Oracle and DB2 - An Architectural Comparison

Update—Apr 19, 2011:

Thanks to the guys over at ChannelDB2.com, if you couldn't make it to this webcast teleconference, you can go through the recording at your pace, at your place:

Also available are:

• the slides of the presentation (PDF, 1.8MB) and
• the audio recording (MP3, 17MB, 90min)

---

Personal History

Remembering the Advanced Databases classes taken at my alma mater University in Iaşi, I find that prof. Victor Felea's focus on Oracle-only solutions was a rather limiting one. It was thanks to prof. Sabin Buraga's passion for Web Technologies that many of my colleagues and I were exposed to alternatives, all the way to NoSQL.

Contemporary Fact

Still, most of the extensive Database courses revolve around only one specific DBMS. You guessed that right: that ends up being the main skill of the graduate that wants to tackle enterprise level DBs. But when taking on a DB-centered career path, he/she needs a better understanding of the bigger picture; and this is when advices from his/her more experienced peers are most valuable. Asking a senior colleague what is his suggestion for an aspiring professional, he recommended a toolbox of skills that spread well beyond a single DBMS. How is this an obvious advantage, you ask?

• most enterprises use more than one DBMS in-house;
• therefore it may be useful to get skilled in more than one Enterprise class DBMS;
• first obvious advantage: this improves career prospects if jobs for one database are more in demand;
• secondly, you can have a higher salary if you know about more than one DB;
• yes, the head of the database team will most likely earn more than a DBA in the team who is only knowledgeable about a single DBMS!

Oracle and DB2 - An Architectural Comparison

Following the Chat with the Labs series of webinars, I could not help but notice that the previous episodes mostly catered to existing DB2 users. This is why I was surprised when I read about the Oracle and DB2 - An Architectural Comparison:

Many database professionals and DBAs often ask how DB2 and Oracle compare architecturally, that is, how they are different and similar at their core. They also ask what are the equivalent concepts, names, commands etc. in the other database system. This free webinar will answer those questions by covering the following topics in detail:

• Server architecture comparison (e.g. instances and database model, process vs. thread)
• Memory architecture comparison (e.g. Oracle SGA & PGA vs. DB2 instance, database and application memory)
• Parameters, environment variables and registry variables
• Database storage model comparison (e.g. table space types and layouts, compression approaches)
• Basic database administration comparison (e.g. terminology, create database, start/stop, dictionary vs. system catalog, performance)
• Compatibility mode for running Oracle applications with DB2

This webcast, scheduled for Thursday, March 31 2011, at 12:30pm (EST) is intended for the database professional, fresh or experienced, who is:

• familiar with Oracle and looking to learn more about DB2 (for Linux, Unix and Windows);
• familiar with DB2 and looking to learn more about Oracle;
• working in a heterogeneous environment and looking to expand their DBMS knowledge and career prospects.

Edit: Since the (limited) number of places is filling up fast, I recommend that you register now!

Edit Mar 14^th: With almost 2 weeks left till the live event, it is already sold out and no additional registrations are being accepted at this time.

Coding Green Robots: Debriefing #1 [+video]

I was announcing the other day the first episode of Coding Green Robots: a series of meetings focused on Android development. So right after work, fighting the rush hour, I went today to the YMC in Downtown Toronto to be "in the studio", with the hosts: Greg Carron and Matthew Patience from Mobicartel.

Today's Episode 1 was mainly a beginner's tutorial, but proved pretty useful in brushing up almost forgotten Android development skills. It was also a sneak peek into Mobicartel's workflow with varied ideas, from how Matthew and Greg divide/share the development and the design or how they make use of Dropbox in the development lifecycle for developing, sharing and quickly installing an app within the team, to how they decide which platform versions to target:

[Platform version distribution. Retrieved February 2, 2011]

• On the development side we covered from efficient IDE setup to basic Android components and Views (relative layout, fast prototyping, intents etc.).
  I found it particularly interesting to learn how experience has taught them the best practice of using sp as units of measurement.
• As for the design, I got a better understanding of screen densities and how important is to use vector shapes in your design in order to be able to export nice and crisp 24-bit transparent PNGs that will fit your custom design like a glove.
  I also discovered the ShootMe app: useful for getting screenshots on your Android device.

In the interview with Mark Reale I found insights about organizing AndroidTO, and that it's 2011 edition will most likely be in October. His "be resourceful" philosophy was somewhat motivating for me:

• use everything at your fingertips
• always be around people smarter than you
• never hesitate to ask questions

I found the night's coup de grâce to be in the short talk about NFC: I got to whet my appetite with a device that can write/read NFC tags, and the programmable NFC tags that accompanied it. It was the first real/physical tag that my Nexus S read: even if it was a blank one, it was still an Eureka moment!

Also tonight, the Gingerbread (Android 2.3.3) OTA update was announced, so I have to admit: I'm really looking forward to writing (not just reading) rewritable NFC tags, and even program my Nexus S to act as a NFC tag... and imagine the grin on my face when finally getting rid of those "random" reboots! :D

As I guess you can tell by now, every other Tuesday I'll head Downtown, to the YMC in Toronto. If you aren't in the area, but you're looking to learn how to develop for Android in somewhat of a classroom environment, you can always watch the sessions streamed live and/or enjoy the full videos of sessions published afterwards. Just head out to CodingGreenRobots.com.

Update: Here's the 2 hour recording of yesterday's first CGR episode:

...and wait till you read the debriefing on March 8^th! ;o)

Coding Green Robots: Episode #1

Need to brush up your Android development skills? Meet fellow developers?

CodingGreenRobots.com is exactly what you're looking for! Tomorrow it will start from scratch: the meetup will begin with an overview on how to set up the Android SDK and Eclipse IDE in an efficient way.
Matthew Patience [Mobicartel] will be going through mini-tutorials on specific Android Views such as Lists, Tab Layouts, Form Widgets, and Galleries.

Greg Carron will go over basic graphics for Android Development including densities, sizes, and XML layouts.

In the Development News portion of the show we will cover NFC and its exciting future as a new feature of Android.

As well we are excited to have Mark Reale [BNotions] on the program for an interview regarding community evangelism, AndroidTO, and the Yorkville Media Centre.

For those who are unable to attend the event, you will be able to watch live online at CodingGreenRobots.com as they will be streaming the entire episode.

Meet you there! ;o)