HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: jparker@hpbs2776.boi.hp.com (Jack Parker)
Newsgroups: comp.databases.informix
Subject: Re:  Fixes to Informix-4gl
Date: 16 Dec 1992 14:28:08 -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.1711>

> 
> paul,
> 
> the recent influx of 4gl bashing (wish lists), that i have also 
> contributed to, is understandable.  i was just curious what others
> have been using prior to i4gl that was any better.  certainly not
> the big o products.  possibly progress, ingress, etc.
> 
> just curious
> 
> bob baskett
> 
> 
Before I got trapped into Informix 4gl, I used a product that was truly
ahead of it's time...ISQL (from informix),  Before that Informer (from
Relational Database Systems - aka Informix),  Before that RMCOBOL, before
that Application Development System (Nice, but slow) from Convergent Solutions,
before that OASIS/BASIC (Now there was a language!).  

I looked at the Big o once, - but my better sense prevailed, something about
a 'hard sell'.  Not to mention the dubiuos advertising.

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
Subject: Re: Suggested Changes to 4gl
From: hugh@nezsdc.icl.co.nz (Hugh Grierson)
Date: Wed, 16 Dec 92 21:32:56 GMT
Organization: Fujitsu New Zealand

I'm posting the suggestion below for John Oliver (oliverj@eymsl.co.nz), whose
posts aren't getting out to the real world.

John Oliver writes...
>How about dynamic use of I4GL call command, i.e be able to issue:-
>	call func_name 
>where func_name is a char variable storing the name of a function. I've used
>this in Ingres where we store a menu tree structure in a database table such as
>	calling_menu, display_title, function_name
>Using this, you can use a generic menu subroutine, and be able to change
>around the application menu structure without recompiling the application.
>Informix is well suited to this approach due to its small executable sizes. 
>You could just link all the modules of an application together, which would
>give good menu/calling performance.
>
>Under the current I4GL, this is impossible. The best you can do us use the run
>command to run named stand alone executables, but this leaves a whole
>lot of sleeping parent processes around when leaves of complex menu trees 
>are reached.
>
>Oh yeah, the other thing that would be neat would be to have two dimensional
>screen arrays, i.e. be able to reference the i'th column across a row. It
>seems that if you can have 2-D program arrays, you should be able to have 2-D
>screen arrays.
>-- 
>------------------------------------------------------------------------
> John Oliver, Ernst & Young Management Sciences, Auckland, NEW ZEALAND
> e-mail: oliverj@eymsl.co.nz  Telephone: 64-9-377-4790 Fax: 64-9-377-3554 
> Mail: PO Box 2146, Auckland, NEW ZEALAND
> Disclaimer: Views expressed are entirely my own.

-- 
Hugh Grierson          Fujitsu/ICL New Zealand - Software Development Centre
hugh@nezsdc.icl.co.nz                Speaking for myself only.  See figure 1.
    Quote of the decade: "We're not just talking about unpopulated areas
     of the Southern Hemisphere anymore" [Pres. Bush, on the Ozone hole]
From: jparker@hpbs2776.boi.hp.com (Jack Parker)
Newsgroups: comp.databases.informix
Subject: hp termcap/terminfo
Date: 18 Dec 1992 11:48:09 -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.1721>


Ok, so I'm forgetful and don't always realize that everybody else doesn't
have the foggiest of what I refer to.  

The hp termcap/terminfo attributes I just posted (at least I think I just 
posted them!) are documented in the TERM0 manual and should work with most 
hp terminals.

Again, I do not write this with HP's blessing.

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
From: mvctm@cbnews.cb.att.com (carl.t.mosley)
Subject: Re: Fixes to Informix-4gl
Organization: AT&T
Date: Wed, 16 Dec 1992 19:17:35 GMT

  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...


Carl Mosley
AT&T Network Systems
From: laurence@tintin.csl.sni.be (Laurence Humblet)
Newsgroups: comp.databases.informix
Subject: thanks + question
Date: 14 Dec 1992 05:08:02 -0500
Organization: Mailing List Gateway
Distribution: world
Reply-To: laurence@tintin.csl.sni.be (Laurence Humblet)
NNTP-Posting-Host: emory.mathcs.emory.edu
X-Informix-List-ID: <list.1695>

Hi,

I want to thanks all the people who answered to my question about SERIAL
in Informix Database. The answer i received  is : SQLCA.SQLERRD[2], but the
problem is that i can't find how to access this structure from SQL Windows
(thats why i sent the question also to the WIN3-L).

Perhaps does anybody knows where i can find the way to acces SQLCA.SQLERRD[2]
from a SQL Windows application ?
Perhaps does anybody knows if there is a SQL WINDOWS list where I could ask
my question?

