HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: aland@informix.com (Colonel Panic)
Newsgroups: comp.databases.informix
Subject: Re: An insider's view
Date: 5 Jan 93 19:51:33 GMT
Organization: The Island of Unwanted Toys

In article <memo.818132@cix.compulink.co.uk> shemminga@cix.compulink.co.uk writes:
>I recieved this message today from someone inside Informix. I've been
>asked not to identify the individual but am posting the message with
>permission.
>-----------------------------
>Hello,
>
>I hear every day that we have the best 4GL on the market ! It seems
>that our 4GL has a very big share of the Unix market. I don't hear
>very much from the marketing department that there should be so many
>missing features like popup menus, timer functions, improved input
>and display array statements, better cursor handling ( by the way
>ESQL/C has the same problem with cursor definitions. The only work-
>around would be to use the level below. On the C-level you see that
>cursors are structures. And there you can play with the address of
>these structures. ) and many others as we saw in the emails.
>
>And if these feature requests should be really justified - what is
>the problem ?  As you already mentioned - is there something better
>on the market ?  No - and people who come from Cobol or Assembler
>are happy with the product. Forget the few ones who want to make
>software with a screen handling which is state of the art. I would
>say our 4GL is really a fourth generation language. And if there is
>nothing which is much better - why should we spend money for
>implementing all these features if we can sell it as it is ?
>-------------------------------------

Just a few unofficial thoughts from another insider:

1) just because somebody has an informix.com email address doesn't necessarily
   mean a person is an *employee*.  The author could well be a consultant or a
   contractor.
2) I know a fair percentage of the development staff, and I honestly can't
   this of *anyone* in Product Development who shares this attitude.  And
   a fair percentage of people in Support and Consulting would actually be
   as critical (or *more* critical) of response-time-to-feature-requests 
   than many of the posters in this group.
3) If we even *attempted* to continue to "sell 4GL as it is" for an extended
   period of time...  we'd soon get to a point where we wouldn't be selling
   much AT ALL...
4) I would dispute the assessment that 4.1 4GL's screen handling is "state of
   the art".  I expect that most people in this group would, too.
5) Contrary to the picture painted by the author, we are spending more on
   R&D than ever.


--
Alan Denney      aland@informix.com      {pyramid|uunet}!infmx!aland
 Disclaimer: These opinions are mine alone.  If I am caught or killed,
             the secretary will disavow any knowledge of my actions.

"What's the use of somebody who doesn't wonder?  It's the hallmark
 of our species that we are continually wondering what is going on."
                            -  John Dobson, S.F. Sidewalk Astronomers
Newsgroups: comp.databases.informix
From: shemminga@cix.compulink.co.uk (Stuart Hemming)
Subject: Re: Display array highlist
Reply-To: shemminga@cix.compulink.co.uk
Date: Thu, 7 Jan 1993 07:35:00 +0000


TITLE: Reports in windows (was display highlights)

This is a repost 'cos I'd like some comment from Informix and their
server was down. Sorry those of you who've already read it.

> In-Reply-To: <cortesi.725577273@helium> cortesi@informix.com (David Cortesi)
> 
> In <cortesi.725577273@helium> David Cortesi writes:
> 
> [Stuff deleted]
> 
> > The latter (ability to use variables in the OUTPUT section) is
> > generally accepted as a Good Idea, I think.  As to the file viewer
> > window, why do you want Informix to reinvent the browser
> > that exists on every platform already (and probably do it wrong :)
> > when you could just, for example, RUN "less /tmp/report.01"
> 
> OK, fine for full screen paging. The original contributer was looking
> for scrolled reportd in a window. I would imagine something like:
> 
>         OPEN WINDOW win1, AT 3, 3 WITH 10 ROWS, 40 COLUMNS
>         PAGE <textfile>
> 
> I don't believe that the compiler should be responsible for checking
> line lengths, simply foreshortening long lines should be ok, that
> would make the implementation easier anyway.
> 
> 
> > Or under a GUI,
> >         RUN "/usr/openwin/bin/textedit /tmp/report.01" WITHOUT WAITING
> > You could even pass -Geometry arguments...  that should impress the troops...
> 
> Maybe, I wouldn't know.
> 


