Re: Informix 4GL - Help is required

David Kosenko wrote: > > Also sprach "Billy Wheeler" <billy@west.co.za> : > :SuperNova's I4GL takes a similar approach to 4Js in that they strip > :off the presentation layer, but they actually translate the > :presentation layer into SuperNova, which you can then *really* > :GUI-ize the presentation layer. You can then either leave your > :business logic in 4GL or you can gradually rewrite into SuperNova. > :I've been buggering around with SuperNova over the last couple of > :days and can honestly say that so far, it's a worthy successor to > :4GL, even if it isn't from Informix. > > When I looked at SuperNova, it was built on top of 4Js (i.e. you needed 4Js > compiler AND the SuperNova product to make it work). Seemed like a rather > complicated architecture to me. Then again, I only saw a brief demo. Are they > still using 4Js, or have they replaced that with their own compiler? I have information from the SuperNova people that they no longer use the 4J's compiler and have developed their own that better serves their purposes. A couple of other mentionables: 4J's has extended the 4gl language with new features which I would imagine will now become the 4gl standard. 4J's was also planning a Java based presentation layer which would enable users to run 4gl programs as very thin clients without needing any setups on the client machine (other than a Java browser). Has anybody heard of any progress in this area? It's interesting that a bunch of companies are so ready to continue the development of 4gl, a product that Informix was all but ready to toss into the scrap heap. The 4gl contenders are taking different approaches (in my view): 1. Querix: An inexpensive alternative to 4gl that will connect to other database sources like Oracle. 2. SuperNova: Migration path for 4gl to the SuperNova GUI development platform. 3. 4J's: A migration path for 4gl into the 3 tiered and GUI world without having to leave your 4gl code. 4. Informix: Having ditched the product and then realized the market they were throwing away, they made a sensible move by licensing 4J's technology. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- John H. Frantz Power-4gl: Extending Informix-4gl john@rl.is http://www.rl.is/~john/pow4gl.html