence. The types of objects one can create are STOGROUP, Database, Table space, Table, Index, View, Synonym, and Alias. The definitions of these objects are as follows:

STOGROUP: A storage group is a list of disk volume names to which one can assign a name. One defines the list of disk volumes and assigns the STOGROUP name with the Create STOGROUP statement.

Database: A database is a logical structure in which tables and indexes are later created. The database is defined and associated with a STOGROUP with a Create Database statement.

Tablespace: A tablespace is an area on disk that is allocated and formatted by the Create Table space statement.

Table: A table is an organizational structure which is defined in a Create Table statement. In this statement, the data attributes are defined by column, giving each column its own unique name within the table.







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Index: A index is used in conjuction with the “Primary Key” parameter of the Create Table statement. It is made with the Create Index statement and provides the duplicate record-checking necessary for a unique key.

View: A view is an alternative perspective of the data present in a database. It is made with the Create View statement and can represent a subset of the columns defined in a table. It can also represents a set of columns combined from more than one table.

Synonym: The Create Synonym statement defines an unqualified name for a table or a view. Alias: The Create Alias statement defines an alternate qualified name for a table or a view.

After a table is created, additional columns may be added with an Alter Table statement. Any RDMS object that was made with a create statement can be removed with a drop statement.

In order to define RDMS objects, one needs various levels of authority. The following is a list of authority levels that can be granted to a user ID to operate on a designated database.
.
DBADM Database administrator authority com

DBCTRL Database control authority
DBMAINT Database maintenance authority
CREATETS Create Table space Authority
CREATETAB Create Table authority
DROP Drop authority on a database or subordinate objects
Data Manipulation Language
There are four SQL data manipulation statements(DML) available: Insert, Select, Update,
and Delete. After tables are defined, they are ready to store data. Data is added to tables through
IBMMAINFRAMES the SQL Insert statement. Once data has been inserted into a table, it can be retrieved by the use of the Select statement. Data stored in a table can be modified by executing the SQL Update

statement. Data can be deleted from a table by using the SQL Delete statement.

The SQL statements perform RDMS operations that can affect only one row at a time if desired. The same statements can, if required, affect many or all of the rows in a table. It is possible to select one row and insert it into another with one statement. It is also just as easy to select all of the rows from one table and insert all of them into another with a single statement. The same scope of operation applied to the update and delete statements. The scope of operation is controlled by the use of the WHERE clause. The operation will affect only the rows that satisfy the search condition. When no search condition specified, the entire table is affected.

There are additional language elements available that provide the ability to process the table data while it is being retrieved. In addition, there are a variety of functions that modify the value of the data that is returned in a query. There are column functions that act on all of the values of the selected rows for a specified column and return a single answer. There are also scalar functions that return a specific answer for each row that satisfies the search condition.

As mentioned previously, SQL provides the ability to filter what data is retrieved in a select statement by including the WHERE clause. The WHERE clause specifies a variety of comparisons between two values. The values could be column values or the result of an operation involving more than one column or a constant. The comparison operation are the same as those used in COBOL, with the exception of two additional operators. The first is the IN operator that compares a single value has a match in the specified list of values. The other is the LIKE operator, in which you can specify a value string that includes “wildcard” characters in such a manner that you can select rows of a table where column values are similar to the extent you require.




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SQL provides four arithmetic operations : addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. An arithmetic expression may involve any combination of column name or numbers. The arithmetic expression may itself be used as a column name or in a Select, Insert, Update, or Delete statement.

SQL provides the ability to sort the data retrieved from a table via the ORDER BY clause. In this clause, you can specify one or more sort column names as well as if each sort key is ascending or descending.

SQL also provides the ability to perform set manipulation operations. Using SQL, one can SELECT the intersection of two or more sets of data by coding a JOIN. A JOIN is any SELECT statement that has more than one DBMS object listed in its FROM clause. One can combine different sets of data by using the UNION operator. Other set manipulations can be executed by combining different operators and search conditions.

The Following are the most frequently asked questions.... .
Q1) What RDMS objects are created with the SQL CREATE statements?

A1) The SQL CREATE statements are used to create the following objects: com

STOGROUP A storage group
DATABASE A logical collection of tables
TABLESPACE An area that stores tables
TABLE A data structure organized by a specified columns
INDEX An alternate path to a table data
VIEW An alternate representation of one or more tables
SYNONYM An alternate name for local table or view
ALIAS An alternate name for a table definition which may be local
or remote, existence or nonexistent
Q2) What RDMS objects are required before you can create a table?
A2) Before you can create a table, you need an existing database and tablespace.
Q3) In what RDMS object does one first list column names?
A3) One first uses the column name in the CREATE TABLE statement.
IBMMAINFRAMES Q4) What is the syntax for a CREATE TABLE statement?

