Application Development Guide

DB2 Online Documentation

Accessing Online Help

Online help is available with all DB2 components. The following table describes the various types of help.

Type of Help Contents How to Access...
Command Help Explains the syntax of commands in the command line processor. From the command line processor in interactive mode, enter:
? command

where command represents a keyword or the entire command.
For example, ? catalog displays help for all the CATALOG commands, while ? catalog database displays help for the CATALOG DATABASE command.

Client Configuration Assistant Help

Command Center Help

Control Center Help

Data Warehouse Center Help

Event Analyzer Help

Information Catalog Manager Help

Satellite Administration Center Help

Script Center Help
Explains the tasks you can perform in a window or notebook. The help includes overview and prerequisite information you need to know, and it describes how to use the window or notebook controls. From a window or notebook, click the Help push button or press the F1 key.
Message Help Describes the cause of a message and any action you should take. From the command line processor in interactive mode, enter:
? XXXnnnnn

where XXXnnnnn represents a valid message identifier.
For example, ? SQL30081 displays help about the SQL30081 message.
To view message help one screen at a time, enter:
? XXXnnnnn | more

To save message help in a file, enter:
? XXXnnnnn > filename.ext

where filename.ext represents the file where you want to save the message help.
SQL Help Explains the syntax of SQL statements. From the command line processor in interactive mode, enter:
help statement

where statement represents an SQL statement.
For example, help SELECT displays help about the SELECT statement.
Note: SQL help is not available on UNIX-based platforms.

SQLSTATE Help Explains SQL states and class codes. From the command line processor in interactive mode, enter:
? sqlstate or ? class code

where sqlstate represents a valid five-digit SQL state and class code represents the first two digits of the SQL state.
For example, ? 08003 displays help for the 08003 SQL state, while ? 08 displays help for the 08 class code.

Viewing Information Online

The books included with this product are in Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) softcopy format. Softcopy format enables you to search or browse the information and provides hypertext links to related information. It also makes it easier to share the library across your site.

You can view the online books or sample programs with any browser that conforms to HTML Version 3.2 specifications.

To view online books or sample programs:

If you are running DB2 administration tools, use the Information Center.
From a browser, click File -->Open Page. The page you open contains descriptions of and links to DB2 information:
- On UNIX-based platforms, open the following page:
```
   INSTHOME/sqllib/doc/%L/html/index.htm
```
  where %L represents the locale name.
- On other platforms, open the following page:
```
   sqllib\doc\html\index.htm
```
  The path is located on the drive where DB2 is installed.
  If you have not installed the Information Center, you can open the page by double-clicking the DB2 Information icon. Depending on the system you are using, the icon is in the main product folder or the Windows Start menu.

Installing the Netscape Browser

If you do not already have a Web browser installed, you can install Netscape from the Netscape CD-ROM found in the product boxes. For detailed instructions on how to install it, perform the following:

Insert the Netscape CD-ROM.
On UNIX-based platforms only, mount the CD-ROM. Refer to your Quick Beginnings book for the mounting procedures.
For installation instructions, refer to the CDNAVnn.txt file, where nn represents your two character language identifier. The file is located at the root directory of the CD-ROM.

Accessing Information with the Information Center

The Information Center provides quick access to DB2 product information. The Information Center is available on all platforms on which the DB2 administration tools are available.

You can open the Information Center by double-clicking the Information Center icon. Depending on the system you are using, the icon is in the Information folder in the main product folder or the Windows Start menu.

You can also access the Information Center by using the toolbar and the Help menu on the DB2 Windows platform.

The Information Center provides six types of information. Click the appropriate tab to look at the topics provided for that type.

Tasks: Key tasks you can perform using DB2.
Reference: DB2 reference information, such as keywords, commands, and APIs.
Books: DB2 books.
Troubleshooting: Categories of error messages and their recovery actions.
Sample Programs: Sample programs that come with the DB2 Application Development Client. If you did not install the DB2 Application Development Client, this tab is not displayed.
Web: DB2 information on the World Wide Web. To access this information, you must have a connection to the Web from your system.

When you select an item in one of the lists, the Information Center launches a viewer to display the information. The viewer might be the system help viewer, an editor, or a Web browser, depending on the kind of information you select.

The Information Center provides a find feature, so you can look for a specific topic without browsing the lists.

For a full text search, follow the hypertext link in the Information Center to the Search DB2 Online Information search form.

The HTML search server is usually started automatically. If a search in the HTML information does not work, you may have to start the search server using one of the following methods:

On Windows: Click Start and select Programs --> IBM DB2 --> Information --> Start HTML Search Server.
On OS/2: Double-click the DB2 for OS/2 folder, and then double-click the Start HTML Search Server icon.

Refer to the release notes if you experience any other problems when searching the HTML information.
Note: The Search function is not available in the Linux, PTX, and Silicon Graphics IRIX environments.

