Installing and Configuring DB2 Clients

Using the Command Line Processor

You can use the command line processor to enter SQL statements and DB2 commands. It operates in the following modes:

Interactive Input Mode: You can enter DB2 commands or SQL statements and view their output.
Command Line Mode: The DB2 command line processor behaves like a command window from your operating system. You can enter DB2 commands or SQL statements and view their output.
File Input Mode: Refer to the Command Reference for information on the file input mode.

To invoke the command line processor in interactive input mode, do the following:

On OS/2:
1. Double-click the DB2 for OS/2 folder.
2. Double-click on the Command Line Processor icon.
On Windows 95 and Windows NT operating systems:
1. Click on Start.
2. Select Programs->DB2 for Windows->Command Line Processor.
On Windows 3.1, use one of the following methods:
- From a DOS full screen, enter the win db2clpw command.
- From Windows:
  1. Double-click the DB2 folder.
  2. Double-click on the Command Line Processor icon.
On Macintosh:
1. Double-click the DB2 folder.
2. Double-click on the Command Line Processor icon.

You can also invoke the command line processor in interactive input mode, by entering the following command at a command prompt:

In interactive input mode, the prompt looks like this:

   db2 =>

This prompt indicates that you do not type DB2 commands with a db2 prefix; instead, you just type the DB2 command. For example:

   list node directory

To run operating system commands in interactive mode, precede the operating-system command with an exclamation mark (!). For example:

   !dir db2*.log

Note:

Windows 3.1x does not support this method of running operating-system commands.

If you need to enter a long command that does not fit on one line, use the line continuation character, \. For example:

   db2 => select firstname, lastname, dateofbirth, from \
   db2 (cont.) => staff where height=123, order by \
   db2 (cont.) => lastname

Note:

You do not need to use a line continuation character when entering long commands in interactive input mode on Windows 3.1 workstations.

To end interactive input mode, type terminate.

On OS/2 and UNIX, you can issue DB2 commands from a command prompt. You must include the db2 prefix. For example:

   db2 list node directory

To invoke the command line processor in command line mode on Windows 95 and Windows NT operating systems, use one of the following methods:

Click on Start and select Programs->DB2 for Windows->Command Window.
Enter the db2cmd command at a command prompt.

After you invoke the DB2 command environment, you can enter DB2 commands at the command prompt. You must include the db2 prefix.

Notes:

If the DB2 command contains characters that have special meanings on the operating system you are using, you will need to enter the command in quotation marks to ensure that it is run properly. For example, the following command will successfully retrieve all information from the employee table, even if the * character has a special meaning on the operating system:
```
   db2 "select * from employee"
```
Command line mode is not available on Windows 3.1x systems.

For further information on using the command line processor, refer to the Command Reference.

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