Do you remember this bookcover?. How about this magazine cover?

Do you remember

this bookcover?

How about this magazine cover?

Anyone less then 50 years old should not know what this is and

You should be wondering WHY am I showing you this old stuff?

What does this have to do with modern SQL database access?

• Write a simple RPG II program that accessed a remote file by reading a record and doing something with it, such as;

• Performing some local business logic based on the remote information.

• Writing the records (rows) back to a local file (table); performing a simple file transfer to you local DASD.

• Writing the rows to yet another remote table on a completely different system; never storing it locally – just moving data around the network.

• Crazy but true, 30 years ago, with APPC/APPN and the appropriate Network Resource Directory (NRD) entries you could navigate, access and manage data across a complex network topology.

So back in 1985ish (30 years ago today) you could:

Technology Refresh 4 for IBMi 7.1 happened.

SQL can finally perform a simple data transfer from a remote table to a local table in ONE statement - just like your 1985ish S/36 RPG II program did!

IF, in 2012, this was deemed “exciting news … [one of the] more interesting DB2 for i enhancements”!

THEN what do you call that APPC/APPN/DDM/NRD thing back in the 80’s?

• It can best be portrayed by the Paul Tuohy’s signature stance - “smoking some really good stuff”!

ELSE end

27 years later – circa 2012

User Defined Table Functions

UDTF should be all the rage!

Albeit a few decades late but still some crazy good stuff!

Where are we Today with database access?