Interbase and DB2
Tsourinakis Antonis
In our company we have to implement an very large application for a
maritime reservation and ticketing system. The main hardware system
has 3 AS400 with DB2 but in the development time we have to
create/test our code in a windows environment with an interbase
server. SO we bought ACE400 for the win to AS400 connection and start
trying. After two months trials we have not succeeded to have the sane
results from the Interbase StoredProcedures as with the AS/400 stored
procedures so we gave up. (We not succeeded to get back the results as
we expected). Now we make all the code with Queries (the same for
either connection) and we can switch in the fly from the Interbase
Server on windows to DB2 server on AS/400. The only time consuming is
to check the SQL if is appropriate for both RDBMS. So far the only
problem we faced was with the Date(IB5.6) and TIMESTAMP (DB2)
differences and we solve it with a function that formats dates
according to the connection. We also create the SQL in code so we can
debug and change them easily. Our code is ~150000 lines, with ~300
tables in DB.
Of course this isn't that you answered and maybe this happens because
of our little knowledge of the AS400 but this is my experience for an
application (2 years of 10 man deployment). It is not so smart but it
is stable and working with a lot of remote accessing from all over the
Greece.
Antonis Tsourinakis - Piraeus, Greece
>
>Now anyone that knows db2 knows that this is not possible with DB2 (if
>I am wrong there please tell me, and earn my eternal gratitude). So
>for DB2 we simple use a TSoredProc and get the result set using that.
>
>In our perfect (dream) world our application (several compiled exe's)
>are capable of connecting to interbase or DB2 without any program
>changes.
>
>The problem is this. A TStoredProc connecting to an interbase database
>can be "ExecProc"ed but not opened (to gain access to the result set)
>with DB2 I can do either (execproc or open). With a TQuery connecting
>to a DB2 database I cannot SELECT from a stored procedure (function
>yes procedure no) and get a result set.
>
>Now there are lots of possible solutions.
>in the application have both components and use the appropriate one
>for the appropriate connection.
>
>write some kinda hybrid TDataset (TQuery, TStoredProc.. whatever) that
>has this functionality built in although that seems to me to be rather
>time consuming and not sure if it can be done, cleanly.
>
>Does anyone have any thoughts on this?
>Has anyone face this problem?
>
>Obviously we would like a solution that can be encapsulated into a
>component so that we dont have to code workarounds all throughout the
>app's. But if there are no other solutions then maybe we compromise
>the maintainability to offer the multi database feature.
>
>Jeff Bendixsen
Jeff Bendixsen
<tso...@otenet.gr> wrote:
Thanks for the reply, my initial post was probably more of a way to
vent my frustration more than anything. It is good to know that
someone else out there is working with Interbase and DB2.
Some of my initial thoughts for converting to interbase was to bring
much of the stored procedure logic into the delphi app (data modules),
similiar to what I think you are describing. However There was a large
concern about performance and of course the time to convert 400+
procedures. Under interbase our application is fairly mature
(performance tuned in production systems) and it was felt that we
could not take any steps backwards in performance.
I am curious to know how you find the performance between IB and DB2,
and if you have large tables.
Jeff Bendixsen