Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!lll-winken!lll-lcc!lll-tis!ames!hao!oddjob!gargoyle!ihnp4!ihlpf!lukas
From: lukas@ihlpf.ATT.COM (00704a-Lukas)
Newsgroups: comp.databases
Subject: Re: Informix query
Message-ID: <3216@ihlpf.ATT.COM>
Date: 31 Dec 87 14:44:37 GMT
References: <3072@ihlpf.ATT.COM> <3890001@hpcmmb.HP.COM>
Reply-To: lukas@ihlpf.UUCP (00704a-Lukas,J.)
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories - Naperville, Illinois
Lines: 42

In article <3890001@hpcmmb.HP.COM> matt@hpcmmb.HP.COM (Matt Ledna) writes:
>Just curious...what types of limitations have you found?  (I assume that
>these would be generic to any relational package, not just INFORMIX). 

When first using INFORMIX I kept a list of bugs and deficiencies, some
minor, some not. Most were (I think) unnecessary in that they were NOT
a manifistation of the relational algebra. Some examples that occur to
me:

1)	Inability to restrict options on forms (if I dont want, say,
	to allow an ADD for a given scree).
2)	The control blocks of perform cover < 1/2 of the possibilities
	(say you want to test a query BEFORE the database is searched).
3)	Inability to join to a table in another database (say, the
	personell department keeps an up-to-date table of employees,
	which your application needs to access).
4)	Difficulty (outside of perform) of doing that most basic of
	database applications: that of cycling through the rows, adding,
	deleting, modifying as you go.
5)	Inability to have two LOOKUP tables for one column.

I could go on (I collected over 50 before I quit). I realize that some
of these deficiencies could be overcome with gobs of c code, but one
of the things that I want from a datbase is functionality without the
need to use a host language (I understand from a previous discussion in
comp.databases that #4 is tough even with c).

I am used to a database envirionment that has a great user interface
and programming language. As a matter of fact, if I had my wish, it
would be that the two different databases would magically merge,
keeping the relational algebra (join and whatnot) and perform (you
can take ace out and shoot it). If wishes were horses . . .

BTW. I offered my list of (some, no doubt, bogus) deficiencies to
INFORMIX. Thats when I found out how deep their concern for customers
is.

Happy New Year!
-- 

	John Lukas
	ihnp4!ihlpf!lukas
	312-510-6290