HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: tps@jptcs.COM (Tim Sailer)
Newsgroups: comp.databases.informix
Subject: Re: Fixes to Informix-4gl
Date: 19 Dec 92 22:38:06 GMT
Organization: JPT Computer Solutions
X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.1 PL6]

carl.t.mosley (mvctm@cbnews.cb.att.com) wrote:
: 
:   How about an improved DISPLAY ARRAY where the user can, for example,
: press the letter "N" and the array will automatically scroll to the 
: row(s) beginning with "N"? If I am using DISPLAY ARRAY for some sort of
: "browse" function or a "pick list" I would like to allow a user to quickly 
: skip around in the array to find what they are looking for.  It is not 
: a good situation when I have a screen record of 10 rows and the array 
: being displayed has 200 choices and the user has to press "page ahead"
: 20 times to get to the end of the list...

Someone has already wrote that kind of function.... it's a little raw,
but it works. If there is any interest, I'll post or email it if I can
get the authors permission...

-- 
Tim Sailer
JPT Computer Solutions - SCO Sales/Consulting/Administration and Mangling
Port Jefferson Station, NY
(516) 331-9001
Xref: sparky comp.databases.informix:2717 comp.databases:8511 misc.forsale:33537
From: bobb@netcom.com (Bob Beaulieu)
Newsgroups: comp.databases.informix,comp.databases,misc.forsale
Subject: WANTED: DOS 4.1 version of INFORMIX
Keywords: ISQL, SQL, ESQL/C, CISAM
Date: 15 Dec 92 22:27:21 GMT
Followup-To: poster
Organization: Netcom - Online Communication Services  (408 241-9760 guest)


Anyone want to sell me their DOS 4.1 version of INFORMIX?

Please reply to:

bobb@netcom.com

Thanks,

Bob Beaulieu
-- 
 =============================================================
 Bob Beaulieu                                 bobb@netcom.com  
 San Jose, CA                                 (408) 978-0818  
 =============================================================
Newsgroups: comp.databases.informix
From: pgf@hara.fct.unl.pt (Pedro Geraldes Freire)
Subject: Temporary string storage on MS-DOS
Keywords: string, storage, temporary storage, MS-DOS
Reply-To: pgf@hara.fct.unl.pt (Pedro Geraldes Freire)
Organization: Universidade Nova de Lisboa, PORTUGAL
Date: Mon, 14 Dec 1992 16:15:45 GMT


Hello world!

This one is dedicated to all those who have ever had to struggle with
Informix 4GL for MS-DOS.

I've been working for sometime on a project on MS-DOS that uses
Informix. The trouble is that one of the programs has grown somewhat
large (2 MB on the executable file) and I started having problems with
the "temporary string storage" (TSS) runtime error. The program is
beeing compiled with MSC 5.1 and linked with .RTLink+ with VMS (in order
to keep its image within DOS' 640K).

I would like to know if anybody knows the answer to the following questions
1) where is TSS allocated? (heap, stack, other...)
2) when is TSS allocated? (function calls, i/o statements, ...)
3) when (if ever) is TSS freed?
4) is there any way to do some sort of garbage-collecting on the TSS?
5) what are the ways to prevent the TSS runtime error?

Any answer to any of these questions would be much appreciated.
Thanks guys!

Pedro.

Pedro Geraldes Freire             | BITNET/Internet: pgf@fct.unl.pt
Projecto CIMTOFI		  |            UUCP: pgf@unl.uucp
UNINOVA - GRI - FCT/UNL           | Fax:   (+351) (1) 295 56 41/44 61
2825 Monte Caparica, PORTUGAL     | Phone: (+351) (1) 295 44 64 ext.1560

Newsgroups: comp.databases.informix
From: pao@wam.umd.edu (Nikos Strifas)
Subject: Updating a SERIAL field
Keywords: Informix,Update,Serial
Organization: Workstations at Maryland, University of Maryland, College Park
Distribution: usa
Date: Wed, 16 Dec 1992 21:57:21 GMT


Informixers,

Any suggestion on the following problem:
I have a db, and a C struct that corresponds directly to one of the tables.
So, selecting & inserting is easy; I fill the struct with data & I do it.
The problem that I have is when I am trying to UPDATE since one of the
fields is a SERIAL. The error that I get back is : (-232 - trying to update
a serial field)

Any suggestions of what data would trick ifmx & do the update.

