Call Level Interface Guide and Reference

Summary of Changes

Version 5 of DB2 Universal Database contains new features which can affect the way you create DB2 CLI applications. The SQL Reference contains a complete summary of changes.

For a summary of DB2 CLI functions, and which version they were added, refer to DB2 CLI Function Summary.

There are many changes to DB2 CLI for version 5. Some of the highlights are listed below:

• A number of DB2 CLI functions have been deprecated. See DB2 CLI Functions Deprecated for Version 5 for more information.
• Some functions have been renamed (SQLColAttributes() is now SQLColAttribute(), for example).
• The three functions used to allocate handles (SQLAllocConnect(), SQLAllocEnv(), and SQLAllocStmt()) have been reduced to one multipurpose function (SQLAllocHandle()).
• A number of new DB2 CLI functions have been added to support the new features now available in DB2 CLI and ODBC (descriptors, scrollable cursors, etc...).

DB2 CLI also continues to contain extensions to access DB2 features that can not be accessed by ODBC applications. For example:

• Support for random access of Large Objects (LOBs), LOB locators and file reference buffers (sequential access is also possible).
• SQLCA access for detailed DB2 specific diagnostic information
• Control over null termination of output strings.