Informix vs Oracle, Sybase +...

Dear folks, Hi, I'm interning at Trade Show News Network (www.tsnn.com). I'm asking you guys a huge favor. If you could answer any or all of the following questions, I would be very greatful. 1) Which do you feel is the best database: Oracle, Sybase or Informix? What makes this so much better than all of its competitors? 2) Which is the best programming language for database interaction and dynamic, database-driven web page creation: Perl, Cold Fusion, Zope, PHP, Java,...? 3) What's the best operating system to run all this stuff on: Windows NT, Linux, Solaris, others? 4) Does anyone know of a really good text search engine for doing a text based search of our website? (whether comercial or just a Perl module, I don't care as long as it's good). 5) Does anyone know of a really good dynamic image creator, as well as image map creator? (either comercial or free, such as imagemagic, but maybe one I haven't heard of) Thank you guys very much for all of your help. If and only if you explicitly ask for it, I can send you one or both of two things: a technical breakdown of our company data activity and a 2-page summary of my decision for database, operating system and language thus far. Thanks again, Andrew Singer _____________________________________ Andrew Singer Home: (212) 864-3515 Work: (212) 594-1018 X153 Fax: (212) 594-8556

Andrew Singer wrote: > 1) Which do you feel is the best database: Oracle, Sybase or Informix? > What makes this so much better than all of its competitors? This is a ridiculous question! I don't get pay from these companies. The answer is no such thing "the best". > > 2) Which is the best programming language for database interaction and > dynamic, database-driven web page creation: Perl, Cold Fusion, Zope, PHP, > Java,...? None of above. Cold Fusion is for a loser. PerlDB is for an old timer. JDBC (Java Database Connective) and Servlet (Server side Java) is for me. > > 3) What's the best operating system to run all this stuff on: Windows > NT, Linux, Solaris, others? > All are the same. Sybase and Informix original were developed in UNIX box. I haven't heard Informix can runs in NT yet. The Linux version from those are not full power as commercial version.

To all post responders. Please refrain from commenting when you are not certain of your grounding. I, for example, avoided addressing the specific development tools mentioned because I do not use them. Ruiming, see below: Ruiming Chen wrote: > > Andrew Singer wrote: > > > 1) Which do you feel is the best database: Oracle, Sybase or Informix? > > What makes this so much better than all of its competitors? > > This is a ridiculous question! I don't get pay from these companies. The > answer > is no such thing "the best". The man asked for 'feel'ings, opinions and impressions were solicited so it was a valid question. Ease up fella! BTW there are those among us, myself included who feel there is an absolute answer to the question of which is 'best' unfortunately there are an equal number of "misguided" ;-) individuals who also have a, different, absolute answer to ours. Oh and I don't get paid by Informix or any other database vendor either. > > 2) Which is the best programming language for database interaction and > > dynamic, database-driven web page creation: Perl, Cold Fusion, Zope, PHP, > > Java,...? > > None of above. Cold Fusion is for a loser. PerlDB is for an old timer. JDBC > (Java Database > Connective) and Servlet (Server side Java) is for me. OK, valid response here. > > 3) What's the best operating system to run all this stuff on: Windows > > NT, Linux, Solaris, others? > > > > All are the same. Sybase and Informix original were developed in UNIX box. I > haven't heard > Informix can runs in NT yet. The Linux version from those are not full power > as commercial > version. Here is where you get into trouble. Informix has run on NT for years with performance that is ALMOST as good as the same box running SCO UNIX and lately Linux. The Linux version of Informix is the EXACT same version that is on SCO or Solaris or any other UNIX with only required source changes (very few my spies tell me) and performance is superb! There are a few features not yet implemented on Linux: No Enterprise Replication (but High Data availability Replication is available) and only one of Informix's three archive utilities is currently available (onarchive is a 3rd party product that Informix is phasing out and OnBar requires a 3rd party Storage Manager and so far none of the UNIX backup vendors, including Legato which makes the SM Informix normally includes with the server, have yet to support Linux so they did not have much choice here). Informix just announced that its newest versions, IDS 2000 and Foundation 2000, have Linux as a Tier 1 platform meaning that the software gets ported there as part of the initial development process not after release. These newest versions include the Informix Dynamic Server Universal Data Option which is Informix's Object Relational feature set. Informix provides full support to Linux users at its normal support rates. Oracle has ported its premiere server, Oracle8i, to Linux and finally released it recently. As far as I know that is also a full featured version though it is too soon to have performance stats gathered. Oracle offers full support for the Linux version at normal support contract rates. You are correct about Sybase, however, the Linux port is an unsupported and outdated version so we can ignore it. Art S. Kagel