-Takis Vouganis
From: shemminga@cix.compulink.co.uk (Stuart Hemming)
Newsgroups: comp.databases.informix
Subject: Re: Display array highlist
Date: 14 Dec 92 15:54:00 GMT
Reply-To: shemminga@cix.compulink.co.uk


TITLE: Re: Display array highlist


In <1g8h5pINNjhb@emory.mathcs.emory.edu> David Stockel writes:

[Stuff deleted]

> I have written a generic pick1("select key,desc FROM tab").
> It returns the key of the selected line. The key is display on the
> screen in a char fields. It does not matter if the key is a number,
> the fetch statement automatically converts it. A later version
> allowed the use to QBE on the two fields.
> 

Any chance of samples of this code?

| 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-)
Newsgroups: comp.databases.informix
From: rigby@patty.gud.siemens.co.at (Rigby)
Subject: INFORMIX-ORACLE differences
Date: Tue, 15 Dec 1992 15:20:03 GMT
Organization: SIEMENS Austria Corp., A-1100 Wien, Gudrunstr. 11
X-Newsreader: Tin 1.1 PL5

Has anybody any idea of the differences in 
ORACLE-SQL and INFORMIX-SQL
as I have to port an application from INFORMIX to
ORACLE for a fussy customer.
Thanx 
Mr. ANDI RIGBY BEng(Hons) but you can call me Andi
Newsgroups: comp.databases.informix
From: devin@anasaz (Devin Wala)
Subject: Two index query optimization problem
Organization: Anasazi, Inc. Phoenix, AZ, USA
Distribution: usa
Date: Sat, 12 Dec 1992 00:06:53 GMT



I'm having some problems with Informix over optimizing my query. 
I have a table with > 500000 rows and I can't get Informix to
use what I deem to be the "correct" index.

There are two indexes on the table:

   index1: unique index on A, B;
   index2: unique index on C, D, A, B;

The problem I'm having is that I can't run a query with A and B mentioned
in the WHERE clause that will use index2.  I suspect that the optimizer
is looking at the query and saying; hey, I got A, I got B, I've got a unique
index1 on both A and B.  Look no further, I am set dudes and dudettes, and 
I am outta here! (optimizers talk like that you know).

This would be fine if my queries were of the form:  

   WHERE C=value AND D=value A=value AND B=value; 
   
However, one of my queries is of the form:

   WHERE C=value AND D=value A>value AND B=value; 

so it doesn't _really_ have a value for A.  I do need to have both
indexes for performance reasons.  I don't think that setting optimization
to low is an option in this case since it effects the whole database
back end and not just the single query.  We are running Online V 4.10.UF2, 
SQL V 4.00.UG2 on a Pyramid MI Server.

Does anyone have any ideas, suggestions, or comments?  Any help you
can provide is greatly appreciated.

Thanks much,
  Devin Wala

-- 
.\|/. Devin Wala    | Arizona, The Land of Seven Seasons ..
-(*)- Anasazi Inc.  | Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer, Summer, Summer Summer
`/|\' 870-3330(615) |
From: debbj@sequent.com (Debbie Johnson)
Newsgroups: comp.databases.informix
Subject: Suggested Changes to 4GL
Date: 15 Dec 92 22:41:44 GMT
Article-I.D.: sequent.1992Dec15.224144.20492
Distribution: usa
Organization: Sequent Computer Systems Inc.

My Christmas list:

  -All fields/literals on forms should have attribute bytes associated with 
   them which you can control from a 4GL program.  So for example, if you want
   to hide a field for some users and not others you could use the same form
   and set an attribute byte to display/not display the field.
   
  -Consistency between the code which RDS executes and the binary code.
  
  -Better documentation with better examples.  The examples always explain
   the obvious.
   
  -Improved documentation on datetime/intervals -- the provided documentation
   is almost useless.  Whenever I try to do anything new with them it takes
   a call to support and the faxing of some tech note.
   
  -Some sort of statements similar to #define in C.
  
  -Blob manipulation functions (compare, copy, append, etc) I had to write
   my own.
   
  -let reca.* = recb.* work for records containing a blob
   
  -Allow the NEXT FIELD function outside of the input/input array funtion.
   If you had fields that were similar on varied forms, you could create
   a one function to complete the edits rather than duplicating that 
   same code all over the place.
   
  -Build in mechanism for error handling that stores data in tables and not
   in UNIX flat files.
   
  -Don't file the last page of a report with blank lines -- my users HATE this!
  
  -Get rid of termcaps, have some other more user friendly mechanism for 
   communicating the key mappings.
   
