1. Introduction

1.1. Who should read this HOWTO

This HOWTO is intended for anyone interested in installing and using 32-bit IBM DB2® Universal Database on Linux®. If you're interested in 64–bit or other architectures, we refer you to the official documentation sources (see Resources for a link).

The information found in this document is based on our experiences installing and configuring DB2 UDB Version 8.2.

1.2. Disclaimer

No liability for the contents of this document can be accepted. Use the concepts, examples and information at your own risk. There may be errors and inaccuracies, that could be damaging to your system. Proceed with caution, and although it is highly unlikely that accidents will happen because of following advice or procedures described in this document, the authors do not take any responsibility for any damage claimed to be caused by doing so.

All copyrights are held by their by their respective owners, unless specifically noted otherwise. Use of a term in this document should not be regarded as affecting the validity of any trademark or service mark. Naming of particular products or brands should not be seen as endorsements.

This HOWTO is not official IBM documentation, and cannot be construed as such. IBM accepts no responsibility, liability or coverage for the material or instructions contained in this HOWTO. The views expressed in this document are those of the authors and not IBM Corporation.

1.3. Copyright and license

Copyright (c) 2004 IBM Corporation.

Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with the Invariant Sections being "Disclaimer" and "About the Authors". This document is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without ebaseven the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. A copy of the license is included in the section entitled "GNU Free Documentation License".

1.4. Credits

Ian Hakes is the current owner and maintainer of this HOWTO. Please send all suggestions for improvement, criticisms or questions to db2howto@REMgmail.com (remove the REM).

Big thanks to Dan Scott, who kindly handed this project over with his blessing, and even found time to handle the DocBook conversion for this version. Dan is responsible for getting both of us interested in DB2 UDB on Linux throughout the past four years. His work on the original DB2 UDB Version 7.1 for Linux HOWTO, published by the LDP, stands as a testament to his hard work and dedication and we hope this document can live up to those high standards.

We'd also to thank: Rav Ahuja, Grant Hutchison, Ryan Chase, and Darin McBride for their input and patience in answering our endless stream of questions.

Most of all, we must thank our wives and children for allowing us to spend weeknights and weekends clattering away on our laptops and servers to get this document together. We couldn't have done it without their love and support.

1.5. About the authors

Ian Hakes, R.H.C.E., has worked for IBM in DB2 UDB Information Development since 1999. Currently, he is the team lead for the DB2 UDB Information Development Infrastructure team, developing solutions to improve writers lives as they put together the official documentation. Before that, he was the writer responsible for the DB2 UDB SQL Reference manual. His free time is spent mainly on computers, thinking about how much nicer it would be to be outside sailing or hiking.

Rory A.A. Hinton, Ph.D., is presently employed at ATI Technologies. He works in Application Engineering, writing BIOS development and register programming reference guides. In his spare time, he cuts his lawn, drinks Ricard with ice and water, and hosts a weekly talk radio show on CIUT 89.5 FM in Toronto. He tries to live by the motto: "I want to work, provide for my family, and die quietly without pain."