IBM DB2 Universal Database and IBM VisualAge for Java

Business Solutions in Production

Angus McIntyre VisualAge Market Manager July 1998

IBM* VisualAge* for Java**

Data is data; knowledge is power

In a world that seems to grow smaller but more complex every day, it’s important to have a database that can embrace as much of that world as possible. A “universal” database ought to be just what it’s called: highly adaptable and not restrictive in application. And DB2* version 5.0 is the world’s one true universal database. Combining the Universal Database* (UDB) with a tool that automatically connects it to the Web creates a powerful solution. DB2 version 5.0 Universal Developers Edition for Intel** ships with VisualAge for Java Enterprise Version 1.0.1. This paper explains how VisualAge for Java provides business benefits to DB2 users.

Consider these DB2 5.0 benefits:

DB2 is universally accessible from a wide range of clients, across computer platforms, and over the Internet.

DB2 UDB has full Java support and is fully enabled for e-business. Allowing access from HTML- based clients, as well as Java applications and applets, DB2 combined with VisualAge for Java provides the accessibility options that customers need to deploy e-business solutions.

IBM DB2 delivers Java support for server side stored procedures and user-defined functions, which are key functions missing from other major DBMS systems. This has led to industry recognition, for example. InfoWorld wrote, “Key to this version of DB2 Universal Database is the ease with which it can connect to a multi-tiered or Web environment.”

Accessiblity in production

The United States requires all health care professionals to have their credentials verified every two years. CompHealth, in business since 1979, has verified tens of thousands of credentials. Using their “Apply.Net” application, built with DB2 UDB and VisualAge for Java Enterprise, medical profession- als can submit their information on-line over the Web to CompHealth. CompHealth can now verify credentials in a few hours, a task that used to take a couple of weeks. It was the universal access that allowed direct input to CompHealth’s database CompHealth was able to eliminate manual re-keying of the data, which increased the data’s quality, completeness and accuracy.

“First, VisualAge for Java offered strong support for the environments we were dealing with, including Windows NT**, AS/400*, Lotus** Domino**, DB2 and other IBM technologies,” said Jerome Soller, Ph.D, President of Cognitech Corp., project consultant for Apply.Net. “The Enterprise Access Builder for creating Java data access components saved the team over 150 person hours.” DB2 is universally applicable to data warehousing, decision support, data mining, online transaction processing (OLTP), and online analytical processing (OLAP).

Data warehousing in production

Data is data. Knowledge is having the right information at the right time. Having too much informa- tion, as opposed to the right information, is the reason why Roberts Express Inc. needed to use VisualAge for Java to streamline their UNIX-based dispatch center.

Roberts Express Inc., a subsidiary of FDK Corporation, lives by its motto: “Non-Stop, Door-to- Door, Anytime, Anywhere, Guaranteed.” Often compared to freight “ambulances” by customers, Roberts’ trucks are dispatched within minutes to transport time-specific shipments, ranging from automotive parts to explosives to nuclear fuel rods. With operations in the United States, Canada and Europe plus a fleet of more than 2,000 trucks, each with a satellite tracking system, Roberts looked to VisualAge for Java to improve its already impressive 96-percent on-time delivery record.

The new solution allows Roberts’ dispatch center to better track the truck fleet in real-time. It also helps staff see and respond immediately to situations developing when a shipment is en route – including traffic problems or weather warnings.

“The new interface offers our users improved accessibility and usability of information, plus a quicker response to crisis situations,” says Joe Greulich, director of MIS at Roberts. “Our users don’t have to wade through heavy text screens to get the information they need on a particular shipment. They can pretty much take it in at a glance. The result is happier staff and happier customers.”

In addition, VisualAge for Java provided secure access to legacy systems and remote data in a hetero- geneous client environment. “VisualAge is extremely easy to connect to any database . . .” adds Greulich.

DB2 is universally scaleable from laptops to desktops to work groups to the largest enterprise systems.

Does Java Scale? The ability for Java to run a business in a mission-critical function has been ques- tioned by some players in the industry. Also the ability for Java to coordinate real-time processes across multiple servers is needed before some Enterprises truly embrace Java.

Scalability in production

The business challenge at Primerica Financial Services, Securities Division, was to implement an application for customer service representatives (CSR’s) that would reduce average call times by providing improved presentation of mainframe-based customer information. Primerica also wanted the new system to reduce training time of new CSR’s by half.

The solution was to replace current “green screen” terminals with phone units containing a Web browser GUI. The system had to be very user-friendly and give the user the capability to modify nearly every displayed label, dialogue, and translated code without programmer involvement. Primerica used a HTML/Java CGI approach, because their long range plan was to be able to deploy parts of this system on the Internet where an account holder could access their personal financial information. This strategy required flexibility to support a wide variety of client platforms. The production Web servers were to be on RS/6000* model F50’s running AIX with Java gateways for both CICS and DB2 to provide mainframe information access. The system had to have an average response time of 2 seconds or less per page in order to be acceptable by the users, since they were used to sub-second response time in the CICS mainframe environment.

The initial prototype using the JVM without Just-in-time compile (JIT) was not even close to being acceptable at 8 - 10 seconds per display (utilizing an HTML frameset with 3 frames). Using JIT produced about a 2-second improvement, but the CICS Java Gateway classes did not work using the JIT. Using a CGI server daemon product did not show any improvement over JIT. By using the VisualAge for Java high-performance compiler, the results were an amazing 2.4 seconds per display. After some additional code optimizations, some CICS tuning on the mainframe, and coding DB2 stored procedures to replace dynamic SQL where possible, the response time was even faster. In some cases, the coveted 1 second or less per display has been achieved.