Art S. Kagel wrote: > To all post responders. Please refrain from commenting when you are not > certain of your grounding. This would eliminate about 97% of all the posts in all the news groups.

"Art S. Kagel" <kagel@bloomberg.net> writes: ... [SNIP] ... > You are correct about Sybase, however, the Linux port is an unsupported and > outdated version so we can ignore it. ASE 11.0.3.3 is free, unsupported and works -a lot of people runs this version on other UNIX-versions so ignoring it would be rather harsh:) ASE 11.9.2 is not free, supported and works better, this is the latest version and Linux is fully supported. If I'd be ignoring something it would be MS SQL-server;) Thomas

Thomas Parsli wrote: > > "Art S. Kagel" <kagel@bloomberg.net> writes: > > ... > [SNIP] > ... > > > You are correct about Sybase, however, the Linux port is an unsupported and > > outdated version so we can ignore it. > > ASE 11.0.3.3 is free, unsupported and works -a lot of people runs this version > on other UNIX-versions so ignoring it would be rather harsh:) > > ASE 11.9.2 is not free, supported and works better, this is the latest version > and Linux is fully supported. I think this is great, Thomas. I honestly have not checked out the Sybase offerings on Linux for a few months, but since they had made no noises or pre-announcements of a supported version I, wrongly, assumed only the unsupported version is shipping. Art S. Kagel

"Art S. Kagel" <kagel@bloomberg.net> writes: > Thomas Parsli wrote: > > > > "Art S. Kagel" <kagel@bloomberg.net> writes: > > > > ... > > [SNIP] > > ... > > > > > You are correct about Sybase, however, the Linux port is an unsupported and > > > outdated version so we can ignore it. > > > > ASE 11.0.3.3 is free, unsupported and works -a lot of people runs this version > > on other UNIX-versions so ignoring it would be rather harsh:) > > > > ASE 11.9.2 is not free, supported and works better, this is the latest version > > and Linux is fully supported. > > I think this is great, Thomas. I honestly have not checked out the Sybase > offerings on Linux for a few months, but since they had made no noises or > pre-announcements of a supported version I, wrongly, assumed only the > unsupported version is shipping. > > Art S. Kagel It's not that great -you can order now, shipping starts 1/9/99. Thomas:)

Thomas Parsli wrote: > > "Art S. Kagel" <kagel@bloomberg.net> writes: > > > Thomas Parsli wrote: > > > > > > "Art S. Kagel" <kagel@bloomberg.net> writes: > > > > > > ... > > > [SNIP] > > > ... > > > > > > > You are correct about Sybase, however, the Linux port is an unsupported and > > > > outdated version so we can ignore it. > > > > > > ASE 11.0.3.3 is free, unsupported and works -a lot of people runs this version > > > on other UNIX-versions so ignoring it would be rather harsh:) > > > > > > ASE 11.9.2 is not free, supported and works better, this is the latest version > > > and Linux is fully supported. > > > > I think this is great, Thomas. I honestly have not checked out the Sybase > > offerings on Linux for a few months, but since they had made no noises or > > pre-announcements of a supported version I, wrongly, assumed only the > > unsupported version is shipping. > > > > Art S. Kagel > > It's not that great -you can order now, shipping starts 1/9/99. Is that January 9, 2099 or does Sybase have a Y2K problem? Perhaps you meant 1/9/2000? Then that is not a real product is it? So my original statement that Sybase is only shipping an out-of-date version with no support still holds! Now I have to rail. No one seems to realize that Oracle announced Oracle 8i for Linux in June 1998 and did not deliver until last month, a year later. Here Sybase has announced ASE 11.9.2 sometime in the recent past and is not even scheduling delivery until January, who knows when they will actually deliver! And here Informix announced SE for Linux last July and delivered CDs the same day! Informix announced IDS for Linux in the fall of 1998 and delivered CDs one week later! They announced Classic 4GL for Linux around the same time and delivered within the month! Now they have announced IDS 2000 and Foundation 2000 and have scheduled release for August 31, and I'd be very surprised if the CDs do not ship before September 7! So why is it that when ANYONE mentions RDBMS support for Linux Informix is not First amoung unequals? First to ship, product after product after product after.... And the stuff works, out of the box, first time. None of the Linux specific bugs have been earth shattering (zombies in SE, need to expand open files for IDS, NET VP problems in IDS) and patches and new versions were out the door within weeks. I know the answer, so Mikey don't carry your own campaign here, Informix just does not know how to toot their horn. I think they are learning though. Slowly but surely. We live in hope. Art S. Kagel

