Database

Revolution in IBM DB2 Performance: IBM DB2 Analytics Accelerator

Mon, 13 May 2013 06:00:15 +0100

Editor's Note: This article is an excerpt from The Business Value of DB2 for z/OS: IBM DB2 Analytics Accelerator and Optimizer. Written by Ruiping Li, John Campbell, Namik Hrle, Surekha Parekh, Terry Purcell, and Wolfgang Hengstler Business analytics plays a crucial role in today's workplace. The performance and cost of the DB2 Analytics Accelerator opens up unprecedented opportunities for enterprises to make use of the data on the IBM System z platform. Customers have seen dramatic improveme...

Book Review: Customer Experience Analytics

Fri, 10 May 2013 06:00:10 +0100

Use CEA as a strategic weapon to stay ahead of your competitors. Written by Bill Rice Everyone in business is both a provider and a consumer; therefore, using customer information is a key component to long-term success. This is a fast-moving field. For example, social networks cut both ways, publicizing good products and burying others. And the buzzwords, acronyms, tech-speak, and jargon can often be confusing. What's needed is a succinct description of the challenge, real-world examples, and ...

Book Review: Big Data Analytics: Disruptive Technologies for Changing the Game

Fri, 03 May 2013 06:00:15 +0100

The disciplines of data analytics are evolving to meet the new challenges of big data. Written by Thomas M. Stockwell Most traditional approaches to data analytics aim to align the operational activities of the organization with the specific business strategies of C-level executives. The process accomplishes this by identifying key measurements of business performance, developing the internal (or external) metrics and governance principles, and then implementing a data analytics framework to d...

Introduction to Database Constraints

Wed, 17 Apr 2013 06:00:15 +0100

This article is an excerpt from Chapter 5, "Database Constraints," of Database Design and SQL for DB2 (MC Press, 2013). Written by James Cooper Constraints, sometimes referred to as integrity constraints or integrity rules, are restrictions based on business rules and other business policies and procedures that ensure data in a database are acceptable and accurate. A DBMS can provide features that can be used to specify integrity constraints....

Big Data Governance: An Emerging Imperative

Fri, 29 Mar 2013 06:00:15 +0100

Whether you're a novice to the subject of big data, an in-the-field expert, or a manager trying to judge the applicability of big data in your organization, you will find something of value in Big Data Governance. Written by Thomas M. Stockwell Big data is getting a lot of press in the industry, and though the term may sound like an oxymoron devised by an overly caffeinated marketing executive, big data is more than marketing hyperbole. It's a real and growing topic of interest and study by e...

Technology Focus: Business Intelligence Tools for IBM i

Mon, 18 Mar 2013 06:00:10 +0100

In the business intelligence world at large, predictive analytics and "big data" are being touted as cutting-edge concepts. Although the IBM i was behind in these areas for awhile, it's quickly catching up. Written by John Ghrist In May 2011, IBM published a paper entitled "The Essential CIO – Insights From the Global CIO Study," an overview of the results of interviews with more than 3,000 corporate information officers around the world. In a nutshell, that study showed that the top concern ...

Database Integration: Get Data from IBM i out and Other DBs In

Wed, 13 Feb 2013 06:00:15 +0100

As enterprise applications expand in database requirements and complexity, the need to access multiple databases becomes paramount, requiring multiple applications to co-exist across different platforms. Written by Marinus Van Sandwyk In POWER environments running legacy IBM i systems, a two-phased approach is required to enable the integration of multiple databases across different platforms. 1. First of all, in order to easily extract data from DB2 for IBM i, you will achieve a lot ...

DB2 TR5 Offers Lots to Be Excited About

Mon, 28 Jan 2013 06:00:15 +0100

IBM i TR5 is now available. Learn about the exciting new database enhancements that were delivered in this technology update. Written by Gene Cobb In 2012, IBM i Technology Refresh 5 (TR5) was made generally available. If you're not familiar with the IBM i Technology Refresh approach, think of it as a way for IBM to deliver significant enhancements in between the regular operating system version/release/modification cycles. What originally started as the ability to support new hardware withoutr...

