Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!lll-winken!lll-tis!ames!mailrus!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!cwjcc!hal!ncoast!allbery
From: allbery@ncoast.UUCP (Brandon S. Allbery)
Newsgroups: comp.databases
Subject: Re: SQL = 4GL ???
Message-ID: <12280@ncoast.UUCP>
Date: 23 Aug 88 03:42:26 GMT
References: <24484@bu-cs.BU.EDU>
Reply-To: allbery@ncoast.UUCP (Brandon S. Allbery)
Followup-To: comp.databases
Organization: Cleveland Public Access UN*X, Cleveland, Oh
Lines: 32

As quoted from <24484@bu-cs.BU.EDU> by berlin@bu-cs.BU.EDU (David K. Fickes):
+---------------
| We've just managed to start an argument here regarding the
| actual definition of 4GL and its relationship to SQL...
| 
| IS SQL considered a 4GL?
| 
| and if it isn't .. what is it? ... also as long as I'm 
| asking, what about QUEL, dBASE, and other languages... 
| according to my RTI (Ingres) documentation they call OSL
| a 4GL but not SQL or QUEL... could someone define the 
| term 4GL??
+---------------

This has, I believe, been the subject of a few "religious wars".  I can only
give my opinion on the matter; others may disagree.

SQL and QUEL are data retrieval and modification languages.  They are not
sufficiently general that complete data manipulation programs can be written
in them (unless they only perform simple retreval and modification), thius
they are not 4GLs.

They may, however, be used as a basis for the construction of 4GLs, thus we
have OSL, Accell/Language, Informix-4GL, etc.

There are non-SQL-based 4GLs as well.  Progress is one; dBase also
qualifies, although it is not as general as the others I've mentioned in
this article.

++Brandon
-- 
Brandon S. Allbery, uunet!marque!ncoast!allbery			DELPHI: ALLBERY
	    For comp.sources.misc send mail to ncoast!sources-misc