| I'm not bad, I'm just drawn that way -- Jessica Rabbit     |
|------------------------------------------------------------|     
| Stuart Hemming       | shemminga@cix.compulink.co.uk       |
| Tudor Labels Ltd     | uunet!cix.compulink.co.uk!shemminga |
| Roman Bank Bourne    | Tel :  (+44) 778 426444             |
| Lincs PE10 9LQ. UK.  | Fax :  (+44) 778 421862             |


Stuart
|8-)
From: davek@informix.com (David Kosenko)
Newsgroups: comp.databases.informix
Subject: OnLine and Tuxedo (clarification)
Date: 12 Jan 93 16:55:40 GMT
Organization: Informix Software, Inc.
Originator: davek@puma

Someone called me to task, via email, on my response to the question
about Tuxedo and OnLine, where I stated that TP/XA was required for
2 phase commit.  Let me clarify that OnLine 5.0 has 2PC for homogeneous
OnLine transactions, i.e. if you are using a regular front end (DBaccess,
ESQL, 4GL, etc) you can do a 2PC in an OnLIne/I-Star environment.

When you start using Tuxedo, regardless of what client product you use
(4GL does have a library that supports Tuxedo calls: 4GL TP Toolkit),
you then need to add TP/XA in order to get 2PC *via Tuxedo*.  OnLine,
by iteself (i.e. w/o TP/XA) will not support a *Tuxedo* global (i.e.
distributed) transaction.
You *CAN* use Tuxedo and OnLine w/o TP/XA if your transaction does not
need to be a Tuxedo global transaction across multiple RMs.

This should either clarify the situation, or hopelessly confuse it!

Dave
-- 
Disclaimer: These opinions are not those of Informix Software, Inc.
**************************************************************************
"I look back with some satisfaction on what an idiot I was when I was 25,
 but when I do that, I'm assuming I'm no longer an idiot." - Andy Rooney
From: dave.snyder@snide.com (Dave Snyder)
Newsgroups: comp.databases.informix
Subject: Re: Negative PIDS, and SE/Online questions
Date: 11 Jan 1993 21:18:06 -0500
Organization: Mailing List Gateway
Distribution: world
Reply-To: dave.snyder@snide.com (Dave Snyder)
NNTP-Posting-Host: emory.mathcs.emory.edu
X-Informix-List-ID: <list.1772>

Quoting Naomi Walker...
} 
} Question #2
} 
} My next question is about SE.  I am very familiar with all the Informix
} tools available to me when using Online.  I am not familiar with SE.
} In general, are the same or equivalent tools available when using the
} standard engine (tbcheck)?  How about all the sql statements, like 
} $ SET EXPLAIN ON/OFF, and $ ALTER TABLE to change things like lock modes
} and next extent?
} 
The standard engine has "bcheck" instead of tbcheck.  SE has SET EXPLAIN,
ALTER TABLE, etc.  Some of the commands may be a little different because
of the nature of SE though.  SE doesn't support VARCHAR, TEXT, or BYTE.
SE doesn't have lock modes or extents.  SE logs are handled by a single
file on the Unix filesystem.  Come to think of it... so are the data
files and system catalogs.  You'll see a lot of similarities... you'll also
see quite a few differences.

DAS
-- 
David Snyder @ Snide Computer Services - Folcroft, PA          Current Release
                                                               is db4glgen-3.9
UUCP:  ..!uunet!das13!dave   INTERNET:  dave.snyder@snide.com
From: paul@acus1.cc.uky.edu (paul linton)
Newsgroups: comp.databases.informix
Subject: 2 questions: 4GL source length limit & screen redraw question
Date: 12 Jan 93 14:45:38 GMT
Distribution: usa
Organization: University of Kentucky

Excuse this first question if it was sent out before, I think I made
a mistake and did NOT get it out....

