Re: Good User Guides for Informix Online DS 7.23 and NewEra

Billy Wheeler screamed as he came crashing out of the jungle like a wounded wildabeast: > On 31 Dec 97 at 0:53, Mike Segel wrote: > > } Here's a tip. > } Don't use New Era. (Damn I'm gonna catch flack for that one. :-) > > Nothing wrong with NewEra. > Ahh, but I disagree. Here's a simple acid test. Try writing a multiple window application where objectsin one window can control objects in another. Here's an example. Write a stock broker application/ trading application, which has a *real time* feed of stock trades in one window and a clients portfolio in another. Simple so far, since the *real time* feed can be done using Tibco's push technology (Publish / Subscribe) independant of the database transactions in the other window. But let us have the stock symbol appear blue/black for normal quotes, however have them flash red indicating that they are stocks that are in the current portfolio, or green if there is an open or unfilled position on that stock. (Client has placed a limit trade.) Simply put, you cannot delegate/control objects outside the window hiearchy. New Era doesn't allow for object delegation. (See ask the experts .... :-) Can you write an application which does the same task? Sort of. As long as you use a single window and show the realtime feeds in the same window that you pull up the client's portfolio. But now have multiple clients on the screen at the same time. (Or if you don't have multiple clients, consider multiple baskets....) > } BUT, if this is not an option, > } do the following: > } > } 1) Place all of your business logic in C functions. (It makes them > } portable.) > > No disrespect, Mike, but it also makes it damn hard to maintain. > Business is not as static as it used to be, if it ever was. :-) > Even if it is not *static*, C code is extremely simple. Heck, they even teach it in some high schoolsthese days. :-) Keep in mind that one should not have to have obfuscated code or pointers to arrays of pointers to structures in one's business code. As far as being static, even if you write it in any language, you will still have to maintain it. However if you write it in C, the odds are you will only have to maintain one copy of code. Both 4GL and New Era can access the C code. So you have multiple platform support, which New Era no longer provides. You can even access the code from other languages/environments as well. Of course, if and when 7.X and 9.X merge and Informix offers C, C++ and JAVA as stored proceedure languages, you now have server side code. (CSPL, JSPL ? Ne C'est Pas? :-) > } You should be creating functional layers as much as possible. > } 2) Do not rely on the Class Libraries provided with New Era. > } (Can we say garbage?) > > I think he means the AFCL here. Have a look at NEWT, from > http://www.dchsoftware.co.uk -- it's downloadable. > Perhaps. Of course, its a third party product and blows away the *one* vendor theory. :-)Delegation can exist within the AFCL versus the *language* level. The problem is that New Era apps, don't really have an application class which handles interfacing with the OS windows manager, hence the window is the lowest level of control. (I'm not 100% sure of this since I don't use NE.) > } 3) Make sure you understand OO design and techniques. This is > } independant of > } what ever OO language you use. > > ABSOLUTELY!!! > > } 4) Since this is your *first* experience with New Era, double or > } tripple the time requirements for > } your project. (You are gonna have to learn a lot and will most > } likely > } rewrite earlier sections of code) > > And this applies equally to any language, even C... :-) Who said it didn't? But then again, you can get C programmers fresh from school where as you can't get New Era programmers as easily. -Just my thoughts on the issue. So take them with a grain of salt. Mikey