Drivers for Big Data

Mon, 10 Dec 2012 06:00:15 +0100

This article is an excerpt from the book Big Data Analytics: Disruptive Technologies for Changing the Game (MC Press, October 2012). Written by Arvind Sathi We are increasing the pace for Big Data creation. This article examines the forces behind this tsunami of Big Data. There are three contributing factors: consumers, automation, and monetization. More than each of these contributing factors, their interaction is speeding the creation of Big Data. With increasing automation, it is easier to o...

An Introduction to Big Data Governance

Mon, 12 Nov 2012 06:00:15 +0100

This article is an excerpt from the book Big Data Governance: An Emerging Imperative by Sunil Soares (MC Press, October 2012). Written by Sunil Soares We are drowning in data today. This data comes from social media, telephone GPS signals, utility smart meters, RFID tags, digital pictures, and online videos, among other sources. IDC estimates that the amount of information in the digital universe exceeded 1.8 zettabytes (1.8 trillion gigabytes) in 2011 and is doubling every two years.1 Much of ...

DB2 10 for z/OS: Migration and Planning Considerations

Mon, 23 Jul 2012 06:00:15 +0100

Learn everything you need to know to plan your upgrade path. Written by John Campbell Editor's Note: This article is an excerpt from the book DB2 10 for z/OS: The Smarter, Faster Way to Upgrade. This section reviews key migration and planning considerations to take note of in planning for DB 10 for z/OS. As in previous releases, we recommend a short time for mixed-release coexistence in data sharing. A short period for Enable New Function Mode (ENFM) is also highly recommended...

Book Review: DB2 9.7 for Linux, UNIX, and Windows Database Administration (Exam 541)

Fri, 20 Jul 2012 06:00:15 +0100

This book, written by the creator of the certification exam, reveals exactly what you'll need to know to prep for the test. Written by Kent Milligan A couple of years ago, I had the pleasure of working with Roger Sanders on the creation of a couple of DB2 certification exams. During the exam creation process, I was impressed by the deep knowledge and thoroughness that Roger brought to the process. As I made my way through this certification book, I found the same qualities coming through the pa...

Wow! Have You Seen the New DB2 Web Query?

Mon, 25 Jun 2012 06:00:15 +0100

Learn about DB2 Web Query Version 2.1, the latest and greatest querying and reporting technology for the IBM i. Written by Gene Cobb IBM DB2 Web Query for i was first released in 2007 as the strategic query and reporting tool for the IBM i system. It has many benefits, among them modern and graphical query development tools and output formats, the ability to leverage the powerful SQL Query Engine (SQE) in DB2 for i, a metadata layer to hide database complexities, and a single-server-based imple...

Book Review: DB2 10 for z/OS: The Smarter, Faster Way to Upgrade

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 06:00:15 +0100

Trying to figure out whether to upgrade? Read on. Written by Kent Milligan Soon after a new version of software is made available to existing customers, it doesn't take long for discussions to arise between the technical and business leadership within a company on when to upgrade. The development teams drool over the productivity and performance benefits offered by the new version while the IT executives fixate on the costs and risks associated with upgrading to the latest software version....

Book Review: DB2 10 for Z/OS Database Administration: Certification Study Guide

Fri, 18 May 2012 06:00:15 +0100

Whether you're trying to get certified or you just need a great reference book, this is the book for you. Reviewed by Prasad Mani The DB2 10 for Z/OS Database Administration Certification Study Guide (Exam 612) is goal-oriented and successfully fulfills its primary goal of helping those who want to certify on DB2 Z/OS as a DBA. The authors, Susan Lawson and Daniel Luksetich, have ensured that the contents are well-written and appropriately categorized so that both aspiring and experienced DBAs ...

The Business Is in the Cloud

Fri, 11 May 2012 06:00:10 +0100

IBM i on Power is now ready to be an ideal cloud server once people have prepared themselves to jump into cloud services. Written by Chris Smith With COMMON behind us, it's clear that there are four major trends coursing through the industry: mobile, social, cloud, and big data. It's also clear that IBM i is well-positioned to take its rightful place in the center of these emerging trends. The latest technology refresh for IBM i, to be available May 18, will provide IBM i OS servers with t...