1)  Is there a limit on the # of source lines in a 4GL?  I know there is a
    32Kbytes limit on functions.  I was asking if there was a hard limit at
    say 20K lines of source or maybe a Kbyte limit.

2) With ^R to redraw the screen and Informix refreshing underlying windows
   when one is closed it makes sense to think there is some sort of
   data structure keeping track of what the screen should look like.  I
   would appreciate any information to access that structure.  In this case
   I would like to dump the current screen to a file/printer from an
   ON KEY(whatever) CALL dumpScreen() type senario.

Thanks

Paul
From: davek@informix.com (David Kosenko)
Newsgroups: comp.databases.informix
Subject: Re: Negative PIDS, and SE/Online questions
Date: 12 Jan 93 16:41:16 GMT
Organization: Informix Software, Inc.

Colonel Panic writes:
>I had written:
>>there are no lock modes or extents with SE
>
>Minor nit: SET LOCK MODE *is* available with SE, if the port uses kernel-level
>record locking (although the wait time period parameter is not supported).

Sloppy wording on my part; I should have said "locking levels", since what I 
was driving at was that SE does not have ROW/PAGE locking options - it always
uses ROW (as there is no such thing as a PAGE in SE).  Alan is correct that
SET LOCK MODE TO [NOT] WAIT  *IS* available on most SE ports.

Standing corrected,
Dave
-- 
Disclaimer: These opinions are not those of Informix Software, Inc.
**************************************************************************
"I look back with some satisfaction on what an idiot I was when I was 25,
 but when I do that, I'm assuming I'm no longer an idiot." - Andy Rooney
Newsgroups: comp.databases.informix
From: rex@iqsc.COM (Rex Black)
Subject: Re: Report Generators
Organization: IQ Software Corp.
Date: Wed, 06 Jan 1993 16:00:46 GMT

Chris D Iacovelli writes:
> I am looking for info on report generators for informix. Please post or
>email me name and address for any vendors.

Our product, Intelligent Query, runs against most flavors of Informix on
virtually any platform you can name, Unix or DOS.  We have a GUI version
in the works if you are using a Unix server to support DOS workstations.
We also run against most popular Unix, VAX and DOS ISAM and SQL databases.
For more info on our product, contact IQ Software Corp at:

3295 River Exchange Driver #550
Norcross, GA 30092
Phone: (404) 446-8880
Fax:   (404) 448-4088

Tell 'em Rex sent ya.

Thanks,
Rex
From: aland@informix.com (Colonel Panic)
Newsgroups: comp.databases.informix
Subject: FYI - Informix newsfeed down approx 12/31 - 1/4
Date: 6 Jan 93 00:06:24 GMT
Organization: Product Development, Informix Software, Inc.
Originator: aland@infmx

Just so people don't think we're ignoring them... 

Our news feed here was down over the holiday weekend.
Anything posted from 12/31 to 1/4 or so didn't make it here.


--
Alan Denney      aland@informix.com      {pyramid|uunet}!infmx!aland
 Disclaimer: These opinions are mine alone.  If I am caught or killed,
             the secretary will disavow any knowledge of my actions.
From: dave.snyder@snide.com (Dave Snyder)
Newsgroups: comp.databases.informix
Subject: Re: Updating within a scrolling cursor
Date: 8 Jan 1993 11:18:04 -0500
Organization: Mailing List Gateway
Distribution: world
Reply-To: dave.snyder@snide.com (Dave Snyder)
NNTP-Posting-Host: emory.mathcs.emory.edu
X-Informix-List-ID: <list.1762>

Quoting Reg Foulkes...
} 
} I would like to access the temporary file created by the a scrolling 
} cursor. Anyone know how to do this (i.e. what is the mystery table name)? 
}  
}  Here is what I would like to do
} 
}   Declare scrolling cursor sel_stmt 
}   Open sel_stmt
}   RUN "insert into mystery_table VAULES (....) | isql database - -"
}                    ^^^^^^^^^^^^^
}   FETCH next sel_stmt
} 
Won't happen.  First of all, I don't think you can access a cursor's tmp
table.  Second, even if you were using a real tmp table, when you execute
the RUN command to do the INSERT, a new database process is started.  The
tmp table from your first database process is not available to any other
database processes.

