Q. I have a following table :

I want results as :

Ans: At the time of interview I wasn’t easy with the answer but I wrote a query, but interviewer not satisfied.

I got the following proper query/solution from one of my colleagues Mr. sandeep Walia:

declare @tbl table(university varchar(100),Utotals int, status varchar(100),statuscnt int)

insert into @tbl(university,Utotals,status,statuscnt)

select ‘u1′,100,’pending’,20

union all

select ‘u1′,100,’Active’,20

union all

select ‘u1′,100,’Deferred’,60

union all

select ‘u2′,60,’pending’,20

union all

select ‘u2′,60,’Active’,20

union all

select ‘u2′,60,’Deferred’,20

select * from @tbl;

with cte as (

SELECT ROW_NUMBER() OVER(PARTITION BY university ORDER BY university DESC) AS RowID,

*

FROM @tbl

)

SELECT case when rowid=1 then university else null end university,case when rowid=1 then Utotals else null end Utotals,status,statuscnt

FROM cte

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declare @tt table(col1 varchar(10), joinexp varchar(100))

insert into @tt

select ‘c1′,’join table2 on table1.id = table1.id’

union all

select ‘c2′,’join table3 on table2.id = table1.id’

union all

select ‘c3′,’join table4 on table3.id = table1.id’

union all

select ‘c4′,’join table5 on table5.id = table1.id’

union all

select ‘c5′,NULL

union all

select ‘c6′,NULL

declare @str varchar(1000)

set @str = ‘Select c1,c4,c5,c8,c9 from table1′

declare @tt table(col1 varchar(10), joinexp varchar(100))insert into @ttselect ‘c1′,’join table2 on table1.id = table1.id’union allselect ‘c2′,’join table3 on table2.id = table1.id’union allselect ‘c3′,’join table4 on table3.id = table1.id’union allselect ‘c4′,’join table5 on table5.id = table1.id’union allselect ‘c5′,NULLunion allselect ‘c6′,NULL
declare @str varchar(1000)set @str = ‘Select c1,c4,c5,c8,c9 from table1′

Now, in above create dynamic query with dynamic join with the subsequent column from C1,c4 etc.

Ans: Select @str = @str + space(1) + joinexp

from @tt

where CharIndex(col1,@str) > 0 and joinexp <>”

Select @str

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declare @dt datetime

set @dt=’1/1/2010′ –Want to know January’s Last Monday Date

SELECT dateadd(d,-datepart(dw,DATEADD(d, -datepart(d,dateadd(mm,1,@dt)),dateadd(mm,1,@dt))-1)+1,DATEADD(d, -datepart(d,dateadd(mm,1,@dt)),dateadd(mm,1,@dt)))

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use following query:

Select CAST(DAY(GETDATE()) AS VARCHAR(2)) + ‘/’ + CAST(MONTH(GETDATE()) AS VARCHAR(2)) + ‘/ ‘ + CAST(YEAR(GETDATE()) AS VARCHAR(4)) AS DATE

Result will be : in mm/dd/yyy

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ex:

Create Table newTable (id VarChar(10))

Insert Into newTable Select id from oldTable

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SQL CODES                       DESCRIPTION

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Topics covered

• QMF
• SPUFI
• Program preparation and execution
• DCLGEN
• LOCKS
• DB2 Utilities

DCLGEN

DCLGEN is a facility that is used to generate SQL statements that describe a table or view. These table descriptions are then used to check the validity of other SQL statements at precompile time. DCLGEN  uses table declaration to build a host language structure, which  is used by the DB2 precompiler  to verify that correct column names and data types have been specified in the SQL statement.

LOCKS

• DB2 uses locks to control concurrence and prevent lost updates.
• Locks prevent one program from accessing data that another  program has changed but not yet committed.
• DB2 acquires all locks implicitly under DB2 control.
  • Lock can be obtained  ==>

• • Implicitly – by the system
  • Explicitly – by the user

There are 2 kinds of locks :

• Shared             S
• Exclusive         X

SHARE MODE Lock :

• Is used for querying consistent data
• Prevents other users from updating data, you are reading
• Prevents other users from putting EXCLUSIVE mode lock  on the table
• Lets other users read the data
• Locks the whole table

Example  :

LOCK TABLE EMPLOYEE

IN  SHARE  MODE ;

EXCLUSIVE MODE lock :

• Is used for changing data
• Prevents other users from updating data, you’re reading
• Prevents other users from putting ANY lock on the table
• Lets other users read the data
• Does not guarantee current data
• Locks the whole table

Example :

LOCK TABLE EMPLOYEE       IN          EXCLUSIVE MODE ;

Locks can be obtained implicitly or explicitly.

