Preferred Front-end Tools
With Informix 4GL-RDS future in doubt AND programmers becoming hard to find (in Perth, Western Australia), what are the common alternative front-end GUI development tools for an OLTP database environment? What experience/problems have you had with your development tool? What features/functionality were in 4GL but not in your tool? What migration issues did you have? What (if any) third-party add-on tools did you need? Thanking you in advance for your comments.
Note: Informix has recently rededicated themselves to continuing the CLASSICS product line including 4GL. This development language is NOT going away. Rob Vorbroker Mark's News <MarkM@marlows.remove.com.au> wrote in message news:3a80c0fb$0$26056@echo-01.iinet.net.au... > With Informix 4GL-RDS future in doubt AND programmers becoming hard to find > (in Perth, Western Australia), what are the common alternative front-end GUI > development tools for an OLTP database environment? > > What experience/problems have you had with your development tool? > What features/functionality were in 4GL but not in your tool? > What migration issues did you have? > What (if any) third-party add-on tools did you need? > > Thanking you in advance for your comments. > > > > >
Robert is quite right. the new management has gotten religion about supporting tried and true "Classic" products (i.e. Online 5.1x, 4GL etc...) and won't be nearly so quick to EOL (end of life) them. They may not be the newest, sexiest technology around, but there is a large and enthusiastic user base that would be stupid (businesswise) to abandon. You can pretty safely assume they'll be supported for a long time. You might take a look at Dynamic 4GL to spiff up those 4GL apps with little to no code change. It's becoming very popular. greg Mark's News wrote: > With Informix 4GL-RDS future in doubt AND programmers becoming hard to find > (in Perth, Western Australia), what are the common alternative front-end GUI > development tools for an OLTP database environment? > > What experience/problems have you had with your development tool? > What features/functionality were in 4GL but not in your tool? > What migration issues did you have? > What (if any) third-party add-on tools did you need? > > Thanking you in advance for your comments.
Mark's News wrote in message <3a80c0fb$0$26056@echo-01.iinet.net.au>... >With Informix 4GL-RDS future in doubt AND programmers becoming hard to find >(in Perth, Western Australia), what are the common alternative front-end GUI >development tools for an OLTP database environment? > >What experience/problems have you had with your development tool? >What features/functionality were in 4GL but not in your tool? >What migration issues did you have? >What (if any) third-party add-on tools did you need? > You could probably make a good product using Perl with DBI::Informix and PerlTk these days. You'd have to keep a really tight handle on the readability issue! I dunno if Python contains links to Informix, but it's apparently got a shot-load of fans. Java using ODBC seems also increasingly popular. Haven't worked with either... Possible problem is - your typical Perl programmer wouldn't have a clue about proper database programming; this would also be true of Python and Java progammers. They would need careful training and/or the assistance of an Informix-skilled cow-orker to steer them in the right direction. 4JS or Dynamic 4GL is an excellent tool for promoting 4GL code to a gui environment, although the interface is clearly a "lowest common denominator" of Windows and X windows capability - on Windows especially it's not plain vanilla, but nobody seems to care that much. There is a newer MDI front-end for Windows which may address that matter, but I haven't seen it in action. 4JS have also got HTML and Java front-ends for 4JS and of course it can still run on character sessions. The HTML front-end has some restrictions such as: you cannot use before/after field code.