Hello all, I have currently obtained an internship for a large company and this is what they said I will be doing:

"He'll be working with DB2 Z/OS (Mainframe) Databases. The only language required is SQL. We are thinking he will be working primarily with SQL performance tuning (which means using Visual Explain - Version 8), as well as BMC utilities (BMC Loadplus, BMC Copyplus, BMC Reorg). We will be implementing DB2 Version 8 right around the time he is here, and the Warehouse SQL and utilities will need to be tested and tuned."

I have basic knowledge of SQL and know Microsoft Access very well because that is what I have used to create database. My question is: Based on that information provided in the quotes above, are there any books you can recommend me to buy that will help me learn a little about DB2 and the other things mentioned that will give me a headstart before I begin my internship?

Thanks a ton,
-Matt

You need to learn OS/390 JCL (job control language). This is important for anything you do on the mainframe. A basic understanding of TSO/ISPF will also be required. Check Amazon and see if you can find a book on these, or ask your new boss to recommend one.

Download the DB2 Adminstration Guide in PDF format from the IBM website, and start reading it. Here is the link:
http://www-306.ibm.com/software/data...s/v8books.html

Awesome! Thanks...this is all stuff I am glad to get information about because I have NO clue what some of that is and will definitely get ahold of materials/resources that help me learn them. Thanks for the suggestion, any others would be greatly appreciated!


- Matt

Here is the classic book on JCL. I had the first edition when I started in 1978:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...=UTF8&v=glance

Here is another book that looks good:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/AS...068002-7449630

Here is a book on TSO/ISPF:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...=UTF8&v=glance

The prices are outrageous, so I would look at one the used copies. Also, contact your boss and see if they any of these books laying around that you get from them before you start work.

Check out:

ABC's of System Programming at www.redbooks.ibm.com and search on "ABCs". (The z/OS set are updates of the non-z/OS set of books. If a topic is in both use the z/OS one.) While they go in more depth and topics than you'll need, they do give a good over-all view of z/OS, how JCL works, etc, etc. (BTW, for your purposes, MVS, OS/390 and z/OS are names for successive versions of the same basic operating system.) While you are there, there are lots of other redbooks on DB2.

DB2 and z/OS manuals are available at http://www-1.ibm.com/servers/eserver...es/zos/bkserv/. Follow the z/OS elements and features V1R4 link (unless you know the actual release this is "good enough") to Adobe Acrobat PDFs and then
- for DB2 manuals the z/OS software products link
- for JCL manuals the z/OS elements and features link and then the MVS link
- ISPF and TSO manuals are also there.

If you want to spend money the following are good:
- DB2(R) for z/OS(R) Version 8 DBA Certification Guide, Susan Lawson, ISBN 0131491202 (Good overview for beginners) You could probably pick up the V7 edition (Yevich and Lawson) on the second hand market.
- DB2 Developer's Guide 5th Ed, Craig Mullens, ISBN 0672326132 (More depth than Lawson, but you'ld better be walking fast before you start).
- DB2 for Z/OS and Os/390 Development for Performance (Volume 1 -ISBN ISBN: 0966846052) and (Volume 2 - ISBN 0966846060), Gabrielle Wiorkowski. Great depth, but it appears that it has not been updated since V7. Check at http://www.gabrielledb2.com.

http://www.idugdb2-l.org/archives/db2-l.html - this listserver seems to be the main forum in which DB2 for z/OS experts congregate.

James Campbell

Cool, thanks guys..I'll be looking for version of those books so I can get an early start on my internship...because there is nothing more than I would like than to do a good job and get offered a full-time job once the internship is over..

-Matt