A4) CREATE TABLE table name (column name list

primary key (column name))

in database-name, tablespace-name.

Q5) Can one add columns to a table after it has been defined?

A5) Yes, one can add column to a table after it has been defined by using the SQL ALTER TABLE statement.

Q6) Where in a table are added columns located?

A6) The new columns are added to the end of the table.

Q7) After a table is defined, can columns be removed?

A7) The only way to remove columns from an existing table involves a migration program that extracts only the desired

columns of data, redefining the table without the unwanted columns, then populating the new table. One have to handle

all the old table’s dependents programmatically.




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Q8) Which RDMS objects can you change with the SQL ALTER statements?

A8) The SQL ALTER statement can change a table index, a table, a tablespace, or a STOGROUP.

Q9) What authority is required to create a table?

A9) In order to create tables, one needs CREATETAB privileges.

Q10) What is minimum authority required for one to create a tablespace?
A10) In order to create tablespaces, one needs CREATETS privileges.
Q11) When is it necessary to create a table index?
A11) It is necessary to create a table index whenever you want to enforce the uniqueness of the table’s
primary key.
Q12) What is a synonym?
A12) A synonym is an unqualified alternative name for a table or view.
Q13) What is a foreign key?
A13) A foreign key is the key defined in one table to reference the primary key of a reference table. This
.
foreign key must com

have the same structure as the reference table’s primary key.
Q14) What is referential integrity?
A14) Referential integrity is the automatic enforcement of referential constraints that exist between a
reference table and a
referencing table. When referential integrity is enforced, the value of a foreign key exists as a
primary key value in the
reference table. In other words, when referential integrity is enforced, all of the foreign key values in,
for example, the
table. “department code” column in an “employee” table exist as primary key values in a “department”

Q15) What are the column name qualifiers?
A15) A column name qualifier are used as a table designator to avoid ambiguity when the column names
referenced exists
in more than one table used in the SQL statement. Column name qualifiers are also used in correlated
references.
Q16) What is a correlation name?
A16) A correlation name is a special type of column designator that connects specific columns in the
various levels of a
multilevel SQL query.
Q17) What is a results table?
A17) A result table is the product of a query against one or more tables or views (i.e., it is the place that
holds the results of a
query).
Q18) What is a cursor?
IBMMAINFRAMESA18) A cursor is a named control structure used to make a set of rows available to a program. DB2 is the
relational database
system that runs in an MVS environment. It was developed by IBM and interfaces with SQL. With
the use of SQL
DB2, databases can be accessed by a wide range of host languages. SQL is the relational database "
application




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language " that interfaces with DB2. Because of its capabilities, SQL and, in turn, DB2 have gained considerable

acceptance. Thus, a working knowledge of DB2 increases one's marketability.

Q19) What is the basic difference between a join and a union?
A19) A join selects columns from 2 or more tables. A union selects rows.
Q20) What is normalization and what are the five normal forms?
A20) Normalization is a design procedure for representing data in tabular format. The five normal forms
are progressive
rules to represent the data with minimal redundancy.
Q21) What are foreign keys?
A21) These are attributes of one table that have matching values in a primary key in another table,
allowing for relationships
between tables. .
Q22) Describe the elements of the SELECT query syntax?
A22) SELECT element FROM table WHERE conditional statement.

Q23) Explain the use of the WHERE clause? com

A23) WHERE is used with a relational statement to isolate the object element or row.
Q24) What techniques are used to retrieve data from more than one table in a single SQL
statement?
A24) Joins, unions and nested selects are used to retrieve data.
Q25) What is a view? Why use it?
A25) A view is a virtual table made up of data from base tables and other views, but not stored separately.
Q26) Explain an outer join?
A26) An outer join includes rows from tables when there are no matching values in the tables.
Q27) What is a subselect? Is it different from a nested select?
A27) A subselect is a select which works in conjunction with another select. A nested select is a kind of
subselect where the
inner select passes to the where criteria for the outer select.
Q28) What is the difference between group by and order by?
A28) Group by controls the presentation of the rows, order by controls the presentation of the columns for
the results of the
SELECT statement.
Q29) What keyword does an SQL SELECT statement use for a string search?
A29) The LIKE keyword allows for string searches. The % sign is used as a wildcard.
Q30) What are some SQL aggregates and other built-in functions?
A30) The common aggregate, built-in functions are AVG, SUM, MIN, MAX, COUNT and DISTINCT.
IBMMAINFRAMESQ31) How is the SUBSTR keyword used in SQL?
A31) SUBSTR is used for string manipulation with column name, first position and string length used as
arguments. E.g.
SUBSTR (NAME, 1 3) refers to the first three characters in the column NAME.
Q32) Explain the EXPLAIN statement?
A32) The explain statement provides information about the optimizer's choice of access path of the SQL.



