Re: SQL Newbies List?

mathprof@bigfoot.com wrote: > > I recently downloaded and installed a free copy of INFORMIX-SE 7.24.UC5 on > my Linux machine. > > Sample questions I have: > > % Time-travel: preserving older versions of tables, so I can ask questions > like "what did this database look like two months ago". You've had some good answers to your questions, but I didn't see any comments on this one, so I'll chip in my 2c worth. This is really a database design issue. The concept of time based history falls under the generic term data warehouse. Although you might hear terms like data repository, or data mart. Being able to compare sales for this month with sales for the same month last year. The best engines for this are either IDS-ADO/EPO (Informix Dynamic Server with the Advanced Decision-support Option and or Extended Parallel Option) or RedBrick. Which one you choose should be based on your usage model. But many data warehouses are implemented using IDS or IDS-UDO. As someone mentioned, your so-called newbie questions are quite advanced. You might want to take a look at IDS for Linux, as this product would probably address your requirements better than SE. Cheers -- Mark. +----------------------------------------------------------+-----------+ |Mark D. Stock - Informix SA http://www.informix.com |//////// /| |mailto:mdstock@informix.com http://www.informix.com/idn |///// / //| |http://www.iiug.org +-----------------------------------+//// / ///| | Tel: +27 11 807 0313 |If it's slow, the users complain. |/// / ////| | Fax: +27 838250 2325 |If it's fast, the users keep quiet.|// / /////| |Cell: +27 83 250 2325 |Therefore, "No news: travels fast"!|/ ////////| +----------------------+-----------------------------------+-----------+