  -A GUI
   
  -Debugger:  Have a goto or re-execute function type of command


Debbie Johnson 

Phone:                       
    503-578-3767             
	503-578-9890 (FAX)
U.S. Mail:                     E-Mail:
    Mail Stop: RHE1-877          SEQUENT: debbj@sequent.com
    Sequent Computer Systems     UUCP:    sequent!debbj
    15450 SW Koll Parkway
    Beaverton, Or 97006-6063
From: rich@astro.umd.edu (Rich Puchalsky)
Newsgroups: comp.databases.informix
Subject: Re: Fixes to Informix 4gl
Date: 18 Dec 92 17:14:58 GMT
Organization: U. of Maryland @ College Park, Astronomy


The worst problems I've had with Informix 4gl all involve bugs with
the product.  My version of 4.1 suffers from the "out of temporary
string space" WORDWRAP and USING bug as well as a core dump on INPUT
ARRAY bug, other WORDWRAP bugs, and a dbload bug.  There are
undoubtedly others, but I can't get a list of known bugs from Informix
without upgrading my tech support.  As soon as another product emerges
that I hear good things about that is put out by a compnay that's less
complacent with its customers, I'm definately going to try to switch.

Until that happy day, let me report a new bug in Informix 4gl RDS 4.1:

The CURRENT function, which I use to time reports called from a 4gl
program, returns the wrong time in thousandths of seconds, occasionally
causing reports which take less than a second to run to appear to have
run in negative elapsed time.  Here's what the CURRENT function
will report if you call it repeatedly:

Hours, minutes, seconds, thousandths:   12:31:26.010
                                        12:31:26.050
                                        12:31:26.070
                                        etc
                                        12:31:26.900
                                        12:31:26.940
              Check this line out -->   12:31:26.000
                                        12:31:27.010
                                        etc
At the end of every second, the thousandths of a second counter rolls
from .94 to .00 while the second counter doesn't change.  That means
that if you are timing something and it happens to end at the end  of
a second, CURRENT will report that it ended at the beginning of the
second.  If it started during that same second, then when you subtract
its start time from its finsih time you will get a negative elapsed time.

I have no idea whether there are other problems with CURRENT at the ends
of more important time units such as seconds, minutes, etc.
From: aland@informix.com (Colonel Panic)
Newsgroups: comp.databases.informix
Subject: Re: INFORMIX 4.1 (ISQL & ESQL/C) FOR MS-DOS
Keywords: DOES ANYONE WANT TO SELL ME THEIRS?
Date: 12 Dec 92 04:27:50 GMT
Organization: Enterprise Technology Center, Informix Software, Inc.

In article <1992Dec10.184110.10331@netcom.com> bobb@netcom.com (Bob Beaulieu) writes:
>I need Informix's 4.1  SE ISQL & ESQL/C for DOS - single user version. 
>
>I currently have:                  Cost to upgrade to 4.1 (with 1 yr support):

It was my understanding that .06 - 4.1 DOS upgrades were free for maintenance
holders (in the past, DOS upgrades had a $50 media charge).  By "cost to
upgrade", do you mean "cost of 1-year maintenance"?

>                                    upgrade docs  total
>ISQL    2.10.06                      $218 + $55   $273
>ESQL/C  2.10.06                      $165 + $55   $220
>4GL     1.10.06                      $269 + $55   $324

$324 is pretty steep for a product that doesn't exist.  What are they
going to sell you for $324, a dozen freshly-formatted diskettes?         [-:

>CISAM   3.10.06                      $149 + $55   $204
>SQL RT  2.10.06                      $ 83 + $55   $138
>
>Bob Beaulieu

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

"I'm so tough, when I go down to the beach, I kick sand in my *own* face!"
    -- George Smilovich
From: dave.snyder@snide.com (Dave Snyder)
Newsgroups: comp.databases.informix
Subject: Re: Entering "invisible" data in a form
Date: 19 Dec 1992 10:58:07 -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.1727>

Quoting Cecilia Jaeger...
} 
} I couldn't think of a better way to phase this. I have a form that
} is basically an opening screen that asks for Employee Id and password.
} 
} In 4gl 4.0 how do I make it so the user DOESN'T see what they type as the enter
} their password. I like to be able to do it in the form. 
} 
} I try setting color attribute = invisible. I think I am may be confused as
} to what that attribute does. What does invisible mean? It is available
} attribute for display and prompt.
} 
I sat on this one for a day now...  Everyone seems to be dwelling on INVISIBLE
and terminal attributes.  Technotes "Spring 1990" provided this little gem:

Here --------- Snip Here --------- Snip Here --------- Snip Here --------- Snip
MAIN
    DEFINE  c CHAR(1)           # Get character
    DEFINE  psw CHAR(8)         # Store the password
    DEFINE  i SMALLINT          # Counter

