Re: "WordWrap" and temporary s
aburt@mnemosyne.cs.du.edu (Andrew Burt) writes: >In <memo.808385@cix.compulink.co.uk> shemminga@cix.compulink.co.uk (Stuart Hemming) writes: >>In-Reply-To: <randall.723872563@seashore> randall@informix.com (Randall Rhea) >>TITLE: Re: "WordWrap" and temporary string storage >>In <randall.723872563@seashore> Randall Rhea writes: >>> One of the things I like about Informix-4GL is that it does NOT >>> have all them "bells and whistles." >Has informix forgotten what "Fourth Generation Language" means??? >Personally I think Informix has the wrong attitude toward customers. My comments were taken out of context. I did not say that Informix-4GL was perfect and could not be improved. I reacted to an article that proposed making 4GL more like forms generators such as SQL*Forms. That would mean changing 4GL from a programming language into something else. I do not believe that SQL*Forms has sufficient flexibility to be used for development of complex business applications. I say this because I've tried it. I like 4GL because it's worked for the things I've used it for, including order entry and financial systems. I have tried other 4GL tools and have not had the success that I have had with Informix-4GL. 4GL is not perfect, but it's better than the other things I've tried. I do not wish to see Informix-4GL go down the same road as SQL*Forms. SQL*Forms was a reasonably useful forms generator in its 2.3 version. Oracle then "listened to their customers" and added feature after feature until it became an unmanageable monolith. The result, SQL*Forms 3.0, was slower, buggier, much more difficult to learn, and less useful despite the additional features. Is 4GL perfect? No. Can it be improved? Yes. Should Informix listen to its customers? Yes. Do like 4GL, despite its weaknesses? Yes. Would I like to see it radically re-designed? In my opinion, no. You may have a different opinion, and that is fine. -- =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Randall Rhea Informix Software, Inc. Project Manager, MIS Sales/Marketing Systems uunet!pyramid!infmx!randall