Re: Informix Evaluation

In article <3hn5r5$iht@vulcan.nola.fmi.com> MMuller@fitpra.tpra.fmi.com writes: >> nadir@starcore.cris.com (Nadir Khalid Elzein) writes: >> My company is evaluating commercial databases. My professor has strongly >> recommended Informix. The company does online services and response >> times are really critical. >> >> >> >>>>> > > Never rely on your professor for critical advice. Academics don't live in or >have to make money in the real world. You haven't given us enough information to help you. Is Informix a competent database product? IMO, one of the best servers around and definitely the best 4GL I have ever used. Is it fast? Define fast in terms of acceptable response time vs number of users vs data volume and likelehood of an index hit vs sequential scan. I got one type of query from 30 minutes to 15 seconds by adding an index (blew hell out of the .idx file size but worth it...). Is this multiuser or single-user; PC/Windows or unix? I'm not trying to be difficult, it's just that without knowing the constraints that apply, any advice you get might be based on invalid assumptions. Peter Wiley Senior Scientist, Database Design