Re: WARNING: Say "NO" to patched versions!

My .02 worth.... Kerry Sainsbury <kerry@kcbbs.gen.nz> wrote in article <O2eM00ElJbTc092yn@kcbbs.gen.nz>... > At this years Informix Worldwide User Conference I learned that patched > versions of engines do not go through the same quality control procedure > that normal, scheduled, releases do. I formed the opinion that "patched" > versions were something I wanted to avoid at all costs. > > Today I learn that a "patched" version has been installed at one of our > client's site. > > The new version *does* fix the bug it was supposed to, but introduces another > cool one in its place: > > "UPDATE ... WHERE CURRENT OF" disregards the "CURRENT OF" clause. > It just UPDATEs every row in the table... > > Also at the conference I heard somebody request that Informix make their > test suite public, so users could check new releases themselves. At the time > the request didn't seem too important to me, but all of a sudden it strikes > me as being a fabulous idea. > > I think either Informix should abandon the creation of these ad-hoc, untested, > "patch" releases, or at least make the test suite public so *we* can test them. > > Thanks for listening > > Kerry 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/ > I certainly understand Kerry's point of view. I have had to install three patches of 4gl and 4gl-RDS and things have not always gone smoothly. I can't say I wasn't warned, I was. The 4gl developer insisted that he had to have a fix right now, so I insisted he be prepared for any other problems the patch might introduce. Turns out they were very slight. At the same time, I have neither the time nor the other resources to run the test suites against the patches myself. Even if they were public, I would not be likely to use them. My company pays support on all the engines and tools of Informix that we use and I expect that substantial amount of funding to go towards keeping the products as bug free as possible. I'm glad to read that Informix is attempting to speed of their bug fixes. I'd like to get notifications when they cut a new release for my platform. Yes, I know I can see the releases on the their web site. But R&D time is at a premium in a shop the size of ours. An e-mail would work much better. Dave Thacker Omni Hotels Reservation Center