Getting Started with DB2 Web Query for i

The DB2® Web Query for i product is a Web-based query and report writing product that offers enhanced capabilities over the IBM® Query for iSeries® product (also commonly known as Query/400). IBM DB2 Web Query for i includes Query for iSeries technology to assist customers in their transition to DB2 Web Query. It offers a more modernized, Java™-based solution for a more robust, extensible, and productive reporting solution. DB2 Web Query provides three main components: Report Assistant, Graph Assistant, and Power Painter with the base product. Using these tools, customers can modernize existing Query for iSeries reports while providing a foundation for building more complex business intelligence applications, such as online analytical processing (OLAP), data mining, dash boarding, or data warehouse implementations.

DB2 Web Query provides capabilities to query or build reports against data that is stored in DB2 call-level interface (CLI) databases through the latest browser-based user interface technologies. It enables you to build new reports with ease through the Power Painter or Report Assistant and Graph Assistant components. It simplifies the management of reports by allowing you to leverage parameterized reporting. It delivers data to users in many different formats, including spreadsheets, PDF, HTML, or through browser support of the Java-based thin client interface.

DB2 Web Query offers features to import Query/400 definitions and enhance their look and functionality with Power Painter or Graph Assistant. It enables you to add OLAP-like slicing and dicing to the reports or to view reports in disconnected mode for users on the go. It provides an interface to all data in IBM i5/OS® through either DB2 or Open Query File native adapters that automatically identify the files to be accessed and import the metadata into DB2 Web Query.

This IBM Redbooks® publication provides a broad understanding of the new DB2 Web Query product. It entails a group of self-explanatory tutorials to help you get up to speed quickly. Overall, this book is designed for IT users. You can use Part 2, "Tutorials for DB2 Web Query" on page 89, and Part 3, "Tutorials for DB2 Web Query optional features" on page 231, as stand-alone tutorials for anyone who is developing their own queries. Much of Chapter 8, "Active Reports" on page 233, is appropriate for those who work disconnected from the System i® environment. In addition, you can use much of Chapter 10, "Online analytical processing" on page 261, if you will simply be running OLAP-enabled reports.