Implicit lock is issued by the system itself.

DB2 provides facilities for explicit locking :

• The SQL statement LOCK TABLE
• The ISOLATION parameter on the BIND command
• The tablespace LOCKSIZE parameter
• The ACQUIRE/RELEASE parameters on the BIND command

DB2 UTILITIES

• LOAD
• IMAGECOPY
• RECOVERY
• REORG
• RUNSTATS
• CHECKS

LOAD

Use LOAD to load one or more tables of a table space. LOAD loads records    into the tables and builds or extends any indexes defined on them. If the   table space already contains data, you can choose whether you want to add   the new data to the existing data or replace the existing data. The loaded  data is processed by any edit or validation routine associated with the     table, and any field procedure associated with any column of the table.

REORG

The REORG online utility reorganizes a table space or index to improve access performance and reclaim fragmented space. In addition, the utility can reorganize a single partition of either a partitioned index or a   partitioned table space. You can specify the degree of access to your data during reorganization. If you specify REORG UNLOAD ONLY, the data is unloaded in a format that is acceptable to the LOAD utility of the same DB2 subsystem.

Output: If the table space or partition has the COMPRESS YES attributes, then the data is compressed when reloaded. If you specify the KEEPDICTIONARY option of REORG, the current dictionary is used; otherwise  a new dictionary is built.

REORG TABLESPACE can be executed on the table spaces in the DB2 catalog

database (DSNDB06) and some table spaces in the directory database

(DSNDB01).  It cannot be executed on any table space in the DSNDB07

database.

Authorization Required: To execute this utility on a user table space or

index, the privilege set of the process must include one of the following:

• REORG privilege for the database
• DBADM or DBCTRL authority for the database
• SYSCTRL authority
• SYSADM authority.

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Topics covered

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• SPUFI
• Program preparation and execution
• DCLGEN
• LOCKS
• DB2 Utilities

QMF

Description: QMF = Query Management Facility

An IBM database management tool that allows extensive interactive query and report writing support.  It runs     under the control of the Interactive System Productivity  Facility (ISPF), which in turn runs under Virtual Machine   (VM/CMS) or Time Sharing Option (TSO) on host computers.

SPUFI

Description: SPUFI = SQL Processing Using File Input

A facility of the TSO attachment subcomponent that enables   the DB2I user to execute SQL statements without embedding   them in an application program.

• SPUFI requires that SQL statements to be executed be stored in a data set. One way to use SPUFI is to create the data set prior to executing
• SPUFI.  We can make any desired changes to the data set using editing facilities provided by SPUFI before executing the statements stored in it.
• Alternatively, we can begin a SPUFI session and use the editing facilities of SPUFI to create a data set into which we can place our SQL statements.
• As SQL statements are processed by SPUFI, the results they generate are stored in a data set. The stored data includes a copy of each SQL statement followed by its results.
• For a SELECT statement, the results include both the data retrieved and the value of SQLCODE that is returned.
• By invoking the BROWSE option, we can cause the output data set to be displayed on the terminal. We can use the ISPF browse facilities to move around within the displayed data.
• SPUFI also provides limited formatting options that we can use to specify how the data in the output data set is displayed or printed.

These formatting options can be set using the SPUFI defaults panel.

PROGRAM PREPARATION  AND EXECUTION

• Precompile
• Compile
• Link-edit
• Bind/Rebind
• Execution

Languages that can be used with SQL :

• Assembler
• BASIC
• COBOL
• FORTRAN
• PL/1
• C

DB2 DATA TYPES AND EQUIVALENT COBOL FIELD DEFINITIONS

DATA TYPES      KIND OF DATA        COBOL DEFINITION

SMALLINT                 Half word integer         PIC S  9(4)  COMP

INTEGER                    Full word integer          PIC S  9(9)  COMP

DECIMAL(p,s)          Packed decimal             PIC S  9(7)V99 COMP-3

FLOAT(n)                    Floating point data       (n < 22) COMP-1

(22<= 53) COMP-2

CHAR                          Fixed-length character PIC  X(254)

VARCHAR                  Variable-length character   L  PIC  S9(4) COMP

D PIC  X(254)

GRAPHIC                    Fixed-length                 PIC  G(n) DISPLAY n=127

VARCHAR                  Variable-length           L  PIC  S  9(4)  COMP T  PIC G(127)                                                                                           DISPLAY

DATE                          Date                                     PIC  X(10)

TIME                           Time                                     PIC  X(8)

TIMESTAMP              Date and Time                  PIC  X(26)

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Q36. What are some characteristics of columns that benefit from indexes?