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Q33) What is referential integrity?

A33) Referential integrity refers to the consistency that must be maintained between primary and foreign keys, i.e. every

foreign key value must have a corresponding primary key value.

Q34) What is a NULL value? What are the pros and cons of using NULLS?
A34) A NULL value takes up one byte of storage and indicates that a value is not present as opposed to a
space or zero
value. It's the DB2 equivalent of TBD on an organizational chart and often correctly portrays a
business situation.
Unfortunately, it requires extra coding for an application program to handle this situation.
Q35) What is a synonym? How is it used?
A35) A synonym is used to reference a table or view by another name. The other name can then be written
in the
application code pointing to test tables in the development stage and to production entities when the
code is migrated. .

The synonym is linked to the AUTHID that created it. com

Q36) What is an alias and how does it differ from a synonym?
A36) An alias is an alternative to a synonym, designed for a distributed environment to avoid having to use
the location
qualifier of a table or view. The alias is not dropped when the table is dropped.
Q37) When can an insert of a new primary key value threaten referential integrity?
A37) Never. New primary key values are not a problem. However, the values of foreign key inserts must
have
corresponding primary key values in their related tables. And updates of primary key values may
require changes in
foreign key values to maintain referential integrity.
Q38) What is the difference between static and dynamic SQL?
A38) Static SQL is hard-coded in a program when the programmer knows the statements to be executed.
For dynamic SQL
the program must dynamically allocate memory to receive the query results.
Q39) Compare a subselect to a join?
A39) Any subselect can be rewritten as a join, but not vice versa. Joins are usually more efficient as join
rows can be
returned immediately, subselects require a temporary work area for inner selects results while
processing the outer
select.
Q40) What is the difference between IN subselects and EXISTS subselect?
A40) If there is an index on the attributes tested an IN is more efficient since DB2 uses the index for the
IN. (IN for index is
IBMMAINFRAMESthe mnemonic).
Q41) What is a Cartesian product?
A41) A Cartesian product results from a faulty query. It is a row in the results for every combination in the
join tables.
Q42) What is a tuple?
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A42) A tuple is an instance of data within a relational database.

Q43) What is the difference between static and dynamic SQL?

A43) Static SQL is compiled and optimized prior to its execution; dynamic is compiled and optimized during execution.


Q44) Any SQL implementation covers data types in couple of main categories. Which of the following are those data

types ? (Check all that apply)

A). NUMERIC B). CHARACTER

C). DATE AND TIME D). BLOBS E. BIT

A44) A,B,C. Not all SQL implementations have a BLOB or a BIT data types.

Q45) We have a table with a CHARACTER data type field. We apply a ">" row comparison
IBMMAINFRAMES describes the process to
between this field and .

com
another CHARACTER field in another table. What will be the results for records with field
value of NULL?
(Check one that applies the best)
A. TRUE
B. B. FALSE
C. C. UNKNOWN
D. D. Error.
E. E. Those records will be ignored
A45) C. NULL in a row when compared will give an UNKNOWN result.
Q46) Any database needs to go through a normalization process to make sure that data is
represented only once. This
will eliminate problems with creating or destroying data in the database. The normalization
process is done
usually in three steps which results in first, second and third normal forms. Which best

obtain the third normal form? (Check one that applies the best)

A. Each table should have related columns.

B. Each separate table should have a primary key.

C. We have a table with multi-valued key. All columns that are dependent on only one or on some of the keys should be moved in a different table.
D. If a table has columns not dependent on the primary keys, they need to be moved in a separate table.
E. E. Primary key is always UNIQUE and NOT NULL.

A46) D. All columns in a table should be dependent on the primary key. This will eliminate transitive dependencies in

which A depends on B, and B depends on C, but we're not sure how C depends on A.