Can someone at Informix tell me if I'm way out in left field, or am I
pretty much on the money.

DAS
-- 
David Snyder @ Snide Computer Services - Folcroft, PA          Current Release
                                                               is db4glgen-3.9
UUCP:  ..!uunet!das13!dave   INTERNET:  dave.snyder@snide.com
Xref: sparky comp.databases.informix:2875 comp.sys.ibm.pc.rt:693
From: coop@panix.com (Robert Cooper)
Subject: Differences between SE and On-Line?
Summary: What are the differences between SE and On-Line?
Keywords: Informix SE On-Line
Organization: PANIX Public Access Unix, NYC
Date: Wed, 6 Jan 1993 02:59:16 GMT

I know that On-Line is the big brother (sister?) to SE in that it
has more record locking features, choice of raw or native file system,
etc. Thats all fancy OLTP stuff. What about other features like BLOBS,
stored procedures, triggers? How far behind does SE lag after On-Line
gets new features?

A second question, if I may. How is informix in the PC world? I'm
thinking of SE on a RS/6000 server and/or a Novell server. Any
experiences I should know about?

Thanks!

-- 
Robert Cooper  Brooklyn, NY | "We have to learn to manage information and 
coop@panix.com              |  its flow. If we don't, it will all end up 
212 309-9600 (Work)         |  in turbulence." Grace Hopper

Organization: Sponsored account, Computing Skills Workshop, Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh, PA
Newsgroups: comp.databases.informix
Date: Tue, 12 Jan 1993 11:53:57 -0500 
From: Mark_Sherman@transarc.com
Subject: Re: Informix & Tuxedo
	<1993Jan8.155140.15225@informix.com>

Excerpts from netnews.comp.databases.informix: 8-Jan-93 Re: Informix &
Tuxedo David Kosenko@informix.c (782)

> Note that two phase commit can only be accomplished using OnLine and the
> TP/XA product. Two phase commit cannot be accomplished with SE. It
> cannot be accomplished with OnLine *without* TP/XA.

Also note that TP/XA provides the X-Open specified XA interface for
connecting together transaction systems and databases, not just Tuxedo.
For example our product, Encina, also works with Informix's TP/XA
product to provide distributed 2PC.
		-Mark
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Mark Sherman
Transarc Corp.
707 Grant Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15219
mss@transarc.com
+1-412-338-4420
Fax: +1-412-338-4404
--------------------------------------------------------------------
From: aland@informix.com (Colonel Panic)
Newsgroups: comp.databases.informix
Subject: Re: Negative PIDS, and SE/Online questions
Date: 12 Jan 93 02:54:33 GMT
Organization: Helen Keller Bondurant's Performance Driving School for the Blind

In article <1993Jan11.220300.16666@informix.com> davek@informix.com (David Kosenko) writes:
>>My next question is about SE.  I am very familiar with all the Informix
>>tools available to me when using Online.  I am not familiar with SE.
>
>bcheck is the SE equiv of tbcheck, though it provides less (no equiv

Also CHECK TABLE within SQL, for any table that isn't already open otherwise.

>of the -p options); SET EXPLAIN is available with SE; there are no lock
>modes or extents with SE, so these ALTER TABLE statements do not

Minor nit: SET LOCK MODE *is* available with SE, if the port uses kernel-level
record locking (although the wait time period parameter is not supported).

