Re: (Fwd) More News From San Francisco

Call it obsession, but I want to share this whilst my impressions are fresh. I got home, and thought I'd peruse the list to see what's going on. The kiosk at the conference was not the easiest way to post. A little hacking and I got email to work, but not the news. Anyway... :-) Roger Tomas wrote: > > What were your previous perceptions of Informix the company, and what > do you think is different now that you've seen the "real company"? > I had a rather uneducated view that maybe more informix people were reading c.d.i. than really are. I also thought somehow the company is seamlessly integrated in its' communications internally. My biggest surprise is all the young people who are developers. The open house at Palo Alto was priceless. To me it WAS the conference. Our Monday session with Informix set the pace for the rest of the week--at least for me. Then, Tuesday, going out and seeing a tiny bit of the company "at work" was icing on the cake. It was only too shortly lived. Let me back up a moment and tell you how my Monday went. These are only my impressions, and I hope the others will post and share as well: Early Morning, the IUG Council met. We had Christine Shannon, and Clem Akins in attendance, representing Informix, Carlton Doe moderated, and a whole bunch of User Group leaders--can't remember all their names, but I will soon be talking with all of them a whole lot more. :-) Everyone had an opportunity to share their notes on how their part of the world was fairing with their user group activity. You'd be surprised to note that it was intense, but civil. :-) As I stated before, global perceptions are amazingly in sync on many of the issues. This is extremely important to note, and something we all need to get together on. Carlton, and all the IIUG my hat is off to you for all the work you've done to make this a success. And Christine, and all the Informix folk who've risen to meet the challenge, my hat is off to you too. We have the beginnings of something very positive for all of us. After the morning session, we then got a private version of the "Ask the Experts" session with several of the same Informix people in attendance at the public session on Friday. This was the culmination of everything that has been said up to now, by all of you out in c.d.i. . And no, I didn't do a lot of the talking. The wish list was addressed, and Carltons' subsequent survey, which I think is safe to say positively received by Informix. You'd be surprised who were doing the talking, but they were saying a lot of the same things I was saying in the past. I was delighted. :-) My rants are on record, and I didn't want to take up time from the others who really DID want to talk. It was priceless for me. :-) New Era wasn't represented much from the user side, Billy! but the Informix side are definitely on board with it. Informix people were talking and we were on bended ear. They are also quick to point out a willingness to listen to YOU. This is so profound, and a big win for both sides. After this session, we had lunch, and then I think we had an after-glow IIUG meeting. ( my memory is slipping... :-) I seem to recall at the end of the day drinking beer and having more focal group sessions at the Thirsty Bear. This was a high-speed posting session that I wish every one of you could have been a part of. "Nils, please, tell me what you REALLY think". :-) Don't hold back! :-) So, the first day was really what I was hoping for, and it exceeded my expectations. I had not even known about the IUG meetings until arriving at the conference, and Carlton was gracious enough to invite me in. I realize he was taking a big risk, but it was a fantastic opportunity that has left me with great hope. All the fanatics are going to have to band together, and keep the consensus alive. > > More than anything I'm seeing Informix in the view of a family > > company. We went out to Palo Alto one night this past week ( Monday? ) > > and got the cooks' tour. This was a real treat, and I must say the > > mood was upbeat, the developers are extremely charged with electricity > > about the products that are coming out, and there is finally emerging > > some direction for us end-users. I think it's safe to say the > > developers are as fanatical about informix as we are. > > Are you implying Informix is coming out with new products? First of all, I'm not an insider. I represent only a developer perspective to many involved with Informix. Over the years I've received almost no communication with Florida Informix. They have been content with their car salesman approach towards marketing products, and left me out of much of what is going on. To answer your question in this light, not being an insider, I always assume Informix or any company is coming out with new products. It's the nature of any software company to do so. But I do not have any inside insight to tell you what that might be. I imply new products but only from experience. > If so, what are they? What I saw and know about was at the conference: My initial impressions of Data Director for Java (DDJ) are extremely promising. I hope that I'm not premature in my cursory impression of the product, but I think in the context of the intent of this tool, it sends a big message that Informix is on-board with Java. We could also attend the Object World conference next door, and it had a heavy emphasis on Java, CORBA, and IIOP. This appears to be the direction many are taking, and I would expect to see more of this kind of activity. If I heard correctly, Visual Cafe Pro is merging with DDJ, however, I'm fuzzy on this, and need to confirm. But DDJ DOES have Query-by-Example, the same as 4GL, so this is a great selling point. Java has a simpler class structure than C++ as well as being open compared to New Era. So knowing that I can develop apps with Informix and Java is great news. One of the "ask the expert" questions was about stored procedures, and if they were going to be improved, or enhanced. The answer was that the direction you should be taking is server-side-Java, not stored procedures per se, and I think from the reaction in the audience this direction appeared well received. It makes a lot of sense to get away from stored procedures as they are, and look to server-side java. Over time I hope this is the right tack, but I too am learning more, and can't take a stand just yet. Server-side Java for the data base does imply the engine is Java-enabled, and IUS is. Data Director for VB appears as an interesting product, and again, shows Informix is meeting the market. However, in light of what I saw at Object World, and on the Informix floor, I think Java is really the direction vendors are moving in. VB will play an important part of the mix, but Microsoft did not make a big splashy statement at Object World. We will have more ways of doing things in the near future than ever before, however it appears the lines are starting to become more clearly defined. Microsoft vs everyone else, but we already knew this. :-) Then there were the data blades. Lots to see, and I didn't get to spend as much time on them as I wou