Problem:

Do you know why DB2 distributed would not like this statement?

01  WS-TIMESTAMP PIC X(26) VALUE SPACES.

EXEC SQL

      SET: WS-TIMESTAMP = CURRENT TIMESTAMP

END-EXEC

It worked fine in XDB.

Resolution:

It will work in MFE and Net Express using XDB and will work in MFE using HCO (Host Connectivity Option) because HCO passes code to DB2 to allow this to work.  

This will not work in Net Express using UDB.  

SET :HV = CURRENT TIMESTAMP is not supported in native DB2 UDB and since HCO is not a part of Net Express this statement will not work.