Re: informix universal server and java

In article <33DCD44E.17CC@symantec.com>, Paul White <pwhite@symantec.com> wrote: >Matthew Tepel wrote: >> >> I'm new to java and don't know too much about JDBC. Would JDBC be >> sufficient to handle the features of IUS? Or should I just go ahead and >> use the Informix Java API? >> >Hi Matthew > >One alternative is to use a middleware solution like dbANYWHERE which >comes with a native driver for Informix and other databases. dbANYWHERE >is supplied with Visual Cafe Pro which provides drag & drop database >development. > >VC Pro has been selected by Informix as their Java tool of choice and we >are working with them on the next generation of tools. This is another issue that came up at the Informix User Conference. I clarified the JDBC/JOI issue in a separate posting, but let me clarify Paul's comments. As part of its "Universal Tools" strategy, Informix has created Informix-Data Director for Java, which provides support for creating Java database applications against Informix database servers (both Informix Universal Server and Informix Online are supported). The product is currently in release 1.1. As of release 2.0, Informix Data Director for Java will be integrated with Symantec Visual Cafe Pro. Symantec has done a really nice job with their product, and we're proud to be working with them. However, you should be aware that the upgrade/migration path to the combined DDJ 2.0/Visual Cafe Pro product is via DDJ 1.x, not dbANYWHERE. The dbANYWHERE product is JDBC-based, which means it does not provide the higher level constructs needed to handle databases with extensible type systems. The DDJ product relies on the Informix Java Object Interface, which enables you to more easily take advantage of extended types. (And, as mentioned in my other response, Informix does intend to provide a version of JOI which runs atop JDBC, so you need not worry about getting locked into a proprietary system). Please note that my intent is not to bash dbANYWHERE -- it is a very good product, and if you expect that you won't need extensible types in the future, it may well be the right choice. But if you do want to take advantage of the new features of the Informix Universal Server (as the original poster did), JOI and Informix Data Director for Java is probably a better long-term solution. Mind you, you may still want to buy Visual Cafe along with DDJ 1.1. DDJ 1.1 is a database form builder intended to be used with another JDE, and hence does not provide its own compiler, debugger, JIT, etc. -- Eric ------------ Eric McDermid Principal Software Engineer, Java Development Tools Informix Software, Inc. (posting from personal account)