JSON application development for IBM® data servers

JSON provides a flexible mechanism to store and transmit data between application tiers. JSON is becoming one of the predominant technologies for rapidly changing mobile and interactive applications. Db2® provides the ability to work directly with JSON from both the client and through SQL.

The JSON format is often used for serializing semi-structured data and transmitting that structured data over a network connection. An example would be transmitting data between a server and a web application. It also serves as an alternative to XML. It eliminates the need for predetermined schema designs and reduces the need for data transformations.

JSON is a lightweight data exchange format that is specified in IETF RFC 4627. It is language independent and portable. As a subset of the JavaScript programming language, it is easy to implement and is easily read by humans and machines alike.

BSON is a standardized binary representation format for serializing JSON documents. It allows for fast traversal of JSON documents.

Db2 provides both a NoSQL and an SQL approach to interacting with JSON.

For those who prefer a NoSQL approach where the SQL language is not used, Db2 provides a Java™ API, a command-line interface, and a wire listener feature to manage and query JSON documents that are stored in a Db2 database by using a JSON-oriented query language.

For those comfortable with using SQL, Db2 provides SQL access to JSON documents through a set of built-in capabilities that allow SQL to directly interact with JSON data.