One more thanks to all the people who already help me :-)


					      Laurence


-- 
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
~                                       ~                 *                 ~
*  Laurence Humblet  :-)                *  Merry         ***        Happy   *
~  Centre Software de Liege (Belgium)   ~               ***~*               ~
*  Siemens-Nixdorf                      *  Christmas   **~****      New     *
~                                       ~             *****~***             ~
*  E-Mail: Laurence@cls.sni.be          *            *~*****~***    Year 93 *
~  Phone : (32)41/20-16-55              ~           ****~********           ~
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*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
From: pp@q8.dk (Poul Pedersen)
Newsgroups: comp.databases.informix
Subject: Dirty Read & Upd.Statistics
Date: 11 Dec 1992 13:33:07 -0500
Organization: Mailing List Gateway
Distribution: world
Reply-To: pp@q8.dk (Poul Pedersen)
NNTP-Posting-Host: emory.mathcs.emory.edu
X-Informix-List-ID: <list.1694>

Hey expert !

        I have a question, which you may be able to answer.

        Could there be any problem if in an online system you
        have to processes, which executes in parallel, when
        the 2 processes are:

                1  Update statistics ...

                2  Select with isolation level dirty read ...

        I have been told that there may be problems, but I can't
        see them.

        Thanks from
        -----------------------------------------------------------------
        Databaseadministrator Poul Pedersen
        Kuwait Petroleum (Denmark) A/S
        Hummeltoftevej 49                         Mail:   pp@q8.dk
        2830  Virum                               Voice:  +45 45 98 45 94
        Denmark                                   Fax:    +45 42 85 14 18
        -----------------------------------------------------------------
From: davek@informix.com (David Kosenko)
Newsgroups: comp.databases.informix
Subject: Re: turbo extents used
Date: 14 Dec 92 17:20:07 GMT
Organization: Informix Software, Inc.

Root@letterkenn-emh1.army.mil writes:
>Is there a way in Informix-Turbo (not ON-Line) to determine how many extents
>a table is currently using? I figure one of those handy figurest in tbstat
>must indicate that....
>Thanks.
>Ann Barnes

If the table is active (and you can make it active by going into isql and
issuing a LOCK TABLE statement), then tbstat -t will show the number of
extents allocated for the table (nextns).  There is a trick, however, in that 
tbstat shows the table with its tblspace number (partition number in Turbo 
parlance) not the table name.  To get a list of table names and their 
respective (hex) partition/tblspace numbers, use the following query:

	select tabname, hex(partnum) from systables;

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: DAS13 Anonuucp Problems
Date: 17 Dec 1992 08:53:08 -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.1714>

I'll be brief...  do to modem problems, the people trying to anonuucp the
latest version of db4glgen from das13 are probably going to freak when they
get their phone bills.  The modem problem was SOLVED at about 10pm EST on
12/16/92.  I'm sorry for the inconvenience.

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: shemminga@cix.compulink.co.uk (Stuart Hemming)
Subject: Re: FORM FEED IN REPORTS
Reply-To: shemminga@cix.compulink.co.uk
Date: Fri, 18 Dec 1992 09:13:00 +0000


TITLE: FORM FEED IN REPORTS

In <1gnr51INNa7d@emory.mathcs.emory.edu> Yaron Zarfati asks:

> Hi, I need help on the behavior of the SKIP TO TOP OF FORM statement in 
> reports.
> 
> When this statement is reached, informix fills the report with empty lines
> until it reaches the number specified in the PAGE LENGTH statement.
> 
> This slows down the printing, so what I would like to know is if does somebody
> knows how to make informix to use the formfeed character ???


Well, to start with you need v4.1 or later. Then in the OUTPUT
section include TOP OF PAGE "^L". This assumes your formfeed
character is control-l. If not replace the quoted string with the
necessay codes. Note that the sting can only be 2 characters long.

Hope this helps.

| 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: bob@worms-emh2.army.mil (Bob Kane)
Newsgroups: comp.databases.informix
Subject: Re:  Entering "invisible" data in a form
Date: 18 Dec 1992 12:18:13 -0500
Organization: Mailing List Gateway
Distribution: world
Reply-To: bob@worms-emh2.army.mil (Bob Kane)
NNTP-Posting-Host: emory.mathcs.emory.edu
X-Informix-List-ID: <list.1722>

>
>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.
>
>				Thanks,
>					Ceci
>-- 
>+----------------+--------------------------------------------------------+
>|  Ceci Jaeger   |   Domain: cjaeger@bogart.UUCP		          |
>|  ---- ------   |   UUCP:  ...uunet!media!irscscm!bogart!cjaeger         |
>+----------------+--------------------------------------------------------+
>| Washington, DC |  "Some dance to remember, some dance to forget."       |
>|                |   "Hotel California" --- Eagles                        |
>+----------------+--------------------------------------------------------+

The invisible attribute is the color black.  This will work if the background
color of your screen is black.  You can also use attributes with INPUT.  If
you set the INPUT attribute to the same color as your screen background, it
will not show any characters typed.  If you are working with color terminals,
make sure that the color scheme that you pick will work the same way if the
user has a monochrome terminal.  There is a comparison of monochrome to color
attributes in each section of the 4GL reference manual that explains a command
having the attribute option.  I will list it below for your benefit:

