Using DB2 9.7 for Cross-Platform Finance Reporting
By Tom Nonmacher
In today's fast-paced, data-driven financial world, the need for cross-platform data management and reporting has never been more important. One of the solutions that has proven itself in this arena is IBM's DB2 9.7. This database management system provides robust cross-platform functionality that allows the integration of data from diverse sources such as SQL Server 2012, 2014, MySQL 5.6, and Azure SQL. This integration ability provides the potential for more comprehensive financial reporting.
The first step towards achieving this cross-platform data integration is to establish a connection between DB2 and other databases. For instance, to connect DB2 9.7 with SQL Server 2012, you may use a ODBC data source. Here is a basic DB2 syntax to connect to a SQL Server 2012 database:
-- Create the ODBC data source for SQL Server
CREATE SERVER SQLServer
TYPE ODBC
VERSION '03.51'
WRAPPER DRDAWRAP
AUTHORIZATION "user/password"
OPTIONS (ADD NODE 'SQLServer',
ADD DATABASE 'DatabaseName',
REMOTE DBNAME 'DatabaseName');
Once a connection has been established between DB2 and the SQL Server 2012 database, cross-platform data integration can be achieved by executing queries that pull data from the connected databases. The same process can be repeated to connect DB2 with SQL Server 2014, MySQL 5.6, and Azure SQL databases.
Additionally, DB2 9.7 offers the ability to create federated views that can be used to simplify the process of querying data from multiple databases. A federated view is a virtual table that combines data from multiple databases into a single table. Here's an example of how to create a federated view that combines data from a SQL Server 2012 database and a MySQL 5.6 database:
-- Create a federated view
CREATE VIEW cross_platform_view AS
SELECT SQLServerTable.column1, MySQLTable.column1
FROM SQLServerTable, MySQLTable
WHERE SQLServerTable.column2 = MySQLTable.column2;
The use of federated views greatly simplifies the process of querying data from multiple databases. Instead of having to write complex queries that pull data from each individual database, you can simply query the federated view as if it were a single table. This greatly simplifies the process of cross-platform financial reporting.
In conclusion, DB2 9.7 provides a powerful solution for cross-platform data integration and financial reporting. It allows for the integration of data from diverse sources, such as SQL Server 2012, 2014, MySQL 5.6, and Azure SQL, and also provides the ability to create federated views, which simplifies the process of querying data from multiple databases. With these capabilities, DB2 9.7 is a robust tool for any financial organization that requires cross-platform data integration and reporting.