A36. Primary key and foreign key columns;  columns that have unique values; columns that have aggregates computed frequently and columns used to test the existence of a value.

Q37. What is a composite index and how does it differ from a multiple index?

A37. A multiple index is not one index but two indexes for two different columns of a table.  A composite index is one index made up of combined values from two columns in a table.  If two columns in a table will often be accessed together a composite index will be efficient.

Q38. What is meant by index cardinality?

A38. The number of distinct values for a column is called index cardinality.  DB2′s RUNSTATS utility analyzes column value redundancy to determine whether to use a tablespace or index scan to search for data.

Q39. What is a clustered index?

A39. For a clustered index DB2 maintains rows in the same sequence as the columns in the index for as long as there is free space. DB2 can then process that table in that order efficiently.

Q40. What keyword does an SQL SELECT statement use for a string search?

A40. The LIKE keyword allows for string searches.  The % sign is used as a wildcard.

Q41. What are some sql aggregates and other built-in functions?

A41. The common aggregate, built-in functions are AVG, SUM, MIN, MAX, COUNT and DISTINCT.

Q42. How is the SUBSTR keyword used in sql?

A42. SUBSTR is used for string manipulation with column name, first position and string length used as arguments.  Eg. SUBSTR (NAME, 1 3) refers to the first three characters in the column NAME.

Q43. What are the three DB2 date and time data types and their associated functions?

A43. The three data types are DATE, TIME and TIMESTAMP.  CHAR can be used to specify the format of each type. The DAYS function calculates the number of days between two dates.  (It’s Y2K compliant).

Q44. Explain transactions, commits and rollbacks in DB2.

A44. In DB2 a transaction typically requires a series of updates, insertions and deletions that represent a logical unit of work. A transaction puts an implicit lock on the DB2 data. Programmers can use the COMMIT WORK statement to terminate the transaction creating smaller units for recovery.  If the transaction fails DB2 uses the log to roll back values to the start of the transaction or to the preceding commit point.

Q45. What is deadlock?

A45. Deadlock occurs when transactions executing at the same time lock each other out of data that they need to complete their logical units of work.

Q46. What are the four lockable units for DB2?

A46. DB2 imposes locks of four differing sizes:  pages, tables, tablespace and for indexes subpage.

Q47. What are the three lock types?

A47. The three types are shared, update and exclusive.  Shared locks allow two or more programs to read simultaneously but not change the locked space.  An exclusive lock bars all other users from accessing the space.  An update lock is less restrictive; it allows other transactions to read or acquire shared locks on the space.

Q48. What is isolation level?

A48. SQL statements may return any number of rows, but most host languages deal with one row at a time by declaring a cursor that presents each row at a unique isolation level.

Q49. What is an intent lock?

A49. An intent lock is at the table level for a segmented tablespace or at the tablespace level for a nonsegmented tablespace.  They indicate at the table or tablespace level the kinds of locks at lower levels.

Q50. What is the difference between static and dynamic sql?

A50. Static sql is hard-coded in a program when the programmer knows the statements to be executed.  For dynamic sql the program must dynamically allocate memory to receive the query results.

Q51. What is cursor stability?

A51. Cursor stability means that DB2 takes a lock on the page the cursor is accessing and releases the lock when the cursor moves to another page.

Q52. What is the significance of the CURSOR WITH HOLD clause in a cursor declaration?

A52. The clause avoids closing the cursor and repositioning it to the last row processed when the cursor is reopened.

Q53. What is the SQL Communications Area and what are some of its key fields?

A53. It is a data structure that must be included in any host-language program using SQL.  It is used to pass feedback about the sql operations to the program.  Fields are return codes, error messages, handling codes and warnings.

Q54. What is the purpose of the WHENEVER statement?

A54. The WHENEVER statement is coded once in the host program to control program actions depending on the SQL-CODE returned by each sql statement within the program.

Q55. What is DCLGEN?

A55. DCLGEN stands for declarations generator;  it is a facility to generate DB2 sql data structures in COBOL or PL/I programs.

