Re: NEWBIE Informix product advice

Posted in 1998

John H. Frantz — Thu, 05 Feb 1998 11:02:48 +0000 — source: Informix-list mailing list archive (1991-1998)

JD, It all depends on how slow your WAN is and the nature of the application. If the application is intense (lots of database traffic) and the connection is slow then the only tried-and-true solution is a unix box running an Informix database server (online DS) and telneting in with a good terminal emulator (i.e. Reflection), running Informix-4gl programs on the server. The Informix-4gl program doesn't necessarily have to be on the same server as the database. The solution above is very easy and cheap to administer and is extremely stable. If you really need graphical capabilities with a WAN then I would think some sort of 3-tier solution such as with Java would be your best bet. You may also want to look into advancements in 4gl compilers from 4J's (http://www.4js.com). Best wishes, ---------------------------------------------------------------------- John H. Frantz Power-4gl: Extending Informix-4gl frantz@centrum.is http://www.rl.is/~john/pow4gl.html JD West wrote: > > We have a DOS/Clipper application we are considering rewriting. > > We are in need of some advice, as to which Informix product would be > suitable for our needs. > > For the back end, is there an NT product? Is it stable? There are remote > offices connecting over a slow WAN that need access to the application. > Would it be better to set up a UNIX box, and telnet in? We are leaning > towards an NT solution due to previous experience with the OS, but want it > to be stable, and be remotely accessible. > > For the front end, we do not particularly want or need a GUI interface but > it seems to be a requirement nowadays. If we go GUI, is there any advantage > to using Informix's tools vs. Powerbuilder, VC, or VB? Would a GUI interface > running on a Win95 machine accessing an Informix database on an NT server be > slow over a WAN link? Or does it matter? > > Are the front-end development tools difficult? We have experience in > Clipper, VB, VC++, Access and about 20 other batch and scripting languages. > > Any advice would be appreciated.