Using DB2 Wizards

Wizards help you complete specific administration tasks by taking you through each task one step at a time. Wizards are available through the Control Center and the Client Configuration Assistant. The following table lists the wizards and describes their purpose.
Note: The Create Database, Create Index, Configure Multisite Update, and Performance Configuration wizards are available for the partitioned database environment.

Wizard Helps You to... How to Access...
Add Database Catalog a database on a client workstation. From the Client Configuration Assistant, click Add.
Back up Database Determine, create, and schedule a backup plan. From the Control Center, right-click the database you want to back up and select Backup --> Database Using Wizard.
Configure Multisite Update Configure a multisite update, a distributed transaction, or a two-phase commit. From the Control Center, right-click the Databases folder and select Multisite Update.
Create Database Create a database, and perform some basic configuration tasks.
From the Control Center, right-click the Databases folder and select Create --> Database Using Wizard.
Create Table Select basic data types, and create a primary key for the table. From the Control Center, right-click the Tables icon and select Create --> Table Using Wizard.
Create Table Space Create a new table space. From the Control Center, right-click the Table Spaces icon and select Create --> Table Space Using Wizard.
Create Index Advise which indexes to create and drop for all your queries. From the Control Center, right-click the Index icon and select Create --> Index Using Wizard.
Performance Configuration Tune the performance of a database by updating configuration parameters to match your business requirements. From the Control Center, right-click the database you want to tune and select Configure Performance Using Wizard.
For the partitioned database environment, from the Database Partitions view, right-click the first database partition you want to tune and select Configure Performance Using Wizard.
Restore Database Recover a database after a failure. It helps you understand which backup to use, and which logs to replay. From the Control Center, right-click the database you want to restore and select Restore --> Database Using Wizard.

Wizard	Helps You to...	How to Access...
Add Database	Catalog a database on a client workstation.	From the Client Configuration Assistant, click Add.
Back up Database	Determine, create, and schedule a backup plan.	From the Control Center, right-click the database you want to back up and select Backup --> Database Using Wizard.
Configure Multisite Update	Configure a multisite update, a distributed transaction, or a two-phase commit.	From the Control Center, right-click the Databases folder and select Multisite Update.
Create Database	Create a database, and perform some basic configuration tasks.	From the Control Center, right-click the Databases folder and select Create --> Database Using Wizard.
Create Table	Select basic data types, and create a primary key for the table.	From the Control Center, right-click the Tables icon and select Create --> Table Using Wizard.
Create Table Space	Create a new table space.	From the Control Center, right-click the Table Spaces icon and select Create --> Table Space Using Wizard.
Create Index	Advise which indexes to create and drop for all your queries.	From the Control Center, right-click the Index icon and select Create --> Index Using Wizard.
Performance Configuration	Tune the performance of a database by updating configuration parameters to match your business requirements.	From the Control Center, right-click the database you want to tune and select Configure Performance Using Wizard. For the partitioned database environment, from the Database Partitions view, right-click the first database partition you want to tune and select Configure Performance Using Wizard.
Restore Database	Recover a database after a failure. It helps you understand which backup to use, and which logs to replay.	From the Control Center, right-click the database you want to restore and select Restore --> Database Using Wizard.

Setting Up a Document Server

By default, the DB2 information is installed on your local system. This means that each person who needs access to the DB2 information must install the same files. To have the DB2 information stored in a single location, perform the following steps:

Copy all files and subdirectories from \sqllib\doc\html on your local system to a Web server. Each book has its own subdirectory that contains all the necessary HTML and GIF files that make up the book. Ensure that the directory structure remains the same.
Configure the Web server to look for the files in the new location. For information, refer to the NetQuestion Appendix in the Installation and Configuration Supplement.
If you are using the Java version of the Information Center, you can specify a base URL for all HTML files. You should use the URL for the list of books.
When you are able to view the book files, you can bookmark commonly viewed topics. You will probably want to bookmark the following pages:
- List of books
- Tables of contents of frequently used books
- Frequently referenced articles, such as the ALTER TABLE topic
- The Search form

For information about how you can serve the DB2 Universal Database online documentation files from a central machine, refer to the NetQuestion Appendix in the Installation and Configuration Supplement.

Searching Information Online

To find information in the HTML files, use one of the following methods:

Click Search in the top frame. Use the search form to find a specific topic. This function is not available in the Linux, PTX, or Silicon Graphics IRIX environments.
Click Index in the top frame. Use the index to find a specific topic in the book.
Display the table of contents or index of the help or the HTML book, and then use the find function of the Web browser to find a specific topic in the book.
Use the bookmark function of the Web browser to quickly return to a specific topic.
Use the search function of the Information Center to find specific topics. See Accessing Information with the Information Center for details.

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