Q56. What is the FREE command?

A56. The FREE command can be used to delete plans and/or packages no longer needed.

Q57. DB2 can implement a join in three ways using a merge join, a nested join or a hybrid join.  Explain the differences.

A57. A merge join requires that the tables being joined be in a sequence; the rows are retrieved with a high cluster ratio index or are sorted by DB2.  A nested join does not require a sequence and works best on joining a small number of rows. DB2 reads the outer table values and each time scans the inner table for matches.  The hybrid join is a nested join that requires the outer table be in sequence.

Q58. Compare a subselect to a join.

A58. Any subselect can be rewritten as a join, but not vice versa.  Joins are usually more efficient as join rows can be returned immediately, subselects require a temporary work area for inner selects results while processing the outer select.

Q59. What is the difference between IN subselects and EXISTS subselect?

A59. If there is an index on the attributes tested an IN is more efficient since DB2 uses the index for the IN.  (IN for index is the mnemonic).

Q60. What is a Cartesian product?

A60. A Cartesian product results from a faulty query.  It is a row in the results for every combination in the join tables.

Q61. 4/99 Mail from Joseph Howard:  ’Q: DB2 What is the difference between a package and a plan? How does one bind 2 versions of a CICS transaction with the same module name in two different CICS regions that share the same DB2 subsystem?

A61. Package and plan are usually used synonomously, as in this site. Both contain optimized code for SQL statements – a package for a single program, module or subroutine contained in the datebase request module (DBRM) library. A plan may contain multiple packages and pointers to packages. The one CICS module would then exist in a package that could be referenced in two different plans.

Q62. What is an asychronous write?

A62. It is a write to disk that may occur before or long after a commit.  The write is controlled by the buffer manager.

Q63. What is a lock?

A63. A lock is the mechanism that controls access to data pages and tablespaces.

Q64. What is meant by isolation level?

A64. This is a key concept for any relational database.  Isolation level is the manner in which locks are applied and released during a transaction.  For DB@ a ‘repeatable read’ holds all locks untile the transaction completes or a syncpoint is issued.  For transactions using ‘cursor stability’ the page lock releases are issued as the cursor ‘moves’, i.e. as the transaction releases addressability to the records.

Q65. What are leaf pages?

A65. They are the opposite of root pages.  Leaf pages are the lowest level index pages – the pages that contain index entries and information to the corresponding table rows.

Q66. What is a precompiler?

A66. It is a DB2 facility for static SQL statements – it replaces these statements with calls to the DB2 language interface module.

Q67. What is a root page?

A67. The opposite of a leaf page; it is the highest level index page.  An index can contain only the one root page; all other index pages are associated to the root.

Q68. What is a thread?

A68. A thread is the connection between DB2 and some other subsystem, such as CICS or IMS/DC.

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Q1. What is a DB2 bind?

A1. A DB2 bind is a process that builds an access path to DB2 tables.

Q2. What is a DB2 access path?

A2. An access path is the method used to access data specified in DB2 sql statements.

Q3. What is a DB2 plan?

A3. An application plan or package is generated by the bind to define an access path.

Q4. What is normalization and what are the five normal forms?

A4. Normalization is a design procedure for representing data in tabular format.  The five normal forms are progressive rules to represent the data with minimal redundancy.

Q5. What are foreign keys?

A5. These are attributes of one table that have matching values in a primary key in another table, allowing for relationships between tables.

Q6. Describe the elements of the SELECT query syntax.

A6. SELECT element FROM table WHERE conditional statement.

Q7. Explain the use of the WHERE clause.

A7. WHERE is used with a relational statement to isolate the object element or row.

Q8. What techniques are used to retrieve data from more than one table in a single SQL statement?

A8. Joins, unions and nested selects are used to retrieve data.

Q9. What do the initials DDL and DML stand for and what is their meaning?

A9. DDL is data definition language and DML is data manipulation language.  DDL statements are CREATE, ALTER, TRUNCATE.  DML statements are SELECT, INSERT, DELETE and UPDATE.

Q10. What is a view? Why use it?

A10. A view is a virtual table made up of data from base tables and other views, but not stored separately.

Q11. Explain an outer join.

A11. An outer join includes rows from tables when there are no matching values in the tables.

Q12. What is a subselect?  Is it different from a nested select?

A12. A subselect is a select which works in conjunction with another select. A nested select is a kind of subselect where the inner select passes to the where criteria for the outer select.

