Does IBM provide a free type-4 JDBC driver for DB2?

Discussion:

(too old to reply)

Joe Weinstein

2004-08-19 21:31:12 UTC

Hi all.
Thanks in advance. In my feeble searches of IBM's site, I couldn't
find anywhere I could download a type-4 (all Java) JDBC driver.
If it's important, the DBMS is on AIX, version 81.fixpak3.
thanks
Joe

Rhino

2004-08-19 23:31:13 UTC

Permalink

Post by Joe Weinstein
Hi all.
Thanks in advance. In my feeble searches of IBM's site, I couldn't
find anywhere I could download a type-4 (all Java) JDBC driver.
If it's important, the DBMS is on AIX, version 81.fixpak3.

That's because the Type 4 JDBC driver is bundled into the product, not a
separate download. (Or at least, I *think* it is since I haven't installed
DB2 Version 8 yet.)

Have a look for db2jcc.jar; it should be somewhere underneath your SQLLIB
directory although I'm not exactly sure where. That's the one that contains
the Type 4 JDBC driver.

If you need to see information on how to program with the Type 4 driver, all
of the DB2 V8 manuals are at
http://www-306.ibm.com/software/data/db2/udb/support/manualsv8.html. With
any luck, you also installed them when you installed DB2; if you did, there
should be a search engine with the DB2 Information application that lets you
find key words across all of the manuals. However, if you didn't install the
manuals or can't find the search engine, you can find what you want at the
URL I just cited. Just click on the "V8 InfoCenter" link in the first
paragraph of that page and you'll get to a search engine that lets you look
for whatever you want.

Rhino

Joe Weinstein

2004-08-20 15:23:36 UTC

Permalink

Post by Rhino

That's because the Type 4 JDBC driver is bundled into the product, not a
separate download. (Or at least, I *think* it is since I haven't installed
DB2 Version 8 yet.)

Thanks. I guess I'm saying that logically, a type-4 JDBC driver needs nothing
else on the machine to work. All you need is the machine name and port number
of the DBMS. Therefore it is perfect for a standalone download.

Post by Rhino
Have a look for db2jcc.jar; it should be somewhere underneath your SQLLIB
directory although I'm not exactly sure where. That's the one that contains
the Type 4 JDBC driver.

I don't have a local machine that I have access to a SQLLIB directory. I do
have the name and connection details for the DBMS I need to connect to. If
someone would email me that jar I could reproduce and debug the problem I'm
working on. Every other DBMS vendor I know of, provides a type-4 driver as
a simple standalone download for clients to run anywhere.
thanks
Joe Weinstein

Post by Rhino
If you need to see information on how to program with the Type 4 driver, all
of the DB2 V8 manuals are at
http://www-306.ibm.com/software/data/db2/udb/support/manualsv8.html. With
any luck, you also installed them when you installed DB2; if you did, there
should be a search engine with the DB2 Information application that lets you
find key words across all of the manuals. However, if you didn't install the
manuals or can't find the search engine, you can find what you want at the
URL I just cited. Just click on the "V8 InfoCenter" link in the first
paragraph of that page and you'll get to a search engine that lets you look
for whatever you want.
Rhino

Rhino

2004-08-20 17:09:13 UTC

Permalink

Post by Joe Weinstein
I don't have a local machine that I have access to a SQLLIB directory. I do
have the name and connection details for the DBMS I need to connect to. If
someone would email me that jar I could reproduce and debug the problem I'm
working on. Every other DBMS vendor I know of, provides a type-4 driver as
a simple standalone download for clients to run anywhere.

My mistake; I understood your note to mean that you had downloaded the V8.1
fixpack and therefore should have had the db2jcc.jar on your machine.

I took a bit of a look around and didn't find any place to download the Type
4 driver by itself. That doesn't mean it isn't there though; maybe I just
didn't look in the right places ;-)

However, I found a relevant FAQ at
http://www-106.ibm.com/developerworks/db2/library/techarticle/0307zikopoulos/0307zikopoulos.html#faqs

Here's the first question in that FAQ, along with the answer:
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------
Frequently asked questions
Q1: Where can I get the DB2 UDB JDBC Type 4 driver?

