Developing database server applications

This chapter addresses the ST: Server, Database feature and the other VA Smalltalk and VA Smalltalk Base database features. It covers: setting up your workstation and host to begin using SQL statements written in Smalltalk; invoking structured query language (SQL) statements against DB2 databases; implementing stored procedures; and making database server applications using VA Smalltalk database nonvisual parts or solely Smalltalk code.

Much of this chapter covers making DB2 applications that will run on OS/390. However, you can use VA Smalltalk nonvisual database parts or database Smalltalk code to create applications that run on Windows, AIX, Linux, and Sun Solaris as well. Materials on database features in the VA Smalltalk Database Guide and the VA Smalltalk help explain how to use the database nonvisual parts or Smalltalk code to create server, as well as client, applications. The VA Smalltalk Server Guide illustrates how you might use database nonvisual parts in a server application.

When you package database applications for a server envirnment, ensure that you make the images headless so they can run.

The environments in which database nonvisual parts and code are supported are stated in the following table.

Table 1. Supported environments for database nonvisual parts or code

Environment	Nonvisual parts using CLI	Nonvisual parts static	Query specs, static SQL code, and dynamic SQL code
Native Windows	Yes	Yes	Yes
Native AIX	Yes	Yes	Yes
Native Linux	Yes	Yes	Yes
Native Solaris	Yes	Yes	Yes
Native MVS	Yes	Yes	Yes
Native MVS (Windows target)	Yes	Yes	Yes
CICS for Windows	No	Yes	Yes
CICS for AIX	No	Yes	Yes
CICS for Solaris	No	Yes	Yes
CICS MVS (Windows target)	No	Yes	Yes
IMS (MVS target)	No	No	Yes
IMS Batch using CAF	Yes	Yes	Yes
IMS MPR	No	Yes	Yes
Key: A "Yes" indicates that the parts or code will work in the environment. A "No" indicates that they will not work in the environment.

Call Level Interface (CLI) is supported on all platforms with DB2 V5.1 (UDB). However, the transaction monitor environments CICS and IMS have their own interface to DB2 which does not support CLI. To use nonvisual parts and the DB2 support, you must use static SQL statements in the transaction monitor environments. Static SQL statements are precompiled before runtime.