Quick Beginnings Personal Edition

Entering Commands Using the Command Center

This section describes how to enter commands using the Command Center. The Command Center provides an interactive window to:

• Run SQL statements, DB2 commands, and operating system commands.

• See the execution result of SQL statements and DB2 commands in a results window. You can scroll through the results and save the output to a file.

• Save a sequence of SQL statements and DB2 commands to a script file. You can then schedule the script to run as a job. When a saved script is modified, all jobs dependent on the saved script inherit the new modified behavior.

• Recall and run a script file.

• See the execution plan and statistics associated with a SQL statement before execution. You do this by invoking Visual Explain in the interactive window.

• Get quick access to database administrative tools from the main tool bar.

• Display all the command scripts known to the system through the Script Center, with summary information listed for each.

Start the Command Center in one of the follows ways:

• Click on the Command Center icon in the Control Center.

• Enter the db2cctr command.

• Launch the Command Center from the toolbar as follows:

  On Windows 9x or Windows NT

  • Click on the Start button and select Programs->DB2 for Windows->Command Center.

  On OS/2

  • Click on the OS/2 Warp button and select DB2 for OS/2 ->Command Center.

The Command Center contains a large input area in which you enter your commands. To run the commands you have entered, click on the Execution icon (the gears icon), or press CTRL+Enter.

In the Command Center, you do not have to enter a command with the db2 prefix; instead you just enter the DB2 command. For example: list database directory To enter operating system commands, precede the operating-system command with an exclamation mark (!). For example: !dir

If you want to enter multiple commands, you must end each command with the termination character, then press then Enter key to start the next command on a new line. The default termination character is a semicolon (;). To specify a different termination character, click on the Tools Settings icon in the menu toolbar.

For example, you could connect to a database called SAMPLE and list all the system tables by entering the following command:

   connect to sample;
   list tables for system

After you have clicked on the Execution icon (or pressed CTRL+Enter), the Command Center switches to the Results window which informs you how the commands are proceeding.

To recall commands that you have entered, select the Script Tab, click on the drop down box, and select a command.

To save commands as scripts, select Script->Save as from the menu bar. For more information, click on the Help push button or press the F1 key.

If you want to store commonly used SQL statements or DB2 commands as scripts, click on the Script Center icon from the main tool bar. For more information, click on the Help push button or press the F1 key.

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