Re: Migrating 4GL Applications from Server based to Client/Serve

I'll start by declaring an interest: I represent both products mentioned below, as well as Querix, thich I'm going to toss into the pot here. However, I can't honestly say that I know any of these products as well as I know Informix-4GL, so keep the salt handy... On 12 Apr 98 at 20:23, amgad wrote: > We are looking for your advice, experience, and recommendations. > We plan to migrate a number of 4GL written applications from a server > based into > a Client/ Server setup. The Server will be a UNIX box, while the clients > would run windows 95. Among the alernative we are considering is Four > J's Universal Compiler, and SuperNova Informix 4GL Extender. We had no > prior > experience of either of them, and would welcome any advice, suggestion, > or recommendations from anyone who had gone through a similar > experience,or > used these tools before. Let's start off with 4Js: this is a very good, but strict 4GL compiler (so you might have to start fixing code that depends on undocumented features :-), I also think it's a little pricey for what it does. What it effectively does is to provide you with a thin-client, pseudo-GUI Windows front-end, fat server and you can deploy your apps on (ugh!) NT and 95. You're still writing 4GL though. (Personally, I don't think that's a bad thing, but it isn't really a language for event-driven programming.) Querix-4GL will do the same thing, but is vastly cheaper and has no run-time charges (major plus!) However, I think the 4Js version has been around for a while and is consequently more robust. Also, 4Js has the option to deploy p-code, whereas Querix is C-compiled only. Both of them are strictly 2-tier, but at least they're seriously thin clients. :-) Both of them will retain your investment in what has already been written and there's no rewriting needed (or indeed possible! :-) SuperNova is, IMHO, the way to go if you want to retain your investment in 4GL code *and* have a good platform to go forward with. The I4GL Extender actually uses the 4Js compiler for an initial compile which it then runs in the background while putting a proper native GUI on the front. You can then put widgets on the front end to extend your app and gradually rewrite your application into native SuperNova as you become more comfortable with the language. That's the theory anyway. :-) (Actually, we've already done a pilot and it does seem to work...) > We would also appreciate any other alernatives that might help avoiding > re-writing the applications again. I have heard that DELPHI can also be > used to accommplish such task? No chance - Delphi is a Pascal-based OO language. I don't know how this could possibly stop you from doing a full rewrite. > Pros/Cons? Ideas? Problems to take into consideration? Questions for us > to > Answer? Recommendations? E-mail me if you have any questions. HTH. -- Ciao, Billy /Group Managing Director, The West Solutions Group: http://www.west.co.za \\ Drivel @ http://www.west.co.za/tasteless/ / \\ "Granted, Mr Wheeler's ideas are stupid and unreasonable, but he does own the company and I / think we should go along with him..." \\________________________________________________________________________________________________