RE: informix drivers

> From: RHabichtsberg@arz-emmendingen.de > To: informix-list@iiug.org > Subject: informix drivers > Date: Thu, 18 Feb 2010 10:19:06 +0100 > > Hi all, > > some folks here argue that in future IBM would drop the support of Informix > drivers like PDO_INFORMIX for the benefit of db2 drivers or has it already > done. Would you agree with that opinion? Please, no new flame debate but a > realistic estimation. > > Reinhard. Sigh... Reinhard, here's IBM's logic. There is Informix and there is DB2. Both have native drivers. Informix has supported DRDA since the mid 90's starting with the DRDA gateway so that Unix Informix boxes could talk with DB2 mainframe boxes. So rather than have both an Informix and DB2 set of drivers, IBM would promote the DRDA drivers and would embed a DRDA server in to IDS. (Which they did in IDS 11, if not mistaken.) The concept is that by supporting 1 interface for C/C++, Java, Python, Ruby, etc ... they can support connectivity to both platforms for the price of one. That's the logic. However, there's a couple of questions that were never answered ... 1) Is there a cost (in terms of performance) between IDS native APIs or DRDA? 2) Lack of backwards compatibility means that those who are on IDS will have to upgrade if they want support for additional language access, like Ruby. (Third party adaptors and drivers are discouraged but can exist.) 3) If your app talks to IDS via DRDA, then it can talk to DB2 so you won't have to worry about porting the app, just mod the database which should be pretty straight forward. (Hint: Another way to entice customers to port to DB2? Naw, they would never do that.... ;-P ) At least that's IBM's logic. Not that I'm putting words in to their mouths, and good luck in getting them to admit anything about this except that it is *cheaper* to support 1 API than 2. ;-) But hey! What do I know? Its not like I didn't work for the blue pig... Oh wait, that wasn't a bad dream, it was real. Thank god those handcuffs were cheap gold plated ones and not made of titanium... -G _________________________________________________________________ Hotmail: Powerful Free email with security by Microsoft. http://clk.atdmt.com/GBL/go/201469230/direct/01/