Art S. Kagel wrote: > Thomas Parsli wrote: > > [...discussion about versions of Sybase on Linux...] > > > > It's not that great -you can order now, shipping starts 1/9/99. > > Is that January 9, 2099 or does Sybase have a Y2K problem? Thomas Parsli has an email address in Norway; the problem is (probably) locales. The date is almost certainly 1999-09-01 (1st September, in other words). This is not a US-only news group! I agree that the Oracle performance in announcing in July 1998 and releasing in July 1999 (give or take a week or two) is bad. -- Jonathan Leffler (jleffler@informix.com, jleffler@earthlink.net) Guardian of DBD::Informix v0.60 -- see http://www.perl.com/CPAN #include <disclaimer.h>

Avi Abrami <avia@telegate.co.il> writes: > Art S. Kagel wrote: > > > Thomas Parsli wrote: > > > It's not that great -you can order now, shipping starts 1/9/99. > > > > Is that January 9, 2099 or does Sybase have a Y2K problem? > > > > Art S. Kagel > > Art, > Perhaps you are unaware or perhaps you forgot. > 1/9/99 - in certain parts of the world - means > 1 Septempber 1999 > > I assume this is what Mr Parsli means. Yes it was... Next time I'll write 1999-09-01 and cross my fingers:) Thomas

Art S. Kagel wrote: > Thomas Parsli wrote: > > It's not that great -you can order now, shipping starts 1/9/99. > > Is that January 9, 2099 or does Sybase have a Y2K problem? > > Art S. Kagel Art, Perhaps you are unaware or perhaps you forgot. 1/9/99 - in certain parts of the world - means 1 Septempber 1999 I assume this is what Mr Parsli means. Cheers, Avi -- /\\ \\ /| Avi Abrami, Analyst/Programmer, Telegate Ltd. /__\\ \\ / | 7 Haplada Street, Or-Yehuda, ISRAEL / \\ \\/ | Phone:+972-3-5388717 Fax:+972-3-5335877 eMail:avia@telegate.co.il

Thomas Parsli wrote: > > Avi Abrami <avia@telegate.co.il> writes: > > > Art S. Kagel wrote: > > > > > Thomas Parsli wrote: > > > > It's not that great -you can order now, shipping starts 1/9/99. > > > > > > Is that January 9, 2099 or does Sybase have a Y2K problem? > > > > > > Art S. Kagel > > > > Art, > > Perhaps you are unaware or perhaps you forgot. > > 1/9/99 - in certain parts of the world - means > > 1 Septempber 1999 > > > > I assume this is what Mr Parsli means. > > Yes it was... > Next time I'll write 1999-09-01 and cross my fingers:) Apologies to Thomas and everyone else and thanks to Avi and Jonathan for pointing out my US-centricism. I guess I also owe the folk at Sybase an apology, FWIW. Someday we'll all standardize on some unified system. The NET is certainly helping bring the world together, if only we Americans do not steam roll the world into doing things our way and the French do not brow beat the world to do things their way, someday we may form a single global society containing the best of all cultures. <Soapbox mode: off> Art S. Kagel