HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
Newsgroups: comp.databases.informix
Subject: Re: Suggested Changes to 4gl
From: hugh@nezsdc.icl.co.nz (Hugh Grierson)
Date: Tue, 15 Dec 92 23:04:54 GMT
Organization: Fujitsu New Zealand

In article <1992Dec14.215058.24334@netcom.com> pmahler@netcom.com (Paul Mahler) writes:
>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?

1) inadequate INPUT ARRAY
2) no dynamic memory allocation (eg dynamically sized arrays)
3) no pointer variables, or "call by reference"

4) strange syntax restrictions,
   eg "DISPLAY some_function()" is illegal

5) mismatch between semantics of some 4GL and SQL language constructs
   eg: in the following code fragment:
	 DEFINE x RECORD LIKE y.*       (1)
	 SELECT *			(2)
	     INTO x.*			(1)
	     FROM y
    the ``*'' in (1) are expanded to the list of columns at compile time,
    while the ``*'' in (2) is expanded at run time.

6) Cursor and window names cannot be constructed dynamically (nor is there
   any other method of having multiple instances of the same window or
   cursor open simultaneously).  [Aside: it would also be nice to be able to
   pass window or cursor references as arguments to functions]
   Therefore certain recursive algorithms become difficult.  Consider how
   you would implement this pseudocode for a simple tree walk...

	# start with: call walk_tree(rootnode, 1, 1)
	function walk_tree(startnode, row, col)
	    open window <windowname> at row,col
	    foreach cursor <fetch_children> into child_node
		display child_node
		do-some-interactive-work
		call walk_tree(child_node, row+1, col+1)
	    end foreach
	    close window <windowname>
	end function


Well, those are the ones that bug me.  

Who was it who said "Informix 4GL isn't a `4G' and is hardly an `L'"?
Harsh, but fair.  I must say that I like the Online engine, but really
sometimes I wish we were developing apps in C instead of 4GL.  


-- 
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: inf_bb@hermes1.sps.mot.com (informix users bb)
Newsgroups: comp.databases.informix
Subject: Re:  Fixes to Informix-4gl
Date: 16 Dec 1992 11:03:04 -0500
Organization: Mailing List Gateway
Distribution: world
Reply-To: inf_bb@hermes1.sps.mot.com (informix users bb)
NNTP-Posting-Host: emory.mathcs.emory.edu
X-Informix-List-ID: <list.1709>

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

Xref: sparky comp.databases.informix:2738 comp.sys.ibm.pc.rt:652
From: mfaurot@bogart.uucp (Michael Faurot)
Newsgroups: comp.databases.informix,comp.sys.ibm.pc.rt
Subject: Help, tbtape is trashing my rootdbs!
Summary: tbtape seems to be trashing my root dbspace
Keywords: Online, IBM RT
Date: 15 Dec 92 21:58:52 GMT
Followup-To: comp.databases.informix
Organization: ism:c:m/xo

Have the following hardware, OS, and Informix . . .

	IBM RT 
	AIX 2.2.1
	Informix OnLine v4.00.UD4

Here's the problem . . .

	After initializing rootdbs and shared memory without any
	difficulties I use ISQL to create a couple of databases, fill
	one of them up with records and the other is simply empty.

	Now I wish to back-up this entire configuration to tape.  So I
	use the Archive option from within tbmonitor.  I then choose
	the option to Create, mount the tape in the drive, select "0"
	for a level 0 archive and then receive the following error
	message:

		Error reading from the disk, Error No. = 5.

	If I don't shutdown OnLine, I can still access the databases
	but if I do shutdown OnLine, I get the following error messages
	when I attempt to bring it back up:

		Bad Primary Chunk '/dev/rootdbs'
		tbinit: fatal error in shared memory initialization

	I'm fairly certain there's nothing wrong with the tape
	perameters I'm using because, oddly enough, if I only create
	the first database, I can back-up the system without it
	corrupting the rootdbs.  It's only after I add the second
	database and attempt to back it up that it trashes rootdbs.

	If I make no attempts to back-up the OnLine partitions, OnLine
	goes up and down just fine.  

Now when I went to school, I was always of the impression that
back-up utilties are for the preservation of your data.  Maybe I'm
missing something but this tbtape program just doesn't seem to be
fitting the mold here too well. 