    OPTIONS PROMPT LINE 22
    FOR i = 1 TO 8
        PROMPT "Enter password: " FOR CHAR c
        IF (c IS NULL) THEN     # Check for space or return
            EXIT FOR
        ELSE
            LET psw = psw CLIPPED, c
        END IF
    END FOR
END MAIN
Here --------- Snip Here --------- Snip Here --------- Snip Here --------- Snip

DAS
-- 
David Snyder @ Snide Computer Services - Folcroft, PA          Current Release
                                                               is db4glgen-3.9
UUCP:  ..!uunet!das13!dave   INTERNET:  dave.snyder@snide.com
Newsgroups: comp.databases.informix
From: pgf@hara.fct.unl.pt (Pedro Geraldes Freire)
Subject: TSS problems in MS-DOS 
Keywords: temporary string storage, MS-DOS, DOS 
Reply-To: pgf@hara.fct.unl.pt (Pedro Geraldes Freire)
Organization: Universidade Nova de Lisboa, PORTUGAL
Date: Wed, 16 Dec 1992 15:05:01 GMT

Hello world!

This one is dedicated to all those who have ever had to struggle with
Informix 4GL for MS-DOS.

I've been working for sometime on a project on MS-DOS that uses
Informix. The trouble is that one of the programs has grown somewhat
large (2 MB on the executable file) and I started having problems with
the "temporary string storage" (TSS) runtime error. The program is
beeing compiled with MSC 5.1 and linked with .RTLink+ with VMS (in order
to keep its image within DOS' 640K).

I would like to know if anybody knows the answer to the following questions
1) where is TSS allocated? (heap, stack, other...)
2) when is TSS allocated? (function calls, i/o statements, ...)
3) when (if ever) is TSS freed?
4) is there any way to do some sort of garbage-collecting on the TSS?
5) what are the ways to prevent the TSS runtime error?

Any answer to any of these questions would be much appreciated.
Thanks guys!

Pedro.

Pedro Geraldes Freire             | BITNET/Internet: pgf@fct.unl.pt
Projecto CIMTOFI		  |            UUCP: pgf@unl.uucp
UNINOVA - GRI - FCT/UNL           | Fax:   (+351) (1) 295 56 41/44 61
2825 Monte Caparica, PORTUGAL     | Phone: (+351) (1) 295 44 64 ext.1560
From: aland@informix.com (Colonel Panic)
Newsgroups: comp.databases.informix
Subject: Re: Configuring locks on a Sun 4 for I-SE 4.10
Summary: been there, done that, even wrote the relnote...
Date: 12 Dec 92 04:44:45 GMT
Organization: Enterprise Technology Center, Informix Software, Inc.

In article <OLIVER.92Dec9230440@snoopy.infix.de> oliver@infix.de (Oliver Okrongli) writes:
>Dear netlanders,
>
>Please apologize if the following question is a RTFM.  We just did a
>port on a customer configured system and do not have access to all
>documentation that might be out there.
>
>The existance of .lok files suggests that Informix SE 4.10 does not
>use kernel locking on Sun 4 systems.

It has for quite a while -- sounds like you are running 4.10.UC1.
Current Sun versions have switched from "create locking" to flock/fcntl
locking.  Just upgrade to a current version (e.g. 4.10.UG1) and read
the release note about the RESETLOCK procedure carefully...

>Oliver Okrongli		infix Software-Systeme GmbH	  Phone +49 531 238090
>			Rebenring 33			  Fax   +49 531 3801152
>oliver@infix.de		D-W-3300 Braunschweig		  F.R. Germany


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

"I'm tough!  I'm into Punk Yoga.  That's where you stand on *somebody else's*
 head."
"How many George Smilovich's does it take to screw in a light bulb?
 None, cuz tough guys aren't afraid of the dark!"
    -- George Smilovich
Newsgroups: comp.databases.informix
From: aburt@mnemosyne.cs.du.edu (Andrew Burt)
Subject: Re: "WordWrap" and temporary s
Organization: University of Denver, Dept. of Math & Comp. Sci.
Date: Tue, 15 Dec 92 15:00:16 GMT

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."  This is also why I and many other
>> people like C.  Why have all those huge libraries filled with crud
>> you'll never use?  If you want the bells and whistles, you can always
>> add them yourself....

