Rating: 
Summary: Paul does it again...
Review: As a developer and designer of AS/400 commercial software, I have always respected Paul Conte's contributions to my sphere of technical knowledge. This book furthers that respect. It expands on the chapter on SQL in Paul Conte's Database Design and Programming for DB2/400, a MUST-HAVE book for every AS/400 development team in its own right. Paul and Mike do an excellent job of introducing the unique features of the OS/400 operating system as they relate to SQL, and proceed in a logical fashion to explain both the data description and data manipulation aspects of SQL/400. I especially appreciated the various design tips- for example, how to create an SQL table with a member name that differs from the file name (a problem unique to AS/400 programming considerations). The section on dynamic SQL processing is particularly helpful. The examples can be put to good use immediately for writing useful SQL applications. The use of different languages to present these examples means the book will be helpful to RPG or Cobol programmers. Ignore the earlier reviewer who claimed this is a regurgitation of IBM's manuals. This is simply not true.For those who are just embarking on database programming, chapters 17-19, on general concepts regarding data modelling and relational database design, are worth the price of the book alone. They provide guidance for using a formal approach to database design, instead of the 'intuitive' approach many of us old-timers have grown up with. The only area I would like to have seen more detailed discussion is on the subject of remote connections (DRDA). The writing is clear, concise, technically accurate and complete, which is typical of all Paul's work, including his prolific magazine article output. I imagine Mike Cravitz's contribution is also significant, having read several of his articles also. These two guys are the 'real thing' - not like many of the technical imposters writing in the AS/400 realm. Get this book and read it. For further database programming insights, read their News/400 articles, too.
Rating:
Summary: Salvation for a Windows Developer
Review: As a VB developer, I have experience with Informix, SQL Server and Oracle. But implementing SQL on the AS400 was a challenge. This book was my salvation. It provided the necessary information to help my team develop secure ODBC access to the AS400 using SQL Stored Procedures. We were able to create tables that provide different record format and file names, and short field names for RPG non-SQL access, as well as long (meaningful) names for Visual Basic / SQL access. We learned how to evaluate SQL naming vs. System naming. And we learned how to provide secure ODBC connections by revoking some of the "public" authorities and using SQL stored procedures with program adopted authority. Phase II of the project will be WEB based. It's nice to know our DB2 implementation and SQL stored procedures will work whether we use Java, VB .NET or a mixed development environment. I took my copy of the "SQL 400/Developer's Guide" to the office. People kept "borrowing" it, so I had the company buy a copy. It quickly became the most popular book in the company library. It was in such demand that several developers bought their own copies. I hope this book is updated annually to incorporate new DB2/400 features. I would gladly purchase future revised editions covering topics like "Implementing Datalinks", "How to find the AS400 job log for ODBC requests", "Using SQL Statements to Define Database Triggers", "Retrieving Disconnected Recordsets" with JAVA and VB examples, "Creating Pivot Tables", "Populating Grids", "Multiple System Joins" (if IBM ever offers this common SQL feature), and more SQL examples.
Rating:
Summary: Salvation for a Windows Developer
Review: As a VB developer, I have experience with Informix, SQL Server and Oracle. But implementing SQL on the AS400 was a challenge. This book was my salvation. It provided the necessary information to help my team develop secure ODBC access to the AS400 using SQL Stored Procedures. We were able to create tables that provide different record format and file names, and short field names for RPG non-SQL access, as well as long (meaningful) names for Visual Basic / SQL access. We learned how to evaluate SQL naming vs. System naming. And we learned how to provide secure ODBC connections by revoking some of the "public" authorities and using SQL stored procedures with program adopted authority. Phase II of the project will be WEB based. It's nice to know our DB2 implementation and SQL stored procedures will work whether we use Java, VB .NET or a mixed development environment. I took my copy of the "SQL 400/Developer's Guide" to the office. People kept "borrowing" it, so I had the company buy a copy. It quickly became the most popular book in the company library. It was in such demand that several developers bought their own copies. I hope this book is updated annually to incorporate new DB2/400 features. I would gladly purchase future revised editions covering topics like "Implementing Datalinks", "How to find the AS400 job log for ODBC requests", "Using SQL Statements to Define Database Triggers", "Retrieving Disconnected Recordsets" with JAVA and VB examples, "Creating Pivot Tables", "Populating Grids", "Multiple System Joins" (if IBM ever offers this common SQL feature), and more SQL examples.
