Re: Question about 4GL's verses C

Alan Popiel (alan@po.den.mmc.com) wrote: : I agree with Peter about the portability. I have had the *least* trouble : porting I-4GL code, compared to any other computer language (nine at last : count, not counting assembly languages) that I have used. : I partially agree with Scott that the code size expands, to port between : DOS and UNIX, but disagree with his statement "at best double the size". : The code included below shows how I dealt with the different keyboard : mapping when I implemented my application "VITAL" in both DOS and UNIX: I think I may have been a little vague in the point I was making about doubled code size etc. I was not referring at all to porting between DOS and UNIX (we don't haveany DOS informixes) but rather the "stretching" of the stock standard Informix user interace to suit an otherwise DOS oriented user. Let me give an example... a new customer of ours rings up just after we have installed informix stuff for the first time... Customer: Scott, how do I delete a character in a field? Scott: You type control-x. Customer: What x? Scott: Control-x... the bottom left hand key on your keyboard is marked "ctrl". Hold it down and then press the x. Customer: Oh.... why can't I just press delete like I used to in "****"? Scott: Well, remember that the delete key abandons the record you are currently keying. Customer: I know, I've done it 10 times today by mistake!!!! We always used escape for that in our PC applications. Scott: But you need escape to save the record you are working on. Customer: I thought this was supposed to be one of the best database systems available. Scott: (starting to feel a little silly) err well it is, its just that the user interface is a little different.... Enough I think... that was in our early days with informix. We've come a long way since then by using every trick in the book (at least the book we have!) to overcome the above sorts of problems and many others as well, in fact the full colour nicely windowed applications we develop now are not easily recognisable as written in 4GL. Those of use who have been using UNIX for years (I bought my 1st DOS machine last year!) probably don't worry about the way that Informix does things but most users do. Sure we could make them buy windows for 4Gl, Inet etc etc or any other combination of DOS/Windows connectivity stuff but that's not the point. We have other UNIX applications that have the "nice" interface, so couldn't Informix make things just a little easier for us? Anyway, enough of my raving... except to say that despite all of the above complaining, we're not about to throw our Informix out and at this stage wouldn't swap it for anything else on the UNIX RDBMS market. BTW. I know there are a number of undocumented features/functions available in 4GL.. we've found a few ourselves. Does anyone have some sort of list of these things? (Yeah, I know they aren't supported etc etc) Cheers Scott. EMail: scott@musys.mpx.com.au