Informix SE vs. Progress

Path: emory!ducvax.auburn.edu!noc.sura.net!darwin.sura.net!uvaarpa!mcnc!alvin!pickel From: pickel@mcnc.org (Lisa C. Pickel) Newsgroups: comp.databases,comp.databases.informix Keywords: evaluation Message-ID: <8339@alvin.mcnc.org> Date: 18 Oct 91 14:55:44 GMT Sender: Lisa C. Pickel <pickel@alvin> Organization: Center for Microelectronics, MCNC; RTP, NC I have spent the last three weeks playing with evaluation copies of both Progress and Informix SE. I have some observations/claims-from- literature that I would like your comments on: Maintainance: Progress claims "...backups can be done...while the database is still open for processing" Is this true? Can Informix SE do this? Progress claims "In the event of transaction conflicts or system failure, a before-image file is used to automatically back out incomplete transactions, assuring database integrity". I killed an application in the midst of a transaction, and sure enough, Progress automatically backed it out. Does Informix SE do this? I haven't yet set up a situation where I could test it. Changing tables: Progress is great for this--dynamic indexing and all. What about Informix SE? I see the commands in the manual to change tables, but it also mentions the need for extensive recompilation of applications afterwards (even if fields are mentioned as tablename.*) BIG QUESTION: If you were me (a C programmer who knows next to nothing about DBA) which would you pick and why? We don't need a 24-hour db. We may have maybe 12 simultaneous users. Small system, right? Security: Informix 4GL won't let me use a variable for "user-list" in the GRANT priv TO user-list statement. Am I supposed to write a special 4GL routine everytime I want to add some user into the system? If so, the data dictionary in Progress is really much better for this purpose. Progress allows for in-code permission checking--how does one keep unauthorized users from running Informix applications? (The UNIX permissions may not be specific enough--unless I want to create a hundred different little groups!) Multiple DBs: Progress can access multiple dbs from the same application. Informix can't. Development Ease: I can't CTRL-Z (stop) the Informix Programmers' Env (C Compiler Version)!! Do you know how annoying this is? Informix seems to need the edit-compile-link-run cycle while Progress is just edit-run (and you can build binaries later). Under Informix Rapid Development Sys, you can do edit-run I guess, but then how can you get compiled binaries (I don't think "p-code" with a "runner" would be as fast as compiled binaries!)? Developing screens and reports with Informix 4GL is much more painful and lengthy than using Progress 4GL. Yet, it seems as though one can get more power and control from Informix. I remember I used to find C programming much akin to having teeth pulled--now I wouldn't trade it's power for anything. Is your experience the same with Informix 4GL? Fun, Fun, Fun! Lisa.