Rating:
Summary: Great book
Review: I found this book to be an excellent resource to quickly ramp up on some SQL/400 (and generic SQL) issues that I'm a bit weak on, such as triggers and SQL/400 security. I also found the section on Database Modeling and Design especially useful, enabling me to review relational DB and ERD concepts. What I really like about this book is that it's organized in readable, comprehensible chunks. The chapters I've read so far have struck the right balance of completeness and length. As an added bonus, the book covers V4R5 of OS/400 and SQL/400.
Rating: 
Summary: Used it the day I got it
Review: I had a vendor in the day this came to work. He asked me if I had a good SQL book and I replied, "Let's find out" and opened the box. It was perfect for what we needed. I have used it several times and it is easy to read. Being new at SQL on the 400, I am a little frustrated with the index. I was trying to figure out how to substring and couldn't find a reference anywhere. Twice I have had to forego the book and ask another person.
It is a great learning tool and I'm very glad I bought it.
Rating:
Summary: Used it the day I got it
Review: I had a vendor in the day this came to work. He asked me if I had a good SQL book and I replied, "Let's find out" and opened the box. It was perfect for what we needed. I have used it several times and it is easy to read. Being new at SQL on the 400, I am a little frustrated with the index. I was trying to figure out how to substring and couldn't find a reference anywhere. Twice I have had to forego the book and ask another person.
It is a great learning tool and I'm very glad I bought it.
Rating:
Summary: Used it the day I got it
Review: I had a vendor in the day this came to work. He asked me if I had a good SQL book and I replied, "Let's find out" and opened the box. It was perfect for what we needed. I have used it several times and it is easy to read. Being new at SQL on the 400, I am a little frustrated with the index. I was trying to figure out how to substring and couldn't find a reference anywhere. Twice I have had to forego the book and ask another person.
It is a great learning tool and I'm very glad I bought it.
Rating:
Summary: A Must Buy
Review: I work with SQL on the AS/400 every day, and this book has proven to be an indispensable technical resource. It provides a common language for understanding between the "traditional" AS/400 programming community and those new to the system (or those of us using technologies like ODBC and JDBC on the system). Like a previous reviewer, I find its detailed technical descriptions of complex topics such as committment control and transaction isolation to be top notch. Having worked in the IBM AS/400 development laboratory for 12+ years, I recognize firsthand that this book effectively interweaves insider knowledge with everyday, end-user needs. Great job. Keep 'em coming! Well worth the money.
Rating:
Summary: Impressive technical depth
Review: I'm an AS/400 programmer with over ten years experience with RPG, DDS, and DB2/400. I've been working with SQL/400 for a little over a year. I wish I'd had this book when I started learning SQL! It has very thorough introductions to all the essential DDL and DML statements. Although I'm somewhat beyond the "basics" level now, I've also found lots of help with more advanced issues. The explanation of transaction isolation levels and record locking is better than I've found anywhere. Also, the complex rules for "system" vs. "SQL" naming are finally comprehensible. The authors seem to know SQL/400 very well, judging from the numerous "nitty-gritty" technical fine points that are provided in footnotes. This is really the kind of book that an AS/400 developer needs to become a good SQL programmer, too.
Rating:
Summary: Best book to learn SQL/400
Review: If I were teaching (or taking) a class on SQL/400, or just wanting to learn how to develop AS/400 database applications, this is _the_ book that I would want to use. The information needed to develop AS/400 SQL applications is available from other sources, but contained in hundreds of technical manuals, magazine articles, news group postings, and code examples (just to name a few sources). The authors have used their considerable knowledge and experiences to shorten the learning process for the reader by pulling together that information into a single place. I am especially impressed with the organization of material into manageable topics, the easy to read writing style, and numerous tips and techniques presented. I found reading this book more like reading a good novel and wanting to see what happens in the next chapter rather than reading a textbook. I have to admit however I live with this stuff every day. Having been an AS/400 database administrator for the past 10 years I can appreciate the amount of knowledge, experience and effort required to write a book of this kind. The only downside to this book that I found is that I would have liked to see more information about developing applications using JDBC, interfacing with Windows applications using ADO and ODBC, and serving AS/400 information via Web pages. I find an increasing part of my workload to be answering questions about these topics. A good majority of those questions however don't deal with language specific access mechanisms but rather from a lack of understanding about AS/400 specific features and database fundamentals, topics which are well covered in this book. After reading this book I do have one additional problem also. Now I need to buy a stack of these books to hand out to the numerous developers who cross my desk on a daily basis.
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