Re: another tool (was: PowerBuilder and Informix)

Quite a few years ago, before Java, when the tool market was far more densely populated and we were running away from I-4GL we evaluated a number of products (including PowerBuilder) and settled on the tool then called Jam (today it is Panther). We did not regret that for a moment, neither did our customers (many of which do their own development). In the meantime both tools evolved (and, on paper, still look similar, including relatively high price mentioned elsewhere in this thread), but I still think productivity and flexibility with Panther is superior. In particular, I much prefer Panther's 'Transaction Manager' approach to SQL generation to PB's datawindows. Company's web site is http://www.prolifics.com, but you won't find all that much detailed Panther info there; they seem keen to keep their product a well kept secret :-) You can play with open source version of the tool (http://www.possl.org). It is Linux-only, text, Motif and web (Panther is multiplatform, Unices and Windows; Mac, VMS and lots of exotica got dropped recently), and, if you want to play with app server integration, supports only WebSphere, but is good way to get the feel for the tool. Some of our clients use it for their (and their customers') production apps. Sorry for answering your question about PB with a plug for another tool, but I think this is worth sharing. Good luck with your project! Dragi "Bonzi" Raos Pardus d.o.o. Zagreb, Croatia "Sean R. Durity" <sdurity@cornercap.com> wrote in message news:a1dd8270.0312220514.449f2d4b@posting.google.com... > We are evaluating the use of PowerBuilder 9 for building fairly basic > database applications hitting an Informix 9.x server. Some of this is > re-writing/re-working a 4GL application. I would like to know if there > are many Informix/PowerBuilder developers out there and if they > recommend PB as a development environment. > > Some keys: > - low number of users (<15) > - need quick development/deployment cycle > - all clients are Windows 2000; multi-platform would be nice, but > Java/Swing seems to be more complicated to do well. > - fat/rich client preferred; web interface too limiting > - do not care about .Net, prefer to avoid. > - we use Linux servers for web, network, IDS, etc. > > I know some about 4Js/Genero, but it seems way too expensive, > especially with per client fees. Also, it seems to be a niche product > with no books, little internet information, etc. Hopefully > PowerBuilder isn't falling into that problem as well. Is it being > consumed by .Net and Delphi and Java?