IBM i Database Application

Analyze SQL application behavior including error logs, statement parsing, SQLCODE reference, SQL naming utilities, and system limit monitoring.

Available Tools

The ibmi CLI is the primary tool for executing database application queries. Set SKILL_DIR to this skill's installed location (the directory containing this SKILL.md file):

# SKILL_DIR = directory containing this SKILL.md
# Examples: ./skills/database-application, ~/.claude/skills/database-application

# List all database application tools
ibmi tools --tools "$SKILL_DIR/tools/" --toolset database_application_default

# Run a specific tool
ibmi tool list_sql_error_log --tools "$SKILL_DIR/tools/"

# Run with parameters
ibmi tool get_sqlcode_info --tools "$SKILL_DIR/tools/" sqlcode=-204

# Ad-hoc SQL for custom queries
ibmi sql "SELECT * FROM QSYS2.SQL_ERROR_LOG ORDER BY LOGGED_TIME DESC FETCH FIRST 10 ROWS ONLY"

The ibmi-mcp-server also provides execute_sql and describe_sql_object for MCP-connected agents.

Service Selection Guide

SQL Error Analysis

• QSYS2.SQL_ERROR_LOG -- Logged SQL errors with SQLCODE, program, statement text, timestamps
• SYSTOOLS.SQLCODE_INFO() -- Message ID, text, and help for a given SQLCODE

SQL Statement Analysis

• QSYS2.PARSE_STATEMENT() -- Extract referenced tables, views, schemas from SQL text
• QSYS2.DELIMIT_NAME() -- Properly quote/delimit SQL identifiers

System Limits

• QSYS2.SYSLIMITS -- Objects approaching system-defined size or capacity limits

Key Capabilities

SQL Error Log Analysis

• Error listing -- Recent SQL errors with SQLCODE, SQLSTATE, program, job, and statement text
• Error summary -- Aggregate error counts by SQLCODE to find the most frequent issues
• Program filtering -- Focus on errors from a specific program or library
• Occurrence tracking -- See how many times an error has occurred and when it first appeared

SQL Statement Parsing

• Object extraction -- Parse a SQL statement to find all referenced tables, views, and schemas
• Usage types -- Determine how each object is used (SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE, etc.)
• Static analysis -- Analyze SQL embedded in programs without executing it

SQLCODE Reference

• Message lookup -- Get the message ID, text, and detailed help for any SQLCODE
• Diagnosis -- Understand what a SQL error means and how to resolve it

SQL Naming Utilities

• Identifier delimiting -- Determine if a name needs quoting for safe use in dynamic SQL
• Reserved word detection -- Identify names that conflict with SQL reserved words

System Limit Monitoring

• Limit inventory -- All objects with tracked limits (file size, index size, journal, etc.)
• Near-maximum detection -- Find objects approaching their system-defined maximums
• Proactive alerts -- Identify capacity issues before they cause failures

Common Use Cases

1. Error investigation -- Find SQL errors occurring in production applications
2. Error trends -- Identify the most frequent SQL errors across the system
3. Impact analysis -- Parse SQL to find all tables referenced by a statement
4. Error diagnosis -- Look up what an SQLCODE means and how to fix it
5. Dynamic SQL safety -- Determine if identifiers need delimiting
6. Capacity monitoring -- Find files or indexes approaching size limits
7. Proactive maintenance -- Alert before objects hit system maximums

Quick Examples

View recent SQL errors

ibmi tool list_sql_error_log --tools "$SKILL_DIR/tools/"

Errors for a specific program

ibmi tool list_sql_error_log --tools "$SKILL_DIR/tools/" program_name=MYPGM program_library=MYLIB

Look up an SQLCODE

ibmi tool get_sqlcode_info --tools "$SKILL_DIR/tools/" sqlcode=-204

Parse a SQL statement

ibmi tool parse_sql_statement --tools "$SKILL_DIR/tools/" sql_statement="SELECT * FROM MYLIB.ORDERS JOIN MYLIB.CUSTOMERS ON ORDERS.CUSTID = CUSTOMERS.ID"

Find objects near capacity limits

ibmi tool get_system_limits_near_max --tools "$SKILL_DIR/tools/" threshold_pct=75

Pre-built Tools

The tools/database-application.yaml file provides 7 ready-to-use tools:

Tool	Description
list_sql_error_log	SQL error log entries with program and statement details
get_sql_error_summary	Error counts grouped by SQLCODE
parse_sql_statement	Extract referenced objects from SQL text
get_sqlcode_info	Look up message text for a SQLCODE
delimit_name	Check if a SQL identifier needs quoting
get_system_limits	System limit tracking for objects and jobs
get_system_limits_near_max	Objects approaching their capacity maximums

ibmi tool <tool_name> --tools "$SKILL_DIR/tools/"          # Execute
ibmi tool <tool_name> --tools "$SKILL_DIR/tools/" --dry-run # Preview SQL
ibmi tools show <tool_name> --tools "$SKILL_DIR/tools/"     # View details

Reference Documentation

• Database Application Services Catalog -- Available SQL services
• Example SQL Patterns -- Working query examples
• IBM SQL_ERROR_LOG -- View documentation
• IBM SYSLIMITS -- View documentation
• IBM PARSE_STATEMENT -- Function documentation