RE: Informix beats Oracle

When you start working with Oracle, you really start missing the simple tools - like onstat, and dbaccess, with its "unload to ... select * from ...." -----Original Message----- From: informix-list-bounces@iiug.org [mailto:informix-list-bounces@iiug.org] On Behalf Of Fernando Nunes Sent: 05 July 2007 02:27 AM To: informix-list@iiug.org Subject: Re: Informix beats Oracle DA Morgan wrote: > Ian Michael Gumby wrote: >> Maybe I'm being vague because you can hear but you don't seem to listen. >> >> Again, you want innovations. >> >> Informix has the premiere HA/HDR implementation. > > What I see, again, is a vague generalities. If the shoe were on the > other foot I would put together a list of features demonstrating > my point. For example: > > 1. Do you have an equivalent technology to RAC? > 2. Do you have an equivalent technology to Data Guard TAF? > 3. Do you have an equivalent technology to Flashback Database? > 4. Do you have an equivalent technology to Online Redefinition? > 5. Do you have an equivalent technology to Grid Control Repurposing? > 6. Do you have an equivalent technology to resumable transactions? > 7. Do you have an equivalent technology to ASM? > 8. Do you have an equivalent technology to Flashback drop? > 9. Do you have an equivalent technology to Save Points? > and would keep going until I hit 20. > I'm done with this thread unless someone that actually knows both > products wants to step in and help Ian out a bit. I have no particular interest in keeping this thread alive, and I don't want to speak by others... So, this is just my opinions... and we all know the story with opinions You have several "categories" of features here. Some of them belong to standards, others are nice (although expensive) and others are what I'd call "interesting" but I wouldn't care too much about them. This categories will influence the possibility of seeing them implemented in the future. Personally I'm not very enthusiastic about the flashback stuff (specially drops). IDS allows PIT table recover from a backup image... Eventually slower, but takes less resources, although I easily agree that in some situations flashback is nice. TAF, RAC are nice ideas. Online Redefenition is interesting, although the impression I get from fellow Oracle DBAs is that if it's an heavy hit object, it will be hard to do. The best of Informix is not easily mappable to "features". I'd say most Informix DBAs appreciate some of these: 1-DSA 2-Lightweight 3-Small footprint 4-Command line tools (onstat...) - curiously IDS 11.10 brings SQL Admin API :) 5-HDR/ER - Several improvements in IDS 11.10 6-Extents/space handling (oracle should be there with "locally managed", but Informix always worked like that..) 7-Simplicity 8-Cost. You don't need to keep talking to the IBM salesperson. Most of the features are already included. In fact I'd say IBM could do a lot better trying to cross-sell to Informix customers... 10-Optimizer behavior. Give it good statistics and you're ok. I'm amazed by the quantity of 3rd party applications that still require RULE BASED... 11-ontape. Very old, very "rustic", but still being used by lots of customers. 12-migration process. Besides the testings, it's just a mater of stopping with the old version and starting up with the new one... Even from 7 to 11.10... the process is extremely fast and quite simple 13- Several small features like in-place ALTERS. Oracle also has them but last I checked it still had bigger limitations. B-Tree cleaner/scanner is also very nice. 14-reliability/stability 15-scalability If I could choose some features Oracle has and put them in IDS I wouldn't choose the ones you mentioned... In fact, if you knew IDS reasonably well, and given your Oracle knowledge, I'd bet you would choose others :) I will not post these "favorites" here... I prefer to open them as feature requests... maybe someday some of them will see the light :) -- Fernando Nunes Portugal http://informix-technology.blogspot.com My email works... but I don't check it frequently... _______________________________________________ Informix-list mailing list Informix-list@iiug.org http://www.iiug.org/mailman/listinfo/informix-list *** Disclaimer *** The information contained in this e-mail is confidential and legally privileged and is intended solely for the addressee and to others who have the authority to receive it. Access to this e-mail by anyone else is unauthorized and as such, any disclosure, copying, distribution or any action taken or omitted in reliance on it is unlawful. If you have received this e-mail in error, please notify the sender immediately. The views expressed in this e-mail are the views of the individual sender and should in no way be construed as the views of the Company. 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Dirk Moolman wrote: > When you start working with Oracle, you really start missing the simple > tools - like onstat, and dbaccess, with its "unload to ... select * from > ...." > Yes... impossible to qualify as features... I see this all the time as I work in a customer with 5/6 Oracle DBAs. One of them also works with Informix. He agrees with the "simplicity". Nevertheless, if you're a "native Oracle DBA" you don't miss this, simply because you usually only know one way to do things: Oracle... Regards -- Fernando Nunes Portugal http://informix-technology.blogspot.com My email works... but I don't check it frequently...

Dirk Moolman wrote: > When you start working with Oracle, you really start missing the simple > tools - like onstat, and dbaccess, with its "unload to ... select * from > ...." You are comparing Informix 2007 with Oracle 1997. The delta is 0. -- Daniel A. Morgan University of Washington damorgan@x.washington.edu (replace x with u to respond)

>From: Fernando Nunes <spam@domus.online.pt> >To: informix-list@iiug.org >Yes... impossible to qualify as features... >I see this all the time as I work in a customer with 5/6 Oracle DBAs. >One of them also works with Informix. He agrees with the "simplicity". > >Nevertheless, if you're a "native Oracle DBA" you don't miss this, simply >because you usually only know one way to do things: Oracle... > I walked away from Daniel because he wants to pull out a feature list. Its nice, we can do the same and they see where and when it was implemented. The point I was trying to make is that Informix did certain features right the first time. And not only that, that when we see an innovation like HA/HDR, there are really several innovations encapsulated in that one visible innovation. Daniel pulled out RAC. RAC not only doesn't scale, but Larry tied an "Unbreakable" marketing pitch to it. AFAIK, Larry dropped that add when it was shown that RAC was breakable. The point being is that IDS is a better designed engine which allows for better implementation of additional or evolving features. Oracle and even DB2 can't say the same. _________________________________________________________________ Need a brain boost? Recharge with a stimulating game. Play now!' http://club.live.com/home.aspx?icid=club_hotmailtextlink1