Q47) SQL can be embedded in a host program that uses a relational database as a persistent data repository. Some of

the most important pre-defined structures for this mechanism are SQLDA ("SQL Descriptor Area") and

SQLCA ("SQL Communications Area") SQLCA contains two structures - SQLCODE and SQLSTATE.

SQLSTATE is a standard set of error messages and warnings in which the first two characters defines the class




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and the last three defines the subclass of the error. Which of the following SQLSTATE codes is
interpreted as
"No data returned"?(Check one that applies the best)
A). 00xxx
B). 01xxx
C). 02xxx
D). 22xxx
E). 2Axxx
A47) C. 00 - is successful completion, 01 - warnings, 22 - is data exception and 2A is syntax error. The
SQLSTATE code
format returned for "No data returned" is "02xxx".
Q48) What are common SQL abend codes? (e.g. : 0,100 etc.,)
A48) -818 time stamp mismatch
-180 wrong data moved into date field
Q49) What is meant by dynamic SQL?
A49) Dynamic SQL are SQL statements that are prepared and executed within a program while the
.
program is executing. com

The SQL source is contained in host variables rather than being hard coded into the program. The
SQL statement may
change from execution to execution.
Q50) What is meant by embedded SQL?
A50) They are SQL statements that are embedded with in application program and are prepared during the
program
preparation process before the program is executed. After it is prepared, the statement itself does not
change(although
values of host variables specified within the statement might change).
Q51) What is meant by entity integrity?
A51) Entity integrity is when the primary key is in fact unique and not null.
Q52) What will EXPLAIN do?
A52) EXPLAIN obtains information (which indexes are used, whether sorting is necessary, which level of
locking is
the applied) about how SQL statements in the DBRM will be executed, inserting this information into
“X”.PLAN.TABLE where the “X” is the authorization ID of the owner of the plan.

Q53) What is the foreign key?
A53) A foreign key is a column (or combination of columns) in a table whose values are required to match
those of the
primary key in some other table.
Q54) What will GRANT option do?
A54) It will grant privileges to a list of one or more users. If the GRANT option is used in conjunction
with the “PUBLIC”
IBMMAINFRAMESoption, then all users will be granted privileges. Also you can grant privileges by objects and types.
Q55) What does the term “grant privileges” mean?
A55) Grant privileges means giving access/authority to DB2 users.
Q56) What is an image copy?




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A56) It is an exact reproduction of all or part of a tablespace. DB2 provides utility programs to make full-image copies (to

copy the entire tablespace) or incremental image copies to copy only those pages that have been modified since the last

image copy.

Q57) What is meant by an index?
A57) An index is a set of row identifiers (RIDs) or pointers that are logically ordered by the values of a
column that has
been specified as being an index. Indexes provide faster access to data and can enforce uniqueness
on the row in a
table.
Q58) What is an index key?
A58) It is a column or set of columns in a table used to determine the order of index entries.
Q59) What is a join?
A59) A join is a relational operation that allows retrieval of data from two or more tables based on
.
matching columns com

values.
Q60) What is meant by locking?
A60) Locking is a process that is used to ensure data integrity. It also prevents concurrent users from
accessing inconsistent
data. The data (row) is locked until a commit is executed to release the updated data.
Q61) What is meant by null?
A61) This is a special value that indicates the absence of data in a column. This value is indicated by a
negative value,
usually -1.
Q62) What is an object?
A62) An object is anything that is managed by DB2 (that is databases, table spaces, tables, views, indexes
or synonyms), but
not the data itself.
Q63) Describe referential integrity?
A63) Referential integrity refers to a feature in DB2 that is used to ensure consistency of the data in the
database.
Q64) Describe a primary key?
A64) A primary key is a key that is unique, non-null, and is part of the definition of a table. A table must
have a primary key
to be defined as a parent.
Q65) How would you find out the total number of rows in a table? - GS
A65) Use SELECT COUNT(*) ...
IBMMAINFRAMESQ66) How do you eliminate duplicate values in SELECT? - GS
A66) Use SELECT DISTINCT ...
Q67) How do you select a row using indexes? - GS
A67) Specify the indexed columns in the WHERE clause.
Q68) What are aggregate functions?



