A liitle knowldege . .

A series of qusetions from a complete neophyte, but first, some background. I have recently inherited an Informix-SE db and report/form suite written for Infomix-SQL, version 4.xx. I have it running on SCO-UNIX (version 3.something) on a Toshiba 220cs laptop. The original programmer avoided Windows because: NT wasn't widely available when he started, a mouse doesn't survive more than a few days in the hostile environments this system is intended for, UNIX is much more stable . . . In practice the system is run on a Wintel machine (actually a 486) running SCO-Unix with 3 Wyse-60 terminals. It is a simple system with a dozen-or-so tables, running to a max of about 300 meg of active data. It is intended to take input from 3-4 terminals, connected directly, though dial-up access would be nice. The DBA/manager uses the server for reports, management and db administration. I think the concept is marketable, the system as it exists now is quite elegant (within the limits of SQL), and has enjoyed the luxury of needing only to do what it was intended to do, without being asked by the front office to jump through hoops no one ever intended. As a result its users have high praise and others who have seen it are quite impressed. Problems: I think I need to make it 'prettier' to be more marketable. Including a mouse on clients is not an option. We have encountered some resistance to its UNIX platform. I have learned just enough about UNIX and Informix on my own to understand how little I know. I want to stop now before my liitle knowledge grows slightly to a dangerous level. Questions: (the few I can think from many I can't) 1. Should I be looking at 4GL? 2. Is question 1 trivial? 3. Are more recent versions of SQL a viable option? or should I refer to question 2? 4. Should I keep the concept and start over with other dev. tools, or can I work from where I am? 5. Are UNIX-based systems readily portable to W-NT? 6. Is there a GUI or GUI-ish, that is reasonbly friendly, without a mouse? 7. Have I made my point about how little I know? If there are issues here appropriate for discussion please respond, otherwise, please reply to: djf@entra-markham.com Dennis Fletcher