Chapter 9. Embedded SQL Programming

Embedded SQL programs are so named because at development time, all database operations are directly inserted into source files without the intervention of complicated APIs. This simplifies the learning curve for developers compared with other database programming methods, such as ODBC or JDBC, in which a programmer needs to be familiar with detailed interfaces. Among other benefits, static embedded SQL offers great performance gains by storing Query Evaluation Plans (QEPs) in the database prior to execution, and thereby avoiding this cost at run time.

Although this chapter deals primarily with embedded SQL programming, it introduces several fundamental concepts, such as cursors and Type 2 connections, that you might need to incorporate into your applications even if you are not using embedded SQL. Embedded SQL is either dynamic or static and by the end of this chapter, you will understand the differences between them and when to use each. You will also understand how an embedded SQL application is built and developed, including what occurs during each step.