1 . Is there any configurable way to restore packages to a library other than NULLID using the Progress JDBC DB2 driver? Can the driver be configured to use a temporary or custom library for package installation during setup or testing?

2 . Do restored packages contain any internal metadata (e.g., version, timestamp, source save file) that can be accessed via JDBC or system queries?

3. Does the Progress JDBC driver expose any API or mechanism to check if a package installation is currently in progress? Are there any best practices or supported methods for performing pre-requisite checks before installing packages?

4. When two databases exist and a connection is established to the first database, creating packages, then a connection is established to the second database — are those packages reused? 

1. The driver supports the documented connection property "PackageCollection", which specifies the package name. The default value is “NULLID”.
This property works in conjunction with "CreateDefaultPackage" when package creation needs to be enforced.

 

2. Packages include embedded version information that can be extracted:
Format: DDJ{isolation}{version number}{suffix}
Current version: 360 (indicating version 6.0)
Example: DDJC360A = DataDirect JDBC, Committed Read, version 6.0, type A

Query to extract package information:
SELECT * FROM QSYS2.SYSPACKAGE WHERE PACKAGE_SCHEMA = 'MY_LIBRARY' AND PACKAGE_NAME LIKE 'DDJ%' ORDER BY PACKAGE_NAME;

 

3. No built-in API exists for installation progress tracking; however, detection can be implemented.
To verify existing packages before creating new ones, "CreateDefaultPackage" remains set to false (default value). The driver performs this check unless overridden.

 

4.  The key to understanding this is that on an IBM i system, there is effectively one single, integrated database. What you might refer to as different "databases" (often identified by Relational Database Directory Entries or RDBNAMEs) are essentially logical pointers to a database on a system.

On Db2i database, SQL packages are not stored inside a specific "database" in the same way they are on platforms like LUW. Instead, they are stored in a library (which is what the PackageCollection connection property maps to). Libraries are system-level objects.

During connection, if the PackageCollection property is not specified, the driver defaults to creating the packages in a library named “NULLID”. The NULLID library is a general-purpose, system-level library provided by IBM for this exact purpose.

During first connection, i.e with “Database A”, the driver checks for the required packages in the “NULLID” library on your IBM i system. Since they don't exist, the driver creates them. This process takes 5-6 minutes. These packages now exist in the NULLID library on that system.

During second connection, i.e with “Database B”, on the same IBM i system, the driver performs the same check. It looks for the packages in the NULLID library. Since the packages were already created by the first connection, the driver finds them and uses them. It does not need to create them again.

NOTE : There is a chance that "Database A" and "Database B" are likely RDB directory entries that both point to the same physical IBM i system. You can verify this by running the following SQL query on your IBM i system:

SELECT RDB, RDB_TYPE, REMOTE_LOCATION FROM QSYS2.SYSRDBDIRE WHERE RDB IN ('Database A', 'Database B')

If both entries show the same REMOTE_LOCATION value, or if the RDB_TYPE for both is *LOCAL, this confirms they resolve to the same physical system and therefore share the same set of libraries.

 

To have separate sets of packages, different library names can be specified for each connection using the PackageCollection property:

Connection 1: jdbc:datadirect:db2://<hostname>:<port>;LocationName=<location>;PackageCollection=MYAPPLIB1; Connection 2: jdbc:datadirect:db2://<hostname>:<port>;LocationName=<location>;PackageCollection=MYAPPLIB2;

References to documentation:

Home >> Progress DataDirect for JDBC for Db2 User's Guide Release 6.0.0 >> Connection property descriptions >> PackageOwner

https://docs.progress.com/bundle/datadirect-ibm-db2-jdbc-60/page/PackageOwner.html

Home >> Progress DataDirect for JDBC for Db2 User's Guide Release 6.0.0 >> Connection property descriptions >> CreateDefaultPackage

https://docs.progress.com/bundle/datadirect-ibm-db2-jdbc-60/page/CreateDefaultPackage.html