Path: utzoo!utgpu!utstat!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!shadooby!accuvax.nwu.edu!tank!delphi!monty
From: monty@delphi.uchicago.edu (Monty Mullig)
Newsgroups: comp.databases
Subject: Re: Selecting a commercial RDBMS (Request for suggestions)
Message-ID: <3223@tank.uchicago.edu>
Date: 13 May 89 21:30:04 GMT
References: <3199@tank.uchicago.edu>
Sender: news@tank.uchicago.edu
Reply-To: monty@delphi.UUCP (Monty Mullig)
Organization: U. Chicago
Lines: 31

>>I am trying to select a commercial RDBMS product to be used as a back-end
>>for a system we're working on.  Here are a few criteria for selection:
>>
>>  * RDBMS should have a large enough share of the Unix(tm) RDBMS market;
>>  * RDBMS should have a quality (stable, well designed, working, complete)
>>    programmatic (3GL) interface (no pre-processors, such as ESQL, required);
..

>No offense, but that seems to be a pretty arbitrary requirement to
>place
>second on a list ordered roughly by importance. Just as an example, you
>are technically ruling out any C based system, since C pre-processes
>macros by default. A stiff requirement indeed for a UNIX based system.

this is true, although i think that the request (correct me if i'm
wrong) is for a 4GL that works directly with the dbms *and* provides
the power of sequential processing, a miserably weak area of SQL based
database engines unless you use ESQL.  but ESQL/C or whatever is no
4GL, and the "4GL" in Ingres (just an example) fall way, way short of
expectaions.  you pretty much have to use ESQL for true procedural
programming.

so, doom and gloom ?  maybe not.  i hear that FOCUS is a great 4GL,
but i've never used it.  everyone i know who has, though, has been
disgustingly pleased.  FOCUS is actually a 4GL, not a dbms, but it can
read data from just about any kind of file (even CCA's M204).  i'd
give FOCUS a real close look.  if you get trapped in the SQL scene
like we did, give sybase a look for power transaction processing.

--monty
  univ of chicago