DB-Gate Simplifies Access to Remote Databases from IBM i

Fri, 13 Apr 2012 06:00:10 +0100

Raz-Lee Security appears to have broken the code on remote data access, making it simple enough for any user to seamlessly access data on any remote data store. Written by Chris Smith Raz-Lee Security is now offering, for a limited time, a free trial of its remote database access product DB-Gate. The new product, announced two weeks ago, appears to solve one of the longstanding impediments to companies keeping the IBM i at the center of their computing universe—access to non-DB2 databases....

DB2 Query Parallelism

Wed, 11 Apr 2012 06:00:15 +0100

Learn how DB2's query parallelism features help speed query run time. Written by Susan Lawson and Daniel Luksetich Editor's Note: This article is an excerpt from Chapter 17, "Performance Monitoring and Tuning," of DB2 10 for z/OS Database Administration: Certification Study Guide. To reduce elapsed time for a query, DB2 can give queries parallel resources, such as several I/O paths or processors. By taking advantage of these resources, queries can run in a shorter period of time, enablin...

Distributed or Centralized Database: What's Best for Your Organization?

Mon, 26 Mar 2012 06:00:15 +0100

Numerous architectures, designs, and techniques are available to meet whatever your company's data requirements are. Written by Mike Cain When we talk about the storage of data and management of information, there is always the issue of where and how. Where do we store the data and how do we manage it? The question of using a distributed model or a centralized model has haunted IT professionals since the dawn of computers. Today, there are so many options and techniques available, it boggles th...

Book Review: Selling Information Governance to the Business

Fri, 16 Mar 2012 06:00:15 +0100

Who governs the information that runs your company? Written by Thomas M. Stockwell We've all witnessed the explosion of information within our organizations. Recent studies have estimated that nearly 15 petabytes—15 million gigabytes—of data are created every day. This data represents the backbone of how our industries interact, how they manage their businesses, how they perceive themselves, and how they position themselves to compete. It doesn't reside on any individual computing platform,...

Be Nice. Share Your Data

Mon, 12 Mar 2012 06:00:10 +0100

Here's how sharing data can improve relationships with suppliers and customers and can vastly improve corporate efficiency. Written by Vision Solutions, Inc. Editor's Note: This article is an introduction to the white paper "Be Nice. Share Your Data" available free to download from the MC White Paper Center. Information is the fuel for click-driven commerce as well as brick-and-mortar businesses. How your organization uses information is a critical differentiator separating it from every c...

IBM DB2 Express-C Available Free in the Cloud

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 06:00:10 +0100

An alternative to MySQL, the no-cost IBM database solution can be deployed on-premise or in the cloud with no size constraints. Written by Chris Smith There are many applications today built on top of MySQL, but widespread concerns about Oracle's intentions to support the free Community Server editions persist. So far, companies that rely on the free editions of MySQL have not had cause for concern, and presumably the worst that could happen is they eventually might have to pay for something th...

Technology Focus: Basic Database Query Tools Still Have a Place at the Table

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 06:00:10 +0100

With the scope and features of business intelligence applications hitting new stratospheric heights of splendiferousness, are simple query tool products being left behind? Apparently not just yet. Written by John Ghrist Sometimes you just don't want all the glitz. While one of the messages our whole culture seems to be delivering is one of "biggest is best," there are still situations when simple solutions are all that's needed. One of the best illustrations of that idea may be database query t...

Selling Information Governance to the Business

Mon, 28 Nov 2011 06:00:15 +0100

Learn how to tackle the challenges of poor data quality, inconsistency of business terms, fragmented view of the customer and product, and security and privacy. Written by Sunil Soares Editor's note: This article is an excerpt from the book Selling Information Governance to the Business: Best Practices by Industry and Job Function, published by MC Press. According to the IBM 2009 Global CIO Study, today's CIOs spend an impressive 55 percent of their time on activities that spur innovatio...

Move Over DB2, Here Comes Zend DBi

Fri, 28 Oct 2011 06:00:10 +0100

Customers waiting for a solution from IBM to support their PHP applications running on IBM i can breathe a sigh of relief. Written by Chris Smith Most of the estimated 1,000 PHP developers at ZendCon this year were excited about Zend Technologies' new cloud platform (PaaS)—www.phpcloud.com—that allows developers to collaboratively develop and then host applications online from a choice of hosting platforms. Who needs a server when you have the cloud?...