>I sorry but this is completely the wrong attitude! The highlight bar
>in display array is an obvious requirement. The fact that so many
>people have had to hack together a fix is enough to show that.
>Dynamic arrays are also a known requirement. To simply say you can
>simulate it by doing such-and-such is completely wrong. I mean why
>bother with INPUT ARRAY? With juditious use of INPUT, DISPLAY and
>SCROLL you could simulate that too.

Exactly!  Let's go a step further -- why bother with 4gl at all?  You
can just use C!  (Why bother with C at all?  You can just use assembler!
Why bother with an assembler at all?  You can just hand toggle the code in
from the front panel! ...)

Has informix forgotten what "Fourth Generation Language" means???

Personally I think Informix has the wrong attitude toward customers.
Maybe it's time Informix Corporate when around to each employee and
whispered in their ear, "remember, without customers, you are out of
a job".  It clearly impacts Informix's selection, hence their profit,
whether features like this are present or lacking.  Many of my clients
have opted NOT to go with Informix because of problems like these.
Many would *rather* do it in C, Pro-C, etc., because at least they
have a "real language" to work with.

[Heh, and to think I laughed at them for using C as a database language
before I'd used 4gl.]

I'll end with my popular refrain:  C'mon Informix, listen to your customers!
-- 

Andrew Burt 		   					  aburt@du.edu

"But if he was dying he wouldn't bother to carve "Aaaaargh", he'd just say it."
From: jparker@hpbs2776.boi.hp.com (Jack Parker)
Newsgroups: comp.databases.informix
Subject: hp termcap/terminfo
Date: 18 Dec 1992 11:38:14 -0500
Organization: Mailing List Gateway
Distribution: world
Reply-To: jparker@hpbs2776.boi.hp.com (Jack Parker)
NNTP-Posting-Host: emory.mathcs.emory.edu
X-Informix-List-ID: <list.1720>

(Author's note to hisself)
Let's try sending it to the Net this time dummy!
Sorry Kacy for the dupe.

>    Anybody got a good termcap/terminfo entry for an hp tube?  (Yeah, I know, look 
>    where I'm working!).  Specifically I'm wondering if there is a solution to the
>    magic-cookie-glitch for this thing.
> 
>    Also, has anybody ever got Informix to use attributes like DIM, UNDERLINE, or
>    BLINK in a DISPLAY on an hp tube?  REVERSE is ok, but no others.
> 
> Me, too!  I can't find a way to get hpterms or xterms to run
> isql, tbmonitor, vi, and man consistently in the same window.
> 

I played around for a while and got the hp supported attributes to work from
the os, but not from informix! 

For those of you who care,

:mb=\E&dA:mh=\E&dH:us=\E&dD:\		# blink, dim, underline

I prefer:

:so=\E&dJ:				# for standout which informix actually uses!

which frees up:

:mr=\E&dB:				# for reverse as it should be.


For those of you using terminfo it would be (in the same order):

blink=\E&dA, dim=..., smul=..., smso=..., rev=...

For those of you who don't know how to terminfo:
   (1) do an untic into a local directory (./),
   (2) make your changes to the file ./h/$TERM
   (3) TERMINFO=./
   (4) tic ./h/$TERM
   (5) and try it.  If you like it get your sysadmin to make the changes to
   /usr/lib/terminfo/h/$TERM (or whatever your hp $TERM is)

you can mix your own as follows:
# \E&dx: where x is:    @ off, A blink, B RV, C RV_Blink, D UL, E UL_Blink,
#                       F RV_UL, G RV_UL_Blink, H Dim, I Dim_Blink, J RV_Dim,
#                       K RV_Dim_Blink, L UL_Dim, M UL_Dim_Blink, N RV_UL_Dim
#                       O All 4

My particular monitor doesn't do the blink (which is fine by me!), but the
codes are right.

I went through the Informix termcap (which is almost identical to /etc/termcap)
and tested what I could of hp functionality.  It seems to work pretty much ok.
(Aside from the various documented problems).  I have another message in to the 
termcap guru, I gather from the terminfo documentation and news that the highlight 
is, not a bug, but rather a known area of non-conformance.

Although I did this on HP's time in an effort to solve problems we are having,
it most certainly does not have HP's blessing.  Even if I were a real person
and not a keyboard-for-hire.


still looking for Mrs. Goodterm,
		j.

_____________________________________________________________________________

Jack Parker - Contractor               | 
Hewlett Packard, BSMC Boise, Idaho, USA|     I've forgotten more than
jparker@hpbs2651.boi.hp.com            |           I ever knew
(208) 323-5388 (W)  (208) 384-1623 (H) |
_____________________________________________________________________________

Newsgroups: comp.databases.informix