Re: Informix & Delphi
In article <19970821204401.QAA26896@ladder02.news.aol.com>, ttgchicago@aol.com (Ttgchicago) wrote: >Hey all - I was just wondering if anyone out there has done any extensive >Delphi programming. We have a customer who's looking put a front end on >an Informix DB and werent convinced about NewEra (No jokes from the peanut >gallery please!) > >I had a few specific questions: > >1) Hows the responce time with the client/server version? Acceptable. >2) Are there extra costs such as run-time liscenses w/Delphi? No run-time licenses required for Delphi, but you need Informix-Connect on your PCs (which, I *think*, is free these days -- Well done Informix!) >3) How extensive is the language comparred to others? (VB being the lowest >and C++ being the highest) It goes to the C++ level, but is as readable as VB. Novices can drive it quickly (well, assuming they can get over the event-driven / OO paradigm shift) and experts can make it sing. The power of Delphi is both a strength and a weakness -- because there are no walls to hit, you can always keep finding better ways to do things. In more restrictive "4GL" languages there is usually only one or two ways to perform a particular task, so there's not much room for debate / improvement -- you're tied to whatever the tool's developers decided you should be able to do. >4) Can you do QueryByExample? (Query on each field in a window ... can the >queries use wildcards?) Not out of the box, but there's at least one freeware component which provides this functionality (we've taken it and done lots of work with it). There are lots of these kinds of components around -- hooks to Excel and Word, etc. >5) Is it really just a C-based language with a pretty front end? (Does it >use a pre-compiler to generate C++ code?) It's Object-oriented Pascal. Anybody can read and understand it (ie: it's not the maze of cryptic symbols that C++ is!). There is no pre-compiler which generates C++ code (NewEra does that) it compiles (and links) straight to a Win32 executable. >6) Does it use a 4GL language ... How similar to Informix-4GL is the >non-OO code? Pretty similar (IMHO). SQL isn't as imbedded as it is in I-4GL. It's strongly typed (a good thing!). You have to get used to putting semi-colons on the end of your lines of code (this becomes a habit quickly). The most annoying thing about Object Pascal is the brain-dead CASE statement (you can't uses string values, just like the even-more brain-dead "switch" statement in C/C++). >7) Hows the learning curve if youve worked with other similar packages? It's the OO and event-driven learning curve that's the issue, not the language. >8) What additional tools/classes should I purchase if I were to begin >programming in Delphi tomorrow. We haven't bought anything extra. You might want to shop around for a different reporting class library (we haven't used QuickReports yet) or another charting library (but TeeCharts looks adequate). Key thing I suggest is that, right from day 1, create your own descendants of every Delphi-supplied class and use those. That way if you decide later to use a third party product, you slip it in underneath yours and all your programs magically inherit the new functionality. Very important! >9) Which other tools should I consider INSTEAD of Delphi (NewEra and Java >excluded) PowerBuilder, Centura SQL-Windows (or whatever Gupta are called now) and maybe "Magic" are worth a look -- I'm no expert on these, but I think they're the main competition. I like the new multi-tier stuff from Borland too, plus the tight integration between their C++ Builer product (basically Delphi for C++) and J-Builder (their Java tool). Cool stuff. Good luck, Kerry "I had to raise to the bait!" S ------------------------------------,------------------------------------------ Kerry Sainsbury, kerry@kcbbs.gen.nz | THE INFORMIX FAQ v2.10 May 1997 Quanta Systems, Auckland | http://www.iiug.org/techinfo/faq/ New Zealand. Work: +64 9 377-4473 | ftp://ftp.iiug.org/pub/informix/faq Home: +64 9 279-3571 | ftp://kcbbs.gen.nz:/pub/informix/