A1: The driver is provided with the DB2 UDB client, or you can download
trial versions of DB2 UDB Express or DB2 UDB Personal Developers Edition.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------

That suggests to me that the Type 4 driver may not be available as a
standalone download. If any of the lab folks are monitoring this thread,
perhaps you could confirm or deny that suspicion? Assuming that there is no
separate download for the driver, you will either have to download one of
the suggested products and dig db2jcc.jar out of it or hope that someone
reading this newsgroup can send it to you. Lots of people reading this
newgroup have V8 so one of them may be able to send you a copy of that jar.

Unfortunately, I don't have V8 installed myself so I don't have the
db2jcc.jar to send you, otherwise I would.

By the way, you may want to post a followup with your email address,
although most people could probably figure out pretty easily ;-)

If all else fails, email me offline and I can see if one of my friends can
send you that jar. He has V8 but he travels frequently so it could take days
before he sees an email from me and responds.

Rhino

Mark Yudkin

2004-08-22 08:42:49 UTC

Permalink

A while back IBM changed the way they bundled their fixes and clients.
Rather than offering individual, language-specific, downloads, you download
some massive multi-100MB monster, burn it onto to CD, and then install the
few KB you need.

Some of us complained here about the need to spend hours or days
downloading. The response was that it was easier if everything was bundled
and automatically installed the wanted bits in the right languages.

In your case, your driver is on the client CD - just do a selective install
of the bits you want.

Post by Rhino

Post by Joe Weinstein
I don't have a local machine that I have access to a SQLLIB directory. I

Post by Joe Weinstein
have the name and connection details for the DBMS I need to connect to. If
someone would email me that jar I could reproduce and debug the problem

I'm

Post by Joe Weinstein
working on. Every other DBMS vendor I know of, provides a type-4 driver as
a simple standalone download for clients to run anywhere.

http://www-106.ibm.com/developerworks/db2/library/techarticle/0307zikopoulos/0307zikopoulos.html#faqs

Post by Rhino
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Post by Rhino
-----------------------------------
Frequently asked questions
Q1: Where can I get the DB2 UDB JDBC Type 4 driver?
A1: The driver is provided with the DB2 UDB client, or you can download
trial versions of DB2 UDB Express or DB2 UDB Personal Developers Edition.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Post by Rhino
--------------------------------------
That suggests to me that the Type 4 driver may not be available as a
standalone download. If any of the lab folks are monitoring this thread,
perhaps you could confirm or deny that suspicion? Assuming that there is no
separate download for the driver, you will either have to download one of
the suggested products and dig db2jcc.jar out of it or hope that someone
reading this newsgroup can send it to you. Lots of people reading this
newgroup have V8 so one of them may be able to send you a copy of that jar.
Unfortunately, I don't have V8 installed myself so I don't have the
db2jcc.jar to send you, otherwise I would.
By the way, you may want to post a followup with your email address,
although most people could probably figure out pretty easily ;-)
If all else fails, email me offline and I can see if one of my friends can
send you that jar. He has V8 but he travels frequently so it could take days
before he sees an email from me and responds.
Rhino

Rhino

2004-08-22 13:32:12 UTC

Permalink

Post by Mark Yudkin
A while back IBM changed the way they bundled their fixes and clients.
Rather than offering individual, language-specific, downloads, you download
some massive multi-100MB monster, burn it onto to CD, and then install the
few KB you need.
Some of us complained here about the need to spend hours or days
downloading. The response was that it was easier if everything was bundled
and automatically installed the wanted bits in the right languages.
In your case, your driver is on the client CD - just do a selective install
of the bits you want.

I'm not really saying anything for or against the bundling of the DB2 code
into big bundles. I just wanted to explain to Joe that he was unlikely to
find the JDBC driver as a standalone download at the IBM website, which is
what he was trying to do.

Frankly, I think he raises a good point; if all of the other vendors let you
download JDBC drivers in their own separate downloads, it might make sense
for IBM to do it too. As Joe says, some people like him want only the JDBC
drivers so why make them do a multi-hour (or multi-DAY if he is on dialup)
download for one small file?

