Book Review

Optimizing Informix Applications By Robert D.Schneider ISBN 0-13-149238-1 Published By Prentice Hall/Informix Press (1995) The book is certainly a usefull addition to any Informix bod's library. It is broken up into 5 clear chapters, these are. 1. About the book. ca 12 Pages 2. Creating a well designed database. ca 67 Pages 3. Optimizing application code. ca 139 Pages 4. Informix engines. ca 89 Pages 5. Case studies. ca 27 Pages The book covers Informix SE, OnLine and DSA (7.0) and discusses the differences between each in chapter 4. I was interested in the sections on Fragmentation and PDQ. "Creating a well designed database" goes over the issues involving indexing strategies, db design concepts and the optimizer. Chapter 1 is a short "how to use this book" thing, while the final chapter of "case studies" has 5 usefull real life cases explained by the author. By far the greatest piece of the book is dedicated to optimizing application code, it includes a range of tips spanning SQL, 4GL, ESQL/C, SPL and triggers. The information is well presented and there are plenty of code expamples to carry the author's views. This is an intermediate book for developers that should be of interest to DBAs too. I would recommend it to anybody interested in expanding their Informix optimization knowledge. Regards,