Getting Started with DB2 Express-C

24 Getting Started with DB2 Express-C
• SQL, XQuery, XPath
• C/C++ (CLI, ODBC and embedded SQL)
• Java (JDBC and SQLJ)
• COBOL
• PHP
• Perl
• Python
• Ruby on Rails
• .NET languages
• OLE-DB
• ADO
• MS Office: Excel, Access, Word
• Web services
1.7 DB2 versions versus DB2 editions
If you are new to DB2, you may be a bit confused as to the distinction between a DB2
version, and a DB2 edition.
Every few years, IBM publicly releases a new DB2 version. A version includes new
features and significant improvements to the product. Currently, DB2 Version 9 is officially
supported by IBM. A version may also have a few releases which are updates that can
include some new functionality but are usually not significant enough to warrant a new
version. For example 9.5 and 9.7 are release levels for DB2 Version 9. Over the past few
years, IBM has come out with a new release of DB2 every 1-2 years, however new
versions are typically spaced over 3 or more years apart. The most current release is
V9.7, which became generally available (GA) in June of 2009. Each release may also have
several modification levels, which typically contain fixes or correspond to fix pack levels,
and seldom deliver new functionality. At the time of writing the most current version,
release, and modification (V,R,M) level of DB2 Express-C is 9.7.0 which corresponds to a
code-level of 9.7 with Fix pack 0, which means it is at the GA level.
On the other hand, editions are select offerings or package groupings within each version.
As discussed earlier, an edition is a packaging of different functions for a given price and
license. DB2 Version 9.7 (also known as DB2 9.7) has several editions; for example, DB2
Express-C 9.7, DB2 Express 9.7, DB2 Workgroup 9.7, and DB2 Enterprise 9.7 (see Figure
1.1).