Then again, I understand it makes life a lot easier for IBM if they only
have to manage a few big bundles. Joe's situation is possibly quite rare; it
is very possible that the vast majority of users want big bundles.

Again, I'm not trying to take sides in this case.

Rhino

Mark Yudkin

2004-08-24 07:05:18 UTC

Permalink

I agree with you, and have objected to the new IBM strategy on this
newsgroup.

Since I only have a slow line, I can no longer download fixes. I now have to
wait until a colleague at a larger firm downloads then for himself and burns
them onto CD for me.

Post by Joe Weinstein

Post by Mark Yudkin
A while back IBM changed the way they bundled their fixes and clients.
Rather than offering individual, language-specific, downloads, you

download

Post by Mark Yudkin
some massive multi-100MB monster, burn it onto to CD, and then install the
few KB you need.
Some of us complained here about the need to spend hours or days
downloading. The response was that it was easier if everything was bundled
and automatically installed the wanted bits in the right languages.
In your case, your driver is on the client CD - just do a selective

install

Post by Mark Yudkin
of the bits you want.

I'm not really saying anything for or against the bundling of the DB2 code
into big bundles. I just wanted to explain to Joe that he was unlikely to
find the JDBC driver as a standalone download at the IBM website, which is
what he was trying to do.
Frankly, I think he raises a good point; if all of the other vendors let you
download JDBC drivers in their own separate downloads, it might make sense
for IBM to do it too. As Joe says, some people like him want only the JDBC
drivers so why make them do a multi-hour (or multi-DAY if he is on dialup)
download for one small file?
Then again, I understand it makes life a lot easier for IBM if they only
have to manage a few big bundles. Joe's situation is possibly quite rare; it
is very possible that the vast majority of users want big bundles.
Again, I'm not trying to take sides in this case.
Rhino

Dan Scott

2004-10-08 22:04:09 UTC

Permalink

To resurrect a dead thread with happy news, as of DB2 Universal Database
Version 8.2 IBM offers the JDBC type 4 driver as a separate 2.5MB
download from
http://www14.software.ibm.com/webapp/download/preconfig.jsp?id=2004-09-20+10%3A09%3A21.003415R&S_TACT=104AH%20W42&S_CMP=&s=
(yeah, sorry about the URL -- I found it by clicking "Trials and Betas",
then searching for "JDBC driver", but hopefully we'll make it easier to
find the driver).

You might find the description very interesting:

"DB2 Personal Developer's Edition: Redistributable JDBC Type 4 Driver

A JDBC Type 4 driver for connecting to DB2 UDB, IBM Cloudscape and Derby
databases. This driver can be redistributed as part of an application
program at no extra charge."

Dan

Post by Mark Yudkin
I agree with you, and have objected to the new IBM strategy on this
newsgroup.
Since I only have a slow line, I can no longer download fixes. I now have to
wait until a colleague at a larger firm downloads then for himself and burns
them onto CD for me.

Post by Joe Weinstein

Post by Mark Yudkin
A while back IBM changed the way they bundled their fixes and clients.
Rather than offering individual, language-specific, downloads, you

download

Post by Mark Yudkin
some massive multi-100MB monster, burn it onto to CD, and then install

the

Post by Joe Weinstein

Post by Mark Yudkin
few KB you need.
Some of us complained here about the need to spend hours or days
downloading. The response was that it was easier if everything was

bundled

Post by Joe Weinstein

Post by Mark Yudkin
and automatically installed the wanted bits in the right languages.
In your case, your driver is on the client CD - just do a selective

install

Post by Mark Yudkin
of the bits you want.

you

Post by Joe Weinstein
download JDBC drivers in their own separate downloads, it might make sense
for IBM to do it too. As Joe says, some people like him want only the JDBC
drivers so why make them do a multi-hour (or multi-DAY if he is on dialup)
download for one small file?
Then again, I understand it makes life a lot easier for IBM if they only
have to manage a few big bundles. Joe's situation is possibly quite rare;

Post by Joe Weinstein
is very possible that the vast majority of users want big bundles.
Again, I'm not trying to take sides in this case.
Rhino