>apply.  Off the top of my head, the following OnLine items are not
>available with SE:
>	Isolation levels
>	BLOBS
>	VARCHARs
>	Buffered/Unbuffered Log toggle
>	Distributed queries (I-Star)
>	Deferred constraints

Also not that the whole logging methodology is different; the database log is
maintained as a separate UNIX file which must be manually emptied after
completing a database backup.  See the doc.

>Dave

--
Alan Denney      aland@informix.com      {pyramid|uunet}!infmx!aland

Elvis: shot a TV when bored.  Amish Elvis:  beat a book with a stick when bored.
Newsgroups: comp.databases.informix
From: shemminga@cix.compulink.co.uk (Stuart Hemming)
Subject: Re: Start values for serial co
Reply-To: shemminga@cix.compulink.co.uk
Date: Tue, 12 Jan 1993 17:01:00 +0000


TITLE: Re: Start values for serial co

This is a repost of news which, I believe didn't make it to Informix
over christmas.

> In <1993Jan5.195559.21802@informix.com> Colonel Panic rants:
> 
> >>> Thanks for the advice guys - I'll give up trying and encourage people
> >>> to document the system properly.
> >>
> >>Now, THAT would be novel 8-)
> > 
> > Do you have a specific complaint about the documentation here?  Or are you 
> > just shooting your mouth off?  
> > 
> > Sorry, but this bugs me, coming from the same person who misread the 
> > installation instructions and complained about the install procedure...
> 
> I think one of us has the wrong end of the stick. *I* believe Malcolm
> was refering to the people who created the database. Remember he was
> trying to re-created an exsisting database including having the right
> starting values of the serial columns. And if those values were
> properly documented...


| I work with some bloody strange people, and so do they!    |
|------------------------------------------------------------|     
| Stuart Hemming       | shemminga@cix.compulink.co.uk       |
| Tudor Labels Ltd     | uunet!cix.compulink.co.uk!shemminga |
| Roman Bank Bourne    | Tel :  (+44) 778 426444             |
| Lincs PE10 9LQ. UK.  | Fax :  (+44) 778 421862             |
From: davek@informix.com (David Kosenko)
Newsgroups: comp.databases.informix
Subject: Re: Updating within a scrolling cursor
Date: 11 Jan 93 20:00:06 GMT
Organization: Informix Software, Inc.

Reg Foulkes writes:
>In article <1ik9fsINNhbe@emory.mathcs.emory.edu>, dave.snyder@snide.com
>(Dave Snyder) wrote:
>> Won't happen.  First of all, I don't think you can access a cursor's tmp
>> table.  Second, even if you were using a real tmp table, when you execute
>> the RUN command to do the INSERT, a new database process is started.  The
>> tmp table from your first database process is not available to any other
>> database processes.
>
> Sorry but you are mistaken. Currently, I can create my own tmp table and 
>it works fine. I just wanted to bypass that step and go directly to the 
>temp table created by the open and do an insert before a fetch. This 

I don't believe this will work in every release.  I just tried it using
5.0 OnLine, and the temp table I created was not available outside the
session of the process that created it.  Quoting the 5.0 SQL Reference
Guide:
	[pg 7-86] "Once a temporary table is created, you can build
	indexes on the table.  However, you are the only user who can 
	see the temporary table."

This does not explicitly define "user" but empirically I have found this to
equate to "sqlturbo" (or sqlexec) and not userid.

>saves me from creating the temp table. That I use for the fetch.
>Unfortunately,
>informix hides its' system temp tables so I am unable to use them. Why?

Because we reserve the right to change how we implement something like
scroll cursors.  If access were given to these (currently) temp tables,
we would be obligated to always implement them in that fashion.  A real
example of this is ORDER BYs: they were once implemented using temp
tables with an index on them (X.10.03), but are now done using a
quicksort variant with temp files (but not temp tables).