Has anyone run into this before?  Know a fix?  Could this be related
to improper setting for shared memory and semaphores?  If related to
shared memory etc., could someone please email me either their
/etc/master file or the relavent stanzas from it?

Thanks.

-- 

+--------------------+-------------------------------------------------------+
|   Michael Faurot   | Domain: mfaurot@bogart.UUCP		             |
|   ------- ------   | UUCP:   ...{irscscm|mimsy}!bogart!mfaurot             |
+--------------------+-------------------------------------------------------+
Newsgroups: comp.databases.informix
From: pmahler@netcom.com (Paul Mahler)
Subject: Suggested Changes to 4gl
Organization: Netcom - Online Communication Services  (408 241-9760 guest) 
Date: Mon, 14 Dec 1992 21:50:58 GMT

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?

Paul Mahler


-- 
--------------------------------------------------------------
Paul Mahler                   internet: pmahler@netcom.com
Data Based Systems, Inc.
Database Systems Development
1800 Market St. #257          voice: 415.518.8459
San Francisco, CA 94102       

"I work for myself; there's no one else to blame it on." 
-------------------------------------------------------------
From: davek@informix.com (David Kosenko)
Newsgroups: comp.databases.informix
Subject: Re: How can i ...
Date: 14 Dec 92 17:33:11 GMT
Organization: Informix Software, Inc.

Laurence Humblet writes:
>I want to insert a record in a table with a primary key of type SERIAL and
>obtain the generated value of the primary key in a variable in my
>application. 

After inserting a record containing a serial field, the value of the
serial field inserted is available in sqlca.sqlerrd[2] (1 for esql/c).


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
Organization: Arizona State University
Date: Friday, 11 Dec 1992 12:58:52 MST
From: <ASNYR@ASUACAD.BITNET>
Newsgroups: comp.databases.informix
Subject: help:memory space error

Hai, Iam a novice user of informix-4gl ver 1.10 .When i try to load a file by

the modify option, Iam getting the error "Insufficient memory space".Part of
 the program is culled out .The number of lines so loaded varies from 140 to
150 for different programs.Iam not able to track down the error .Please help
me if anybody else has encountered the same error.  thank you.

My e-add :   asnyr@acvax.inre.asu.edu
From: bmacwill@letterkenn-emh2.army.mil ("B.T. MacWilliams")
Newsgroups: comp.databases.informix
Subject: tbstat utility
Date: 15 Dec 1992 13:43:18 -0500
Organization: Mailing List Gateway
Distribution: world
Reply-To: bmacwill@letterkenn-emh2.army.mil ("B.T. MacWilliams")
NNTP-Posting-Host: emory.mathcs.emory.edu
X-Informix-List-ID: <list.1705>


	Alan/Emory,

		You answered Ann Barnes's question on how to get
	extent info with tbstat.  You also gave her a select statement
	that allowed her to convert a partnum into a table name.  Would
	you please resend that answer.


				Thanks - Brian MacWilliams



Newsgroups: comp.databases.informix
From: bmacwill@letterkenn-emh2.army.mil ("B.T. MacWilliams")
Newsgroups: comp.databases.informix
Subject: 4gl generator
Date: 15 Dec 1992 15:08:16 -0500
Organization: Mailing List Gateway
Distribution: world
Reply-To: bmacwill@letterkenn-emh2.army.mil ("B.T. MacWilliams")
NNTP-Posting-Host: emory.mathcs.emory.edu
X-Informix-List-ID: <list.1707>


Calling Dave Snyder, calling Dave Snyder,

        Would you please list the info on your generator programs and  how
        we  go  about getting them.  After all this time and many previous
        postings about them, I have successfully deleted every message  on
        how to get them and what they do.



					Thanks,

					Brian MacWilliams
					USAMC SIMA - CHAMBERSBURG, PA
From: pmahler@netcom.com (Paul Mahler)
Newsgroups: comp.databases.informix
Subject: Fixes to Informix-4gl
Date: 16 Dec 92 01:53:45 GMT
Organization: Netcom - Online Communication Services  (408 241-9760 guest)

Hi Everyone!

Well the cards and letters have been coming in! I have a growing 
list of suggestions.  As promised, I will post a summary back to the
net. 

If there is anything you don't like about Informix-4gl
now is  your opportunity to tell us all about it. 

There have been some VERY intersting suggestions already.