WHITE = NORMAL		REVERSE
YELLOW = BOLD		BLINK
MAGENTA = BOLD		UNDERLINE
RED = BOLD
CYAN = DIM
GREEN = DIM
BLUE = DIM
BLACK = INVISIBLE

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bob Kane                   Internet: bob@worms-emh2.army.mil (IP 134.235.9.2)
TechDyn Systems               Voice: (049) 6241-487306   (WORMS, GERMANY)
CMR 421, BOX 706                Fax: (049) 6241-49560
APO AE 09056                    CIS: 71054,2661
Newsgroups: comp.databases.informix
From: shemminga@cix.compulink.co.uk (Stuart Hemming)
Subject: An insider's view
Reply-To: shemminga@cix.compulink.co.uk
Date: Fri, 18 Dec 1992 09:13:00 +0000


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 ?

-------------------------------------

So there it is. Comments are now invited from the audience...

| 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: shemminga@cix.compulink.co.uk (Stuart Hemming)
Subject: Re: Suggested Changes to 4gl
Reply-To: shemminga@cix.compulink.co.uk
Date: Wed, 16 Dec 1992 16:08:00 +0000


TITLE: Suggested Changes to 4gl

In <1992Dec14.215058.24334@netcom.com> Paul Mahler asks:

> Hello the net,
> 
> So far the only responses I have received have been suggestions
> for changes to the input array statement. Is everyone really
> this satisfied with 4gl?  Is there nothing else we can 
> complain about?

Now *that* is a completly different question!

Later...

| 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: jparker@hpbs2776.boi.hp.com (Jack Parker)
Newsgroups: comp.databases.informix
Subject: Informix termcap
Date: 16 Dec 1992 15:23:04 -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.1712>


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.

thanks in advance.
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) |
_____________________________________________________________________________
From: dave.snyder@snide.com (Dave Snyder)
Newsgroups: comp.databases.informix
Subject: Re: Suggested Changes to 4gl
Date: 15 Dec 1992 09:08:05 -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.1704>

Quoting Paul Mahler...
} 
} So far the only responses I have received have been suggestions
} for changes to the input array statement. Is everyone really
} this satisfied with 4gl?  Is there nothing else we can 
} complain about?
} 
Mmmm... exactly what are you getting at?  If this is a plug for your
INPUT ARRAY functions...  Go for it! (I always do :-)

*** BEGIN PLUG ***
db4glgen-3.9 is now floating about.  It's available at the usual locations.
Well actually rmy.emory.edu won't have it till later today.

Here's what's new...
 - Help screen now includes help for Browse (if applicable)
 - Support for color monitors/displays
 - GREATLY cleaned up Query, Add, and Update functions
 - some other stuff
*** END PLUG ***

Next on the "todo" list, a better DISPLAY ARRAY statement.

DAS
-- 
David Snyder @ Snide Computer Services - Folcroft, PA          Current Release
                                                               is db4glgen-3.9
UUCP:  ..!uunet!das13!dave   INTERNET:  dave.snyder@snide.com
From: alex@lucas.MREC.AR (Alejandra Perez Weiss)
Newsgroups: comp.databases.informix
Subject: Asking about new products
Date: 18 Dec 1992 08:38:07 -0500
Organization: Mailing List Gateway
Distribution: world
Reply-To: alex@lucas.MREC.AR (Alejandra Perez Weiss)
NNTP-Posting-Host: emory.mathcs.emory.edu
X-Informix-List-ID: <list.1718>

On last July, Steve Price wrote a report on the Informix User Conference
and he mentioned two new informix products announced for "late 1992 or
early 1993". 
They are Hypertools (programming tools for hyperscript, with embedded SQL)
and STORM (report and forms design facility for non-programmers)

Does anybody know anything about them ?

He also talked about a toolset for developers called EISToolKit from
MicroStrategy, Inc. 
Is there anybody using it ? Does anybody know how to contact this company ?

Thanks in advance,

ale.

-- 
Maria Alejandra Perez Weiss              alex@lucas.mrec.ar
PNUD - Min. Rel. Exteriores              alex%lucas.mrec.ar@uunet.uu.net
Buenos Aires - Argentina                 ...!uunet!atina!lucas!alex
From: jparker@hpbs2776.boi.hp.com (Jack Parker)
Newsgroups: comp.databases.informix
Subject: Two index query optimization problem (fwd)
Date: 17 Dec 1992 23:03:16 -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.1716>

} 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.
} 

Is c,d unique?  if so change index two to be just c,d.  If it isn't 
try making c,d a dupe (and drop the a,b part).  

Maybe the optimizer isn't all that screwed up, try dropping index1 and 
seeing how long the query takes versus how long it takes now.

j.

_____________________________________________________________________________
Jack Parker - Contractor               | 
Hewlett Packard, BSMC Boise, Idaho, USA|     Put it on the IN pile...
jparker@hpbs2651.boi.hp.com            |      
(208) 323-5388 (W)  (208) 384-1623 (H) |
_____________________________________________________________________________