Availability Guide for Change Management

Making Application Subsystem Changes Online

Availability Guide for Change Management–125506

4-9

Making Changes to NonStop SQL/MP Online

You may need to change your NonStop SQL/MP database to accommodate business

growth or to add new capabilities. Tandem designed NonStop SQL/MP to accommodate

growth easily—you can change data definitions as your database changes and grows.

NonStop SQL/MP includes utilities that make database growth possible and easy.

This subsection:

•

Provides a brief overview of NonStop SQL/MP

•

Describes the changes you can perform to NonStop SQL/MP online

Overview of NonStop SQL/MP

NonStop SQL/MP is a relational-database-management system that uses the ANSI-

standard and ISO-standard Structured Query Language (SQL) to create relational

databases and to describe and manipulate data. NonStop SQL/MP databases can be

fully distributed so that you can store the data where it is used most frequently and yet

read and update the data from anywhere in the network. In addition to online

transaction processing, NonStop SQL/MP is used for decision-support systems (DSS),

scalable electronic commerce applications, and other business applications.

NonStop SQL/MP supports products and applications that run in either the Guardian

environment or the OSS environment; however, all NonStop SQL/MP product processes

run as Guardian processes.

NonStop SQL/MP Components

NonStop SQL/MP consists of the following components:

•

The SQL compiler compiles host-language object programs, transforms embedded

SQL statement into executable query plans, and creates an object program file.

•

The SQL optimizer evaluates the query and determines the most efficient plan for

retrieving data from the database.

•

The SQL executor, a set of system library procedures, executes compiled SQL

statements against database tables, views, or database catalogs.

NonStop SQL/MP Interfaces

NonStop SQL/MP consists of the following major interfaces:

•

The NonStop SQL/MP conversational interface (SQLCI)—An interactive, line-

oriented, terminal interface that is used by business professionals, database

administrators, and application programmers to perform a variety of tasks. SQLCI

provides the following features:

•

SQL statements—SQL statements can be entered directly from a terminal.

Note. For a more complete overview of NonStop SQL, see the Introduction to NonStop

SQL/MP.