Interpreted Java Just-in-Time(JIT) CGI Server IBM VisualAge for (JVM) Compiled Java Daemon Java high-performance compiler

Time to display 8 - 10 6 - 8 6 - 8 1 - 2.4 (sec)

“Our system is now in production on 74 CSR’s desktops,” said Ray Hislope, architect for the solution at Primerica. “The VisualAge for Java high-performance compiler has been critical to our success, and our call statistics have even shown a reduction in average call times when compared with the old mainframe system,” Hislope says.

DB2 is universally extensible with DB2 Extenders for text, image, audio, video, and more.

Web sites are more than just data. With DB2’s support for multimedia objects, you can store text, images, video, audio and other types of data objects in a DB2 database. Then, you can search the database by almost any criterion imaginable. Further, DB2’s extensible support for complex data makes possible a whole new wave of business applications; for example, multimedia files that once had to be stored separately from traditional alphanumeric business information can now be safely exploited.

Extensibility in production

Island Pacific is currently using VisualAge for Java Enterprise and DB2 on the AS/400 to build an application called “The Eye”**. “The Eye” is an advanced system built using Java that does extensive Business Intelligence based on information that contributes directly to the success of merchandise. The Eye is capable of seeing your business in many ways, collecting and analyzing data with the unparalleled flexibility of a fully integrated data warehouse. Retailers are collecting and using infor- mation with staggering ardor. Business views have changed as The Eye sees what was previously hidden. Simply because of its incredible power and performance, The Eye has become an indispens- able tool for the Island Pacific client.

The Island Pacific philosophy is to empower retailers with low-cost, low-risk, high-function merchan- dising solutions encompassing warehousing, ticketing, events and gift registry tightly integrated with financial analysis (credit and sales audit). Island Pacific is taking advantage of the extensibility of DB2 on AS/400. Phil Friesen, of Island Pacific says of VisualAge for Java: “We chose VisualAge for Java as our environment because of its ability to handle large-scale Java development.”

DB2 is universally manageable through great new graphical tools for controlling all database functions.

The development of an application is only an initial step in deploying a data solution. The DB2 Universal Database Control Center, a new graphical database management toolset, lets your database administrator manage your solution while it is running in production. Administrators are able to modify and create database objects, coordinate backup and recovery, and configure security from within the DB2 environment. Its scheduling facility also lets your administrator program the Control Center to perform ongoing projects for your solution. Bottom Line — ROI when facing a fast growing market

The story of data integration and application is not complete without a scenario depicting the return on investment that a data solution brings to market. Arc Information Technologies of Munster, Indiana, (888)-98-ARCIT, an enterprise client/server solution developer, saw the emerging electricity trading market as an opportunity to develop and market an enterprise system to energy trading and power marketing organizations.

Arc IT was challenged by the growth and volatility of the electricity market, the volume and speed of transactions, and the distributed nature of the business model. Dean Moretton, Arc IT President, explains, “Electricity trading volumes are growing at 100 percent per quarter. A block of electricity can change hands 20 times before it’s delivered to a customer. So we designed a system that supports limitless transaction growth.”

The company selected IBM VisualAge for Java, Enterprise Edition and VisualAge C++ to build their highly scalable, n-tier, CORBA-based system named Integrated Trading and Event Notification System for Electricity, or InTENSE. After Arc IT evaluated every available Java development environment, Arc IT Vice President of Research, Development and Engineering, Joe Geary, says, “We concluded that VisualAge offered the most complete development environment with regards to team- based software engineering.”

Geary adds, “Because IBM’s VisualAge facilitated a smooth implementation of a very complex business model, our development team experienced an estimated 18% productivity gain over develop- ment efforts with tools we had previously used.”

VisualAge also offers Arc IT’s customers a cross-platform solution because it supports multiple operating systems from Windows NT to UNIX to OS/390* and a variety of relational databases, including IBM DB2, through its ODBC and JDBC standards compliance.

There are long-term benefits from Arc IT’s investment in VisualAge. “IBM’s VisualAge brought the technical requirements we need at a competitive price with no runtime charges, which has improved our long-term ROI by 15 percent,” says Geary. “IBM also provided mentoring support, allowing us to tap into their broad experience with VisualAge and OO development.”

Conclusion

Going to the doctor, shipping critical freight, checking on your securities portfolio, buying clothing or turning on a lamp. These common, everyday activities are all related to production applications solving business problems in Java with VisualAge for Java and DB2.

IBM’s DB2 and VisualAge for Java provide a powerful solution that allows you to extend existing data assets to the Web. And recognizing that a solution is more than just product, services are offered by IBM and partner organizations to enable a rapid startup with a quick return on investment. © Copyright International Business Machines Corp. 1998 All Rights Reserved * Trademark or registered trademark of International Business Machines Corporation. IBM, VisualAge, AIX, CICS, DB2, DB2 Universal Database, AS/400, OS/390, and RS/6000 are trademarks or registered trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation.

** Company, product, and service names may be trademarks or service marks of others. Java and Java-based trademarks are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sun Microsystems Inc. Intel is a registered trademark of Intel Corporation. Lotus and Domino are trademarks or registered trademarks of Lotus Development Corporation. Windows and Windows NT are trademarks or registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. Other company, product, and service names may be trademarks or service marks of others.