Re: 4GL++??? (Was: Is 4gl any smarter...)

>Subject: Re: 4GL++??? (Was: Is 4gl any smarter...) >Date: Thu, 26 May 94 9:31:31 PDT >From: Will Hartung - Master Rallyeist <villy@uunet.uu.net> >X-Informix-List-Id: <list.4026> > >> From: johnl@informix.com (Jonathan Leffler) >> >What is the ETA of 4GL++? >> >Is 4GL++ going to be backwards compatable with 4GL? >> >> I decline to offer comments on 4GL++ for fear of incriminating myself. > >*OUCH* Oh, ooh..sting. > >Jonathan? Why did you do that? > >You COULD have just deleted those lines and/or left them unanswered. Yes, maybe I should have, especially since I got picked up on it. >But no, now you've got my interest peaked (and maybe others as well). >"What does he mean? What can I read into this? Should I go onto >'Geraldo' and speak of dark conspiracies in the back rooms of our >humble vendors???" Show me a company where there aren't internal politickings, and I'll show you a graveyard... >Are you...ummm..underwhelmed by what you've seen? Overwhelmed and so >ecstatic that you'll sound worse than the glossy should you let your >emotions take over while writing about it, and you wouldn't want to >sink that low in a public forum? Or is it "4GL++? What 4GL++? I disavow >any knowldege of such a thing". I am not working on 4GL++. I have not seen 4GL++ at work, though that is because I haven't been to the demos, nor have I pestered my contacts in the 4GL++ group into showing me -- I've been a trifle busy trying to get 4.12 and 6.00 I4GL/ISQL into the big wide world out there. I have not read the 4GL++ specifications since the last major set of changes. I therefore do not regard myself as being in a good position to comment authoritatively on what 4GL++ will contain, nor on when it will appear. Therefore, amongst other things, I don't know how much backwards compatability there will be, and rather than say something incorrect, I decline to comment. The "incriminating myself" part comes in here. In a forum such as this, especially in relation to new products, Informix employees have to be very careful about they say, because things change -- often without our knowledge -- and statements made here can easily be misinterpreted as official statements, despite the standard disclaimers which always apply. I use an abbreviated disclaimer in my signature. Admittedly it's subtle, but the #include <disclaimer.h> is clearly a standard file, because a project-specific file would be referred to as #include "disclaimer.h". And the standard disclaimer is, roughly, "These are my views and should not be taken as an official statement by Informix". In the case of the I4GL/ISQL tools, I can speak with some assurance since I'm more or less in charge of the maintenance group handling them, and the products are out in the field, and the defects are mostly well known. With 4GL++, I am not directly involved, and the products are not out in the field, so I cannot comment safely. So, you needn't read anything more than lamentable ignorance into my statement. Yours, Jonathan Leffler (johnl@informix.com) #include <disclaimer.h>