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A68) Bulit-in mathematical functions for use in SELECT clause.
Q69) How do you find the maximum value in a column? - GS
A69) Use SELECT MAX(...
Q70) Can you use MAX on a CHAR column?
A70) YES.
Q71) My SQL statement SELECT AVG(SALARY) FROM EMP-TABLE yields inaccurate results.
Why?
A71) Because SALARY is not declared to have Null’s and the employees for whom the salary is not
known are also
counted.
Q72) How do you retrieve the first 5 characters of FIRSTNAME column of EMP table?
A72) SELECT SUBSTR(FIRSTNAME,1,5) FROM EMP;
Q73) How do you concatenate the FIRSTNAME and LASTNAME from EMP table to give a
.
complete name? com

A73) SELECT FIRSTNAME || ' ' || LASTNAME FROM EMP;
Q74) What is the use of VALUE function?
A74) Avoid negative SQLCODEs by handling nulls and zeroes in computations.
Substitute a numeric value for any nulls used in computation.
Q75) What is UNION,UNION ALL? - GS
A75) UNION eliminates duplicates
UNION ALL: retains duplicates
Both these are used to combine the results of different SELECT statements.
Q76) Suppose I have five SQL SELECT statements connected by UNION/UNION ALL, how many
times should I
specify UNION to eliminate the duplicate rows? - GS
A76) Once.
Q77) What is the restriction on using UNION in embedded SQL?
A77) It has to be in a CURSOR.
Q78) In the WHERE clause what is BETWEEN and IN? - GS
A78) BETWEEN supplies a range of values while IN supplies a list of values.
Q79) Is BETWEEN inclusive of the range values specified? - GS
A79) Yes.
Q80) What is 'LIKE' used for in WHERE clause? What are the wildcard characters? - GS
A80) LIKE is used for partial string matches. '%' ( for a string of any character ) and '_' (for any single
character ) are the
two wild card characters.
IBMMAINFRAMES
Q81) When do you use a LIKE statement?
A81) To do partial search e.g. to search employee by name, you need not specify the complete name; using
LIKE, you can
search for partial string matches.
Q82) What is the meaning of underscore ( '_' ) in the LIKE statement? - GS



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A82) Match for any single character.

Q83) What do you accomplish by GROUP BY ... HAVING clause? - GS

A83) GROUP BY partitions the selected rows on the distinct values of the column on which you group by. HAVING selects

GROUPs which match the criteria specified

Q84) Consider the employee table with column PROJECT nullable. How can you get a list of
employees who are not
assigned to any project?
A84) SELECT EMPNO FROM EMP WHERE PROJECT IS NULL;
Q85) What is the result of this query if no rows are selected:
SELECT SUM(SALARY) FROM EMP WHERE QUAL='MSC';
A85) NULL .
Q86) Why SELECT * is not preferred in embedded SQL programs?
For three reasons:

If the table structure is changed (a field is added), the program will have to be modified com

Program might retrieve the columns which it might not use, leading on I/O over head.
The chance of an index only scan is lost.
Q87) What are correlated subqueries? - GS
A subquery in which the inner ( nested ) query refers back to the table in the outer query. Correlated
subqueries must be evaluated for each qualified row of the outer query that is referred to.
Q88) What is a cursor? Why should it be used? - GS
Cursor is a programming device that allows the SELECT to find a set of rows but return them one at a time. Cursor should be used because the host language can deal with only one row at a time.

Q89) How would you retrieve rows from a DB2 table in embedded SQL? - GS

Either by using the single row SELECT statements,or by using the CURSOR.

Q90) Apart from cursor, what other ways are available to you to retrieve a row from a table in embedded SQL? - GS

Single row SELECTs.

Q91) How do you specify and use a cursor in a COBOL program? - GS

Use DECLARE CURSOR statement either in working storage or in procedure division (before open cursor),

to specify the SELECT statement. Then use OPEN, FETCH rows in a loop and finally CLOSE.

Q92) What happens when you say OPEN CURSOR?

If there is an ORDER BY clause, rows are fetched, sorted and made available for the FETCH statement. Other wise simply the cursor is placed on the first row.
IBMMAINFRAMES Q93) Is DECLARE CURSOR executable?































No.

Q94) Can you have more than one cursor open at any one time in a program ? - GS

Yes.

Q95) When you COMMIT, is the cursor closed?

Yes.




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1. What is SQLCA and SQLDA?

2. What is 2 phase commit?














. com IBMMAINFRAMES


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DATABASE 2(DB2)

The questions and answers that follow are intended for those with a working knowledge of DB2 as a “self-test”.