Dave
-- 
Disclaimer: These opinions are not those of Informix Software, Inc.
**************************************************************************
"I look back with some satisfaction on what an idiot I was when I was 25,
 but when I do that, I'm assuming I'm no longer an idiot." - Andy Rooney
From: cortesi@informix.com (David Cortesi)
Newsgroups: comp.databases.informix
Subject: Re: SQL Error 403
Date: 11 Jan 93 20:28:16 GMT
Distribution: na
Organization: Informix Software, Inc.

> holder@gourde.med.ge.com (Kacy Holder) writes:
>
>We are using Informix OnLine and Star 5.0 on HP 730's with HPUX 9.0
>and are running into an odd problem with remote database access.
>Some of the ESQL select statements will return Error Number -403
>which says:
>
>-403  The size of the received row disagrees with the expected size.
>
>This is an internal error that shows a problem in the communication 
>between the database server and the library functions that call it.
>Make sure that your probram is at the same software level as the
>database server in use.
>
>The software level *is* exactly the same and most selects work
>just fine.  Any idea on where I should start to look?

You omit the following sentences in the message description:

  "...If so, please note all circumstances and contact the Informix
   Technical Support Department."

Had you done that, somebody would very quickly have told you 
about bug #14144, ERROR 403 OCCURS WHEN RETRIEVE SITENAME FROM REMOTE
SERVER, described thus:

      [The following SQL statement failed with Error 403                ]
      [                                                                 ]
      [    database ssu021a;                                            ]
      [    select * from table1;                                        ]
      [    select sitename from ssu021b@ymooky:systables;               ]
      [                                                                 ]
      [The problem is caused by the "sitename" in the SELECT statement. ]

If this is your problem, work around it by not selecting the sitename.
The fix appears in version 5.01.UC1.

Dave Cortesi
From: unifi!goofy.unifi.com!bharat@uunet.UU.NET (Bharat Shah)
Newsgroups: comp.databases.informix
Subject: Re: Recovery
Date: 9 Jan 1993 18:13:03 -0500
Organization: Mailing List Gateway
Distribution: world
Reply-To: unifi!goofy.unifi.com!bharat@uunet.UU.NET (Bharat Shah)
NNTP-Posting-Host: emory.mathcs.emory.edu
X-Informix-List-ID: <list.1764>

Welcome to the world of STUCK FAST RECOVERY ...
This is a known "bug" of Informix where if logical logs are about to be fully
consumed, the rollback begins. If just then the client is killed, OnLine is
rendered into an inconsistant state.

The recovery.... will never stop.

Informix will (after getting signed non-disclosure from you) sign on to your
machine, patch some bits & will bring the system back into stable mode.

I have faced this problem on more than one occassion and I have been asked to 
wait for version 5.0 where HIGHT_WATER settings can solve this problem.

Bharat.

========================================================================
Bharat Shah                                        Voice: (508)-663-7570
Unifi Communications Corp.                           Fax: (508)-663-7543
4 Federal St, Billerica, Mass 01821, USA          uunet!bharat@unifi.com
========================================================================
From: walt@mathcs.emory.edu (Walt Hultgren {rmy})
Newsgroups: comp.databases.informix
Subject: Re: Differences between SE and On-Line?
Date: 8 Jan 1993 15:29:16 -0500
Organization: Emory University
Distribution: world
NNTP-Posting-Host: emory.mathcs.emory.edu
Keywords: Informix SE On-Line

In article <C0EwAs.2x1@panix.com> coop@panix.com (Robert Cooper) asks about
differences between SE and OnLine.

In a similar vein, does anyone know if the SunDBE "Database Excelerator" [sic]
add-on to SunOS has any appreciable affect on SE operations?  If so, I'd like
to hear your comments.

Thanks,

Walt.

-- 
Walt Hultgren              Internet: walt@rmy.emory.edu       (IP 128.140.8.1)
Emory University               UUCP: {...,gatech,rutgers,uunet}!emory!rmy!walt
954 Gatewood Road, NE        BITNET: walt@EMORY
Atlanta, GA  30329  USA       Voice: +1 404 727 0648