I had the opportunity to attend the recent IDUG 2024 NA Db2 Tech Conference in Charlotte, North Carolina at the end of June. It was an excellent opportunity to meet or reconnect with many fellow Db2 enthusiasts from across the industry, fellow IBMers from around the world, consultants, vendors, and most importantly actual users of Db2 for z/OS!

This was my second opportunity to attend a full IDUG conference, and the previous was also in Charlotte in 2019. I thoroughly enjoyed many of the technical presentations, and I will list just a few of my favorite sessions below. 

You might notice that I’m not calling out many of the sessions from my colleagues in Db2 for z/OS development at IBM SVL. They are all excellent sessions, and strongly encourage you to check them out at any conference that you attend. However, I can usually hear from them at the lab, so I tend to favor sessions by other presenters such as customers and consultants. Even then, it’s always a tough call because there are usually at least two sessions I would like to attend in any single time slot. To see what I mean, check out the packed conference agenda!

I’m always on the lookout for things that I can work on or improve in the Db2 product documentation. Audience questions in the sessions led by Db2 developers can sometimes be a good source for that. I did find a few things to work on, so I consider that a success, but I won’t describe them here.

Discovering the IDUG Db2 Table Talk Podcast

One thing that somehow came to my attention during the conference was the IDUG Db2 Table Talk Podcast (https://www.idug.org/podcast). I am a big fan of podcasts in general, and it was a real treat to listen to one featuring people whom I met at the conference, or even my developer colleagues at the IBM lab. I listened to several episodes on my flight home, and I suggest you check them out! 

A sampling of favorite conference sessions

And here are a few impressions from some of my favorite sessions from the conference. I wish I could share more of the sessions, but downloading full slide decks is of course a benefit for conference attendees. That said, I hope I can get away with sharing a few small samples in pictures here.  

WS2 | The next generation of services for Db2 administration and development workshop by Sowmya Kameswaran & Sueli Almeida

I volunteered to help with this Sunday morning workshop session, and it was an interesting hands-on look at an IBM ZTRIAL featuring the next generation DBA and application development tools for Db2 for z/OS. I was already familiar with IBM Db2 for z/OS Developer Extension for Visual Studio Code, which I sometimes use in my own work, but this was my first opportunity to see IBM Administration Foundation for Db2 for z/OS. 

Sueli & Sowmya also augmented the hands-on lab with an overview of IBM’s strategic direction for administrator and development services and fielded plenty of questions from the participants, especially about the upcoming EOS for using IBM Data Studio with Db2 for z/OS, and the lack of any support for using IBM Data Studio with Db2 13. 

Craig presented tales of Db2 with an entertaining Dr. Seuss theme, with many beautiful visuals, and some excellent Db2 poems too. It was hard to pick a favorite slide, and I included a couple samples here. Sadly, we did not get to see Craig wear his tall red and white striped hat, which he said that he owns but was unable to locate before the conference. 

USER3 | Real World Experience with Db2 V13 by Steven Loesch, Navy Federal Credit Union

I frequently work on the Db2 13 migration documentation, so I am always interested to hear about customer's experiences with the migration process, and I was glad to hear him report no production issues after migration. I also appreciated his detailed discussion of package considerations during various stages of the migration process, which included many examples of the SQL statements that he used to query the catalog to identify applications packages to rebind or free as part of the migration.

ZLN4 | Db2 for z/OS v13 Installation: A Gen Z Experience by Anna McKee, IBM

Anna described how she won Master the Mainframe multiple times, and later Joined IBM to create the Db2 13 installation that is the basis for the environment provided to ISVs around the world. I was glad to hear her positive remarks about two Db2 13 manuals that I frequently work on: What’s new? and the Installation and Migration Guide.

One of my favorite slides from Anna’s engaging presentation was advertised promisingly on the previous slide as “Anna’s definitive guide for the CLIST parameters”, which can also be found in her IDUG article, Db2 for z/OS v13 Installation: A Gen Z Experience.

I like it! But I would also point out the official guide available in Directory of subsystem parameters, panel fields, and application default values.

I also recommend listening to Anna’s Db2 Table Talk podcast episode, “Mainframe mastery”!

SQL2 | Catalog Queries for Beginners by Emil Kotrc, Broadcom

I really enjoyed connecting with Emil at the conference, and he self-identifies as a Db2 documentation enthusiast, so we have that in common!  I also appreciated his session, which I found to be a good overview refresher of the Db2 catalog, and how Db2 populates it when you issue DDL statements. I also like that he showed many example SQL statements. It was explicitly a beginner session, but very informative nonetheless!

His slide on a brief history of table spaces in Db2 caught my attention, especially the row for “Large table space,” which is a subject that recently found myself researching. 

You can also get a small taste of the material that Emil presented by checking out his recent IDUG article, DDL and Catalog Changes.

PERF7 | Let Me Make This Clear (Vol. 4): Explaining Often-Misunderstood Db2 for z/OS Concepts and Facilities by Robert Catterall, IBM

As always with Robert, attendees of this session got a full dose of crystal-clear information presented in a highly understandable and engaging format! I especially appreciated how he explained the relationships among the various levels used in Db2 for z/OS continuous delivery, including code levels, catalog levels, function levels, and application compatibility levels as floors of a building. 

I also highly recommend checking out Robert's Db2 blog. Just this week, I was researching the background of a clarification I needed to make in the Db2 documentation, and I found the existing descriptions a bit difficult to follow. Robert's blog came to the rescue with very understandable explanation of the Db2  feature that I was researching. 

MODOPS4 | Big Buttons for Db2 for z/OS Database Performance by Dan Luksetich, “Anti-consultant”

This was Dan’s last IDUG presentation; Dan is not a Db2 expert; Dan failed in aspects of being an anti-consultant for the last 29 years; but are any of these things true? His engaging session was full of expert advice nonetheless!

I also suggest checking out Dan's Db2 Blog and listening to Dan’s Db2 Table Talk podcast episode, “Rise of the Anti-consultant”! This was one of my favorite episodes and made excellent listening on my flight home. I wish him all the best as he transitions to his next work projects as a cicerone, brewer, BBQ pit master, or gigs with a Halloween band?!

Bonus | A bicycle ride to South Carolina! 

This was not part of the IDUG conference, but I am also very much a cycling enthusiast, and I spent my Sunday afternoon after the workshop riding a rented bicycle 30 miles round-trip along the very scenic Little Sugar Creek Greenway, a fairly new multi-use path that provides nearly 15 miles of car-free travel from the conference site, to the South Carolina border. 

Conclusions

Spending the better part of a week with fellow Db2 enthusiasts was a rewarding and enjoyable experience, and I especially enjoyed the many opportunities to learn about real-world customer experiences, and to connect in-person with so many people from the IDUG and Db2 for z/OS communities. 

 I highly recommend attending future IDUG events, and I hope that I might even get a chance to meet you there!

Paul McWilliams is the Content Design Leader for Db2 for z/OS Product Documentation.