Q13. What is the difference between group by and order by?

A13. Group by controls the presentation of the rows, order by controls the presentation of the columns  for the results of the SELECT statement.

Q14. Explain the EXPLAIN statement.

A14. The explain statement provides information about the optimizer’s choice of access path of the sql.

Q15. What is tablespace?

A15. Tables are stored in tablespaces (hence the name)!  There are three types of tablespaces: simple, segmented and partitioned.

Q16. What is a cursor and what is its function?

A16. An embedded sql statement may return a number of rows while the programming language can only access one row at a time.  The programming device called a cursor controls the position of the row.

Q17. What is referential integrity?

A17. Referential integrity refers to the consistency that must be maintained between primary and foreign keys, ie every foreign key value must have a corresponding primary key value.

Q18. Usually, which is more important for DB2 system performance – CPU processing or I/O access?

A18. I/O operations are usually most critical for DB2 performance (or any other database for that matter).

Q19. Is there any advantage to denormalizing DB2 tables?

A19. Denormalizing DB2 tables reduces the need for processing intensive relational joins and reduces the number of foreign keys.

Q20. What is the database descriptor?

A20. The database descriptor, DBD is the DB2 component that limits access to the database whenever objects are created, altered or dropped.

Q21. What is lock contention?

A21. To maintain the integrity of DB2 objects the DBD permits access to only on object at a time.  Lock contention happens if several objects are required by contending application processes simultaneously.

Q22. What is SPUFI?

A22. SPUFI stands for SQL processing using file input.  It is the DB2 interactive menu-driven tool used by developers to create database objects.

Q23. What is the significance of DB2 free space and what parameters control it?

A23. The two parameters  used in the CREATE statement are the PCTFREE which specifies the percentage of free space for each page and FREEPAGE which indicates the number of pages to be loaded with data between each free page.  Free space allows room for the insertion of new rows.

Q24. What is a NULL value?  What are the pros and cons of using NULLS?

A24. A NULL value takes up one byte of storage and indicates that a value is not present as opposed to a space or zero value.  It’s the DB2 equivalent of TBD on an organizational chart and often correctly portrays a business situation.  Unfortunately, it requires extra coding for an application program to handle this situation.

Q25. What is a synonym?  How is it used?

A25. A synonym is used to reference a table or view by another name.  The other name can then be written in the application code pointing to test tables in the development stage and to production entities when the code is migrated.  The synonym is linked to the AUTHID that created it.

Q26. What is an alias and how does it differ from a synonym?

A26. An alias is an alternative to a synonym, designed for a distributed environment to avoid having to use the location qualifier of a table or view.  The alias is not dropped when the table is dropped.

Q27. What is a LIKE table and how is it created?

A27. A LIKE table is created by using the LIKE parameter in a CREATE table statement.  LIKE tables are typically created for a test environment from the production environment.

Q28. If the base table underlying a view is restructured, eg. attributes are added, does the application code accessing the view need to be redone?

A28. No.  The table and its view are created anew, but the programs accessing the view do not need to be changed if the view and attributes accessed remain the same.

Q29. Under what circumstances will DB2 allow an SQL statement to update more than one primary key value at a time?

A29. Never.  Such processing could produce duplicate values violating entity integrity. Primary keys must be updated one at a time.

Q30. What is the cascade rule and how does it relate to deletions made with a subselect.

A30. The cascade rule will not allow deletions based on a subselect that references the same table from which the deletions are being made.

Q31. What is the self-referencing constraint?

A31. The self-referencing constraint limits in a single table the changes to a primary key that the related foreign key defines.  The foreign key in a self referencing table must specify the DELETE CASCADE rule.

Q32. What are delete-connected tables?

A32. Tables related with a foreign key are called delete-connected because a deletion in the primary key table can affect the contents of the foreign key table.

Q33. When can an insert of a new primary key value threaten referential integrity?

A33. Never. New primary key values are not a problem.  However, the values of foreign key inserts must have corresponding primary key values in their related tables. And updates of primary key values may require changes in foreign key values to maintain referential integrity.

Q34. In terms of DB2 indexing, what is the root page?

A34. The simplest DB2 index is the B-tree and the B-tree’s top page is called the root page. The root page entries represent the upper range limits of the index and are referenced first in a search.

Q35. How does Db2 use multiple table indexes?

A35. DB2 use the multiple indexes to satisfy multiple predicates in a SELECT statement that are joined by an AND or OR.

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