Q1) What is DB2 (IBM Database 2)?
A1) DB2 is a subsystem of the MVS operating system. It is a Database Management System (DBMS) for
that operating system.
Q2) What is an access path?
A2) The path that is used to get to data specified in SQL statements.
Q3) What is an alias?
A3) It is an alternate name that can be used in SQL statements to refer to a table or view in the same or
remote DB2 subsystem. .
Q4) Explain what a plan is?

A4) Plan is a DB2 object (produced during the bind process) that associates one or morecomdatabase request
modules with a plan name.
Q5) What is a DB2 bind?
A5) Bind is a process that builds “access paths” to DB2 tables. A bind uses the Database Request
Modules(s) (DBRM(s)) from the DB2 pre-compile step as input and produces an application plan. It
also checks the user’s authority and validates the SQL statements in the DBRM(s).
Q6) What information is used as input to the bind process?
A6) The database request module produced during the pre-compile. The SYSIBM.SYSSTMT table of the
DB2 catalog.
Q7) What is meant by the attachment facility?
A7) The attachment facility is an interface between DB2 and TSO, IMS/VS, CICS, or batch address spaces.
It allows application programs to access DB2.
Q8) What is meant by AUTO COMMIT?
A8) AUTO COMMIT is a SPUFI option that commits the effects of SQL statements automatically if they
are successfully executed.
Q9) What is a base table?
A9) A base table is a real table - a table that physically exists in that there are physical stored records.
Q10) What is the function of buffer manager?
A10) The buffer manager is the DB2 component responsible for physically transferring data between an
external medium and (virtual) storage (performs the actual I/O operations). It minimizes the
amount of physical I/O actually performed with sophisticated buffering techniques(i.e., read-ahead
buffering and look-aside buffering).

Q11) What is a buffer pool?
A11) A buffer pool is main storage that is reserved to satisfy the buffering requirements for one or more
IBMMAINFRAMES
tablespaces or indexes, and is made up of either 4K or 32K pages.
Q12) How many buffer pools are there in DB2?
A12) There are four buffer pools: BP0, BP1, BP2, and BP32.
Q13) On the create tablespace, what does the CLOSE parameter do?




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A13) CLOSE physically closes the tablespace when no one is working on the object. DB2 (release 2.3) will logically close tablespaces.

Q14) What is a clustering index?

A14) It is a type of index that (1) locates table rows and (2) determines how rows are grouped together in the tablespace.

Q15) What will the COMMIT accomplish?

A15) COMMIT will allow data changes to be permanent. This then permits the data to be accessed by other units of work. When a COMMIT occurs, locks are freed so other applications can reference the just committed data.

Q16) What is meant by concurrency?

A16) Concurrency is what allows more than one DB2 application process to access the same data at
essentially the same time. Problems may occur, such as lost updates, access to uncommitted data,
and un-repeatable reads. .
Q17) What is cursor stability?

com
A17) It is cursor stability that “tells” DB2 that database values read by this application are protected
only while they are being used. (Changed values are protected until this application reaches the
commit point). As soon as a program moves from one row to another, other programs may read or
the first row.
Q18) What is the function of the Data Manager?
A18) The Data Manager is a DB2 component that manager the physical databases. It invokes other system components, as necessary, to perform detailed functions such as locking, logging, and physical I/O operations (such as search, retrieval, update, and index maintenance).

Q19) What is a Database Request Module(DBRM)?

A19) A DBRM is a DB2 component created by the DB2 pre -compiler containing the SQL source statements extracted from the application program. DBRMs are input to the bind process.

Q20) What is a data page?

A20) A data page is a unit of retrievable data, either 4K or 32K (depending on how the table is defined), containing user or catalog information.

Q21) What are data types?

A21) They are attributes of columns, literals, and host variables. The data types are SMALLINT, INTEGER, FLOAT, DECIMAL, CHAR, VARCHAR, DATE and TIME.

Q22) What is Declaration Generator(DCLGEN)?

A22) DCLGEN is a facility that is used to generate SQL statements that describe a table or view. These

table or view descriptions are then used to check the validity of other SQL statements at
precompile time. The table or view declares are used by the DB2I utility DCLGEN to build a host
language structure, which is used by the DB2 precompiler to verify that correct column names and
data types have been specified in the SQL statement.
Q23) What does DSNDB07 database do?
IBMMAINFRAMESA23) DSNDB07 is where DB2 does its sorting. It includes DB2’s sort work area and external storage.
Q24) What will the FREE command do to a plan?
A24) It will drop(delete) that existing plan.
Q25) What is a host variable?

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