QuickLook: NGS-IQ Release 7.0 from New Generation Software

Fri, 30 Sep 2011 06:00:05 +0100

NGS-IQ is New Generation Software's flagship query, reporting, and business intelligence suite for companies that need to move beyond Query/400 and other IBM i query tools. Written by New Generation Software, Inc. NGS-IQ is an integrated suite of business intelligence, Web modernization, enterprise reporting and analytical solutions for IBM i on Power Systems. It provides powerful query development for both IT professionals and power users with their choice of Windows, Web, and 5250 environmen...

Unraveling the Mysteries of Data Warehousing and Business Intelligence on IBM i

Mon, 26 Sep 2011 06:00:15 +0100

Vendors have so many different types of products to offer. How do you sort through it all? Written by Alan Jordan It's easy to get confused when investigating the requirements and options for implementing a successful business intelligence (BI) initiative. There's an amazing array of product offerings from different vendors, each with its own unique mix of functionality, strengths, and weaknesses. If you are new to BI, it can be difficult to sort through these offerings and identify what is bes...

Partner TechTip: Deliver Critical Enterprise-Wide Data to Your Users Quickly and Easily

Fri, 26 Aug 2011 06:00:05 +0100

Empower users so they can get the data they want to see. Written by Floyd Del Muro How do you deliver the information your users need to do their jobs? Can they answer business questions quickly and correctly? Are they empowered with the tools and knowledge they need to find and access the data spread out across your enterprise? Sadly, for many the answer is, "No, not easily" or "No, not at all."...

Get Your System Humming: 7 Great Tips for Tuning DB2 for i

Mon, 25 Jul 2011 06:00:15 +0100

Faster! Faster! Everybody wants their apps and reports to run faster! Written by Kent Milligan All of you have users and bosses who regularly ask if it's possible to make applications and reports run faster on your IBM i. Usually, these applications and reports spend a significant amount of time processing data stored in your DB2 for i databases. This article contains seven DB2 for i performance-tuning tips for speeding up the applications and reports running on your IBM i systems....

Real-Time Database Sharing: What Can It Do for Your Business?

Mon, 25 Jul 2011 06:00:10 +0100

Would you like to effortlessly replicate data from DB2 databases into Oracle, Informix, and Microsoft SQL databases and back again without custom programming or large-scale integration costs? Written by Vision Solutions Editor's Note: This article is an extract of the white paper "Real-time Database Sharing: What Can It Do for Your Business?" available free from the MC White Paper Center. Senior managers expect IT teams to deliver consistent, high-quality data that creates a single view ac...

Partner TechTip: Using Your Data Anywhere Is Easier Than You Think

Fri, 10 Jun 2011 06:00:05 +0100

How do you leverage business information for on-the-spot analysis? Written by Floyd Del Muro Need to provide critical business data to executives, managers, and business analysts, but find that the amount of training and supervision required is preventing you from providing a hands-on reporting tool for the business community? Is the thought of another software product to support across the entire network of users just too grand a plan with your limited staff? Need a fully functional, data?retr...

How Will IBM DB2 Web Query for i Benefit Your Shop?

Wed, 08 Jun 2011 06:00:15 +0100

Learn about the IBM query and reporting tool for the IBM i market. Written by Gene Cobb If you have been following recent IT industry trends, you may have noticed that there has been a lot of activity in the area of Business Intelligence (BI). Mergers, major acquisitions, and announcements have dominated the headlines in the past year. IBM has been quite active in this area as well. The recent acquisition of Cognos and the announcement of the Dynamic Data Warehouse Initiative are evidence of th...

DB2 for i: Observing, Learning, Adapting, and Generating Faster Queries Automatically!

Mon, 23 May 2011 06:00:15 +0100

Having AQP is like having "quality control" inside your query plans. Written by Mike Cain According to Wikipedia, "adaptive behavior" is a type of behavior that is used to adjust to another type of behavior or situation. This is often characterized by a kind of behavior that allows an individual to change an unconstructive or disruptive behavior to something more constructive. DB2 for i, the powerful database management system integrated into IBM i, has the distinction of possessing this a...

With the DB2 Storage Engine for MySQL, It's YourSQL

Wed, 11 May 2011 06:00:15 +0100

Deploy open-source applications on IBM i without having to change the source code. Written by Erwin Earley Those readers who have dabbled in open-source technologies may already be aware of the availability of the MySQL open-source database server on IBM i. In this article, I'll explore why MySQL is available on i, how you can take advantage of it, and how you can use MySQL's abstraction technology to store your open-source application data in DB2 tables....

