Re: 4GL vs. ESQL/C

> >I am a new user of informix, and is assigned a project to write a database in >informix. I couldn't decide if I should use ESQL/C or 4GL (they are all version >4.0). Someone told me that, 4GL is easy to do programming >however ESQL/C give me more control of what I can do. Several advantages of >4GL, I can see so far, are that 4GL can give me the top line menu creation and >the window capability. ESQL/C >will take a lot of work or almost impossible to do the same things. However, my >database system have to send e-mail to people at various occasion, this can >probably be done easily in ESQL/C and hard to be implemented in 4GL. > >Is anybody can give me any comments, some comparison about these two products? > >Your help will be most appreciated. Actually I would suggest a combination of INFORMIX's SQL, ESQL/C and 4GL. Use the SQL to design the bacic database - tables,basic forms, and reports. Use the 4GL to give it the flexibility you need at the points you need, and then call ESQL/C from the 4GL to handle the job done more effeciently in "C". What I found very nice about INFORMIX was the ability to blend all aspects of different products with the 4GL, calling plain forms, or calling reports from inside 4GL instead of doing the report in 4GL. Basicly what I am saying, is use the easiest path to provide the best output - if that is doing it all in 4GL great, if it means not using plain SQL, fine, just don't think it must be all or nothing. Thanks, ------------------------ James F. Van Valkenburg a.k.a. "van" AT&T Attmail: !jfv jfv@cbnewsk.att.com Atlanta, GA. Voice 404-810-7920 =============================================================================== ---- Standard Disclaimers included -- Just another grunt at AT&T ---- ===============================================================================