Path: utzoo!censor!geac!torsqnt!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!usc!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!van-bc!tfic.bc.ca!clh
From: clh@tfic.bc.ca (Chris Hermansen)
Newsgroups: comp.databases
Subject: INFORMIX SQL functions
Summary: How about some more SQL functions
Keywords: informix sql
Message-ID: <1990Nov22.210621.7930@tfic.bc.ca>
Date: 22 Nov 90 21:06:21 GMT
References: <8330@pbhyf.PacBell.COM> <1990Nov20.221658.19496@informix.com> <8335@pbhyf.PacBell.COM>
Reply-To: clh@tacitus.UUCP (Chris Hermansen)
Organization: Timberline Forest Inventory Consultants
Lines: 41

It's gratifying for a long-time Informix (ISQL) user to see the interest Informix
people take in this newsgroup, and also the generally high quality of their
responses.

With that in mind, I have a small question to pose to those folk, and anyone
else who feels interested enough to comment.

Since ISQL is apparently designed to provide a simple, quick mechanism for
rooting around in Informix databases, why isn't there a bit more in the
way of, oh, say transcendental functions available in ISQL?  For example,
I wouldn't mind being able to execute

	select a, 1.30223 * (1 - exp(-0.023 * a)) ^ 2.39045 from foo

I'm aware that ESQL-C allows one to add things like this to ISQL, but this
strikes me as a) overkill, b) an expensive way to do it, and c) a way to
end up with a screwed-up ISQL (or at least one that Informix support might
look upon with suspicion in the heat of a service call).

I understand that Ingres provides this kind of stuff, and I really don't see
the problem with allowing users to get at standard UN*X functions like
exp, log, j0 (yeah, there's one I use every day), etc.

I brought this issue up with some nice person in a service call one day,
and was advised to send a letter to some high muckey-muck at Informix.
Presumably my letter got filed in the round file; I certainly never received
a response.

To sum up, please don't say "4GL does it" or "ESQL-C" does it, because
ISQL is a good solution (in terms of price, user-friendliness, etc) for
our technical folks who spend long days prodding data around.  It's just
missing that extra little bit...

Thanks for your consideration, everyone.

Chris Hermansen                         Timberline Forest Inventory Consultants
Voice: 1 604 733 0731                   302 - 958 West 8th Avenue
FAX:   1 604 733 0634                   Vancouver B.C. CANADA
clh@tfic.bc.ca                          V5Z 1E5

C'est ma facon de parler.