Re: Opinions on Informix

I am sorry if I flame anyone or vendor here. All opions is my personal.(Not Press release :-}) At first, I have not any relation to any database vendors. I just a "normal skill to lower IQ" consultant who digging money from database related project. So my previous opions is based on "normal DBA" only. Certainly there should be experts on each aspect. 1. Database performance Informix is faster natively (not including NT platform). I agree Informix as ligth weight car and Oracle is heavier machine. So I recommend the database depending on project nature. 2. Customer Service Definitely right! The Oracle customer service is very bad. Among the vendors, only Sybase and Informix are acceptable. However I found it is changing because of cut cost in our region. 3. Easy admin. It is point and view questions. Oracle opens a lot of parametes for "normal user". Informix open less parameter to "normal user". So it is a trade-off between "more flexible" and "easy to admin". Is it right? For example, we do not have much tuning parameter in SQL/Server. So we say it "Easy to admin" or "less flexible". It is up to project by project. 4. Different Stragety Informix and Oracle have diff. stragety. Informix always adopts pioneer technology like Metacub (datawharehouse). It crashes Oracle Express. Oracle as well as SQL/Server goes to "normal user" aspects. They are willing to make product as user friendly as possible. Hence you can see they invest money on different areas. For example, Informix provides IECC (Enterprise command center) in 1998. Oracle and SQL/Server already has Enterprise manager in 1997 or early. It is reason why some guys love Informix and some biases on Oracle. Since some analysis claims that the market share is blamed to their stragety. (http://gartner6.gartnerweb.com/dq/static/about/press/pr-b9912.html) In conclusion, every existing vendor should have their own benefit and drawback. Businness evironment is cruel. Once your software products lost on every point. Your brand name will cease soon. P.S. The syntax of add one month is ADDMONTH(sysdate,1) in Oracle (return datatype is date). It is easy to understand for low IQ consultant. Actually Informix should enhance their function sign. I wait for UPPER() and LOWER() function from 7.X to 9.X! It is so different to implement but I do not want to want such function by my own stored procedure. All post are personal idea only :-} -----------== Posted via Deja News, The Discussion Network ==---------- http://www.dejanews.com/ Search, Read, Discuss, or Start Your Own

TechMan wrote: [points SNIPPED for brevity sake.] Your points are all well taken and well thought out. An improvement on the previous post. Thank you. > P.S. The syntax of add one month is ADDMONTH(sysdate,1) in Oracle (return > datatype is date). It is easy to understand for low IQ consultant. I just wanted to point out that the syntax for doing this in Informix is not magic or even very complex or difficult. Actually > Informix should enhance their function sign. I wait for UPPER() and LOWER() > function from 7.X to 9.X! It is so different to implement but I do not want to > want such function by my own stored procedure. Those functions are in IDS 7.3x and will most likely be in 9.2x when it comes out later this year. Meantime in UDO (9.xx) you can implement the UPPER and LOWER functions as UDFs using "C" yourself. Art S. Kagel