Re: Advice for an Oracle Jock

Informix monitor!!! Oh, Informix monitor!!!! We could use some information on this issue. If I am wrong, then I NEED to know about it. I may have need of this feature within the year. I have received a number of requests for information on what I meant by Oracle having a slight edge in technology. Not to mention some indignant email. When I was evaluating DBMS' for a project in 3Q 1995, I noted that Oracle had an excellent scheme for a fully distributed database. By this I mean that one database with multiple servers. There is a copy of the database ( replication?? ) on each machine. So, the data in database AAA is available from servers on multiple machines. This is VERY different from software switching databases in order to provide this kind of look. My understanding is that Oracle had added a new column to each table. This was used as a "row owned here" flag and lock. So, if a server received a request to act on a row, it would try to get the "owner lock" for it, then allow the action. This is a pretty slick set up. AT THAT TIME, Informix had a replication server. The primary is considered the owner by virtue that the secondary is read only. I decided that due to system requirements, that this feature did not matter. Based on other information ( company proprietary ) Informix won the bid. It been nothing but a bed of roses since ;-) Clearly, ( whether anyone likes this or not ) Oracle had an edge in this area in 3Q 1995. I have heard talk / mention of an Informix product which addresses this distributed database issue. I think it is XPS ( I'm shooting in the dark here ). I had it pointed out to me that Informix kicks butt in other tech areas. These happen to be areas that I have not needed an therefore have no experience with. I did not mean to imply that Oracle was better than Informix ( or anyone really ). But, to be honest, I passed along what I knew to someone asking for a comparison between the two DBMS'. If I am wrong on this issue, I would appreciate knowing about it. Kevin -- +------------------------------+-------------------------+----------------+ | Kevin McHugh - SW Engineer | mkmchu@fax.cs.mci.com | | MCI Telecommunications Corp. | (719) 535-5278 | +------------------------------+-------------------------+----------------+ | ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. | | This posting is copyright and may be used only for the purposes | | of professional study. Use of this posting in any commercial | | environment is explicitly prohibited. This posting may only be | | reproduced for personal archival purposes. | +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+