Enable Transparent Encryption with DB2 Field Procedures

Mon, 28 Mar 2011 06:00:15 +0100

New in 7.1, FieldProc allows column-level encryption without requiring changes to existing applications. Written by Kent Milligan With all the scrutiny and legislation associated with protecting personal sensitive data, a good number of IBM i developers have had to investigate the effort it would take to add column-level encryption logic into their application programs. Anyone who has done this analysis quickly discovers that it's not a trivial amount of work....

Oracle Drops the Ball with MySQL on the i. Will IBM or Zend Pick It Up and Run With It?

Wed, 19 Jan 2011 06:00:15 +0100

With Oracle announcing end of life for IBM i distributions of MySQL, I'll discuss the potential for alternatives of MySQL on the i. Written by Tom Snyder Oracle has decided to no longer support MySQL on the IBM i, and I for one am very disappointed in this recent announcement. When I first heard that you could run MySQL on the IBM i, I initially thought to myself, "Why would I want to use the MySQL database when I have DB2?" In this article, I intend to tell you why you would want to and why it...

IBM DB2 Web Query for i: New and Improved!

Mon, 10 Jan 2011 06:00:15 +0100

Version 1.1.2 of DB2 Web Query is teeming with product improvements. New features such as InfoAssist, the JD Edwards adapter, and RIA can help you create eye-popping reports. Written by Gene Cobb On December 10, 2010, a new and improved version of DB2 Web Query for i was made generally available to the IBM i community. Packaged as 1.1.2, this exciting new release is chock-full of improvements and goodies that will make your experience using this product even more enjoyable than before. A major ...

QuickLook: Linoma Software's GoAnywhere Director

Fri, 07 Jan 2011 06:00:10 +0100

Exchange files with customers, trading partners, and other servers without writing tedious scripts. Written by Linoma Software Editor's Note: To download and try GoAnywhere Director at no obligation, visit the MC Software Center. GoAnywhere Director streamlines and secures the exchange of data with your customers, trading partners, and other servers. With Director, you can connect to almost any system or trading partner using standard protocols, including FTP, SFTP (SSH), SCP, FTPS (SSL/TL...

Get Your Modernization Plan Underway; Give Your Users Graphical Dashboards

Mon, 25 Oct 2010 06:00:10 +0100

If your planned large-scale UI modernization program is mired in the economic slowdown, consider upgrading your query, reporting, and BI solution now to present graphical reports and dashboards. Written By Bill Langston Editor's Note: The following article introduces the webcast, " NGS-IQ Business Intelligence for Manufacturers and Distributors" available for free download from the MC Webcast Center. One of the things we've been hearing from people who have been looking at our software, as wel...

Create ASCII Text Files Using DB2 in Qshell

Wed, 05 May 2010 05:00:15 +0100

Pipe iconv into your Qshell command to create ASCII instead of EBCDIC. Written by Tom Snyder In my previous article, "Using DB2 with Sed, Tail, Pipes, and Redirection from Within Qshell," we used SQL to export files directly to text files on the IFS. These files were created in EBCDIC. A reader stated to me that he could view the results in cat, but when he dragged them across the network, they were unreadable and asked if it was because it was EBCDIC. The answer is yes, the results are in EBCD...

DB2 for i 7.1: More Than Meets the Eye

Mon, 26 Apr 2010 05:00:15 +0100

So you think you've already heard about all the enhancements to DB2 for i? Don't be so sure. Written by Kent Milligan The IBM i 7.1 announcement materials have given the most ink to DB2 enhancements for XML integration and column-level encryption enablement—and deservedly so. However, the DB2 for i 7.1 release includes several unheralded features that are sure to make life easier for both programmers and administrators alike....

Navigate DB2 for i Through the SQL Server Galaxy

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 06:00:15 +0100

Explore current methods of interconnecting SQL Server to the IBM i in batch or real time. Written by Michael Sansoterra Astronomers tell us that many galaxies are colliding, which can cause quite an upheaval. "Collision" is a good word to describe how some shops feel about intermingling the System i (AS/400, iSeries…) with other technologies. SQL Server and DB2 are both large product families, and there are many integration options to consider. IT personnel want to know: Do we invest in learnin...

