Re: 4J's Compiler for 4GL anyone?

> spitz@GANS2X.ana.med.uni-muenchen.de (Richard Spitz) writes: > Does anybody in this group have experience with a product called > "4J's compiler for 4GL"? No experience but we evaluated their products fairly extensively last year. For us they are a complete dead end! They do *not* give you a true GUI interface, and no ability to write Windows programs running on the PC (at least not when we did our evaluation. > This is a compiler made by a company named "Four J's Development Tools", > which can take native 4GL code and compile it into an application that > runs in graphical mode under Windows (3.1x, NT, 95) and Motif. Well, this isn't possible in a true sense, and they haven't done it. The 4GL language is inherently *not* event driven, particularly not the input/input array statement. What they have done is a 'clever' solution to the problem. You can use the mouse and place the cursor in any field, even in the middle of any field in a form. They use TCL (and perhaps some other clever code) to keep track of where the cursor was and where you now clicked the mouse and sends appropriate cursor movent key codes to your 4GL program. They also generate buttons for you ON KEY statements so you can click this buttons with your mouse in addition to using the appropriate key. There are (where last year at least) limitations to buttons generated as it was difficult (or perhaps impossible) to dynamically change these buttons when the program came to another input statement with other ON KEY functionallity. (There was only one definition of the buttons and the labels to go with them.) As opposed to Informix 4GL/GX the 4GL program still runs on the Unix server and only comunicates with a special display front end running under MS-Windows. In many cases this is ok, but it does mean you get now way to write Windows programs with their tools. When we spoke to them they had no plans to change this, nor any understanding of why we would want to write true Windows programs. And remember, whatever their claim, your program is not truly event driven as it must still be written in 4GL. You may think it's too hard to convert to NewEra, but down the line this *is* the only solution (other than going to a completely new language). Full support of event driven programming in the language is the *only* option you have for proper GUI programming! > I just saw it on the German computer trade fair "Systems 95" and was > quite impressed with it. It also allows the application to run not > only against Informix backends, but against Oracle as well!! It's ability to communicate with Oracle might of course be interesting. Don't forget though, you might have to change some SQL code. > Interestingly enough, the product was NOT displayed on an Informix booth > (there was NONE!!!), but on the HUGE Oracle show area. Beeing a direct competitor to Informix, making it possible to move to Oracle databases, this may not be so strange. (It is of course strange that Informix wasn't at the show at all.) > The product shure looked impressive, but I am always sceptical about what > I see demoed on a trade fair. Has anyone used this compiler in "real > life"? What were your experiences? It where also to expensive to us at the time. Something good about it at the end: It seems to generate much better (faster and more compact) C-code. There is also a code generator product, a Unix character version and a set of functions Informix should have had for better user interface design (menus, smarter windows++). Nils.Myklebust@ccmail.telemax.no NM-data, Dalsbergstien 7, N-0170 Oslo, Norway My opinions are those of my company