RE: DB2

It's been my understanding that the database as we know it smeared from
sorted flat files on the System 3 to ISAM with internal fixed columns on the
System 38.  Then came a primitive, proprietary query "language" with
OPNQRYF.  Since then there have been half-hearted attempts and major
initiatives toward a layer of SQL compliance.  Unfortunately, some of the
major initiatives were in marketing.  The DB/2 name, I personally think,
reeked of the same kind of half-*ssed brand convergence that IBM would later
try with the eServer line.

A few weeks ago I was setting up some stuff on our old Lawson AS/400
database and our new Lawson Oracle database and was surprised to find that I
could set up a view based on a UNION in Oracle, but not on the AS/400.  I'm
sure you can do this in DB/2 on a mainframe or AIX server.  I suspect there
are more blatant examples, but this is the type of stuff I'm looking for.
I've always wondered how far behind IBM has been even on basic SQL
compliance.