New Solutions from IBM and Avnet Technology Address Growth in Data

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 18:42:55 +0100

IBM responds to Oracle's Exadata 2 database appliance with DB2 pureScale clustering feature. Written by Chris Smith I remember once I was on my high school cross country team. Only a limited number of runners were going to be chosen to travel across state to compete against another school. At lunch, the coach read the names of those who were going to compete in the meet. My name was not among them, and I was shocked. I knew I was not among the top runners, but I still was proud of what I could do...

How Will IBM DB2 Web Query for System i Benefit Your Shop?

Mon, 12 Oct 2009 06:00:05 +0100

Learn about the new IBM query and reporting tool for the i5/OS market. By Gene Cobb If you have been following recent IT industry trends, you may have noticed that there has been a lot of activity in the area of Business Intelligence (BI). Mergers, major acquisitions, and announcements have dominated the headlines in the past year. IBM has been quite active in this area as well. The recent acquisition of Cognos and the announcement of the Dynamic Data Warehouse Initiative are evidence of this. ...

Web 2.0 Business Intelligence: IBM i, Windows, or Both?

Mon, 14 Sep 2009 06:00:05 +0100

Achieve an impressive ROI using i-based reporting and BI software to connect users to the latest Web 2.0 technology. Written by Bill Langston Editor's Note: This article is a distillation of the Webcast "Migrating from IBM Query/400?" which is available free from the MC Press Webcast Center. It also covers information from the white paper "Replacing Query/400: Understanding Your Options," also available free from the MC Press White Paper Center. Recent IBM announcements and acquisitions in th...

Technology Focus: Choices Abound for Buying System i BI

Mon, 17 Aug 2009 07:00:10 +0100

Economic uncertainty is putting more emphasis on making smarter business decisions. Business intelligence tools, which can help, offer more choices than ever for System i shops. Written by John Ghrist One of the most important areas in which computing is being applied to business activity is in the realm of business intelligence (BI). From humble beginnings such as merely displaying an enterprise's financial results, BI has grown to become an exciting array of products and methods for analyzing b...

Using Business Intelligence Can Serve to Fight Back on the Economy

Fri, 24 Jul 2009 07:00:10 +0100

More than just a replacement for Query/400, DB2 Web Query is business intelligence light. Written by Chris Smith In one of the sessions on DB2 Web Query at the OCEAN User Group's Technical Conference this week, the speaker, Doug Mack, asked for a show of hands of those users who had installed the product and those who had actually started to use it. I looked around to see the results: installed DB2 Web Query--quite a few hands; used it--not so many....

OmniFind, Part II: Integrating OmniFind Text Search Server with DB2 Web Query

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 07:00:15 +0100

Organize and secure your documents, and create a GUI to perform text searches on them. Written by Gene Cobb In my previous article "OmniFind, Part I: Add Sizzle to Your SQL with OmniFind Text Search Server for DB2 for i," I introduced IBM OmniFind Text Search Server for DB2 for i , a new IBM i 6.1 product that provides the ability to perform both basic and sophisticated text searching against your DB2 for i data. In this article, I show you how to integrate this exciting new product with DB2 Web ...

Migrating from Query/400? Avoid Unnecessary Costs, Complexity, and Confusion

Sun, 10 May 2009 01:00:05 +0100

DB2 Web Query (QU2) is not your only option and may not be the best one. By Mary Lynn Treadwell Editor's Note: This article introduces the white paper "Replacing IBM Query/400: Understanding Your Options" available free from the MC Press White Paper Center. If you're like most IBM i (System i, iSeries, AS/400) customers, your staff members have relied on IBM Query/400 for years to generate simple queries of your DB2 database. Since its introduction with the AS/400 in1988,...

What if Business Intelligence Solutions Were Available for Free?

Thu, 07 May 2009 01:00:05 +0100

Palo BI Suite 3.0 gives users a chance to try the latest open-source BI software at no cost. By Chris Smith One of the more interesting developments at the COMMON conference in Reno last week was the announcement by Key Info that its Smart i business intelligence solution was ready for general availability. The deployment of a System i-based BI solution using DB2 Web Query that is accessible by business users marks a stage in the evolution of business intelligence....