With a stated goal to make DB/2 programming more natural,
IBM has said the next version of its DB/2 database will improve
support for Microsoft's .net development platform.
In a bid to lure users of the rival Microsoft database SQL Server,
IBM said the DB/2 upgrade, codenamed Stinger, would offer
functionality on Windows ahead of the next version of Microsoft's
SQL Server database, codenamed Yukon.
Like Oracle, with the launch of its 10g database, IBM, has tried to
capitalise on the lateness of the next release of Microsoft's SQL
Server relational database - a product that has not been refreshed
since 2000.
Mike Thompson, principal research analyst at Butler Group, said
DB/2 previously lacked the rich developer tools support Microsoft
offered with SQL Server. For instance, the Microsoft product is
linked into the Visual Studio .net development environment to
simplify application development. But with Stinger, IBM is set to
address this.
IBM previewed Stinger at last week's Microsoft Professional
Developer's conference in Los Angeles. It said the new release of
DB/2 would integrate far better with Microsoft's Visual Studio .net
development environment than the previous version of DB/2.
Along with Visual Studio .net support, IBM said it would be
providing an add-in tool for its Rational XDE Developer visual data
modelling product.
Beyond the improvements to software development, IBM said DB2 would
offer improved reliability, manageability, integration and
scalability over its predecessor.
A preview of Stinger is now available which includes the .net Data
Provider, a tool for connecting .net applications to DB/2.
IBM also used the conference to demonstrate a 64-bit DB/2 server
running on Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition for 64-bit
systems, in conjunction with chip provider AMD.
IBM said Stinger would ship "sometime in 2004". Microsoft has
stated Yukon will be available in the latter half of next year.