-- 
--------------------------------------------------------------
Paul Mahler                   internet: pmahler@netcom.com
Data Based Systems, Inc.
Database Systems Development
1800 Market St. #257          voice: 415.518.8459
San Francisco, CA 94102       

"I work for myself; there's no one else to blame it on." 
-------------------------------------------------------------
Newsgroups: comp.databases.informix
From: briand@anasazi.com (Brian Douglass)
Subject: Re: An insider's view
Organization: Anasazi Inc Phx Az USA
Date: Fri, 18 Dec 1992 17:00:04 GMT

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.
>
[deleted stuff]
>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 ?

Because you do have competitors out there building new products.  And while
today you may be alone, you can't depend on that being the case tomorrow.
This industry has seen many a product where "there is nothing which is much 
better" and their marketers asked "why should we spend money for implementing 
all these features if we can sell it as it is."  What were the results?  Just 
look at products like VisiCalc, Osborne Portables, Ashton-Tate Dbase
and MultiMate, WordStar (Micropro?).  Look at how Lotus is getting hammered by
Excel in the Windows market.  I think the history is pretty clear on this
matter.

It is a STUPID marketing department that sits on a winning product and
doesn't continue to enhance it according to market demands.  Because if a
company won't do that, someone else will invent the better mousetrap and we
will all beat a path to their door.  It remains to be seen whether or not
Informix will fall into this category.

Newsgroups: comp.databases.informix
From: ray@unlv.edu (Ray Tripamer)
Subject: Re: ESQL C problem with sqlerrd[2]
Originator: ray@lil-ed.cs.unlv.edu
Organization: University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Date: Mon, 14 Dec 92 23:01:22 GMT

In article <1giuitINNcgq@emory.mathcs.emory.edu> kristen.m.altman@ccd.harris.com (Kristen Altman) writes:
>In my application, I am using ESQL C 4.1 and formatting dynamic SQL stmts.
>
>After the first fetch the number of rows returned in sqlerrd[2]
>is 0, but the sqlca.sqlcode = 0 also.  If I understand this correctly,
>the sqlerrd[2] says there are no rows, but the sqlcode says there are rows.  
>-- 
>Kristen Altman
>kma@ccd.harris.com

The sqlca.sqlerrd[2] value DOES NOT hold the number of rows found by opening
a cursor for a select statement (dynamic or otherwise).  The sqlerrd[2] value
is filled in only by the update and delete statements (maybe insert too), but
not by a select.

The only way to get the number of rows from a select statment is to
execute some type of "select count(*) into $cnt ..." statement with the same
from and where clause as the original select statement.
--
Ray Tripamer
ray@asci.com
From: anasaz!qip.naomi@enuucp.eas.asu.edu (Naomi Walker)
Newsgroups: comp.databases.informix
Subject: Systables problems
Date: 15 Dec 92 01:43:05 GMT
Reply-To: anasaz!qip.naomi@enuucp.eas.asu.edu (Naomi Walker)
Organization: Mailing List Gateway
NNTP-Posting-Host: emory.mathcs.emory.edu
X-Informix-List-ID: <list.1703>



>The error message returned from either prepared select statements or
>normally coded select statements are as follows :
>
>SQL statement error number -211
>Cannot read system catalog (systables).
>System error number -101.
>ISAM error: file is not open.
>
>Any ideas/help would be much appreciated - this problem does not seem
>to occur when people are running 4.0 Online engine, but we are trying
>to encourage upgrading to 4.1 Online, so it is important that we
>track this one down.
>
I have had similar problem with a 4.1 engine, except in my case,
I was just trying to drop the old table.  I'd suggest you unload
the table before playing this mukking about game.  In fact, if unloading
is successful and/or reasonable, the cleanest method is to unload, 
drop the old table, and load the rows into a new squeaky clean table.

To fix my problem, I created a new table with the same schema as the
one having the problems.  I then switched the partnum column in systables,
and deleted the systables, syscolumns, and sysindexes for the tabid of 
the new table, and then I was able to drop the old table.

Your mileage may vary.


Naomi

-- 
  Naomi Walker  (aka N7FSA)     naomi%anasaz.UUCP@asuvax.eas.asu.edu

  Enthusiasm is caught,         In tennis, 
  not taught.                   love means nothing.
Newsgroups: comp.databases.informix
From: neve@nlm.nih.gov (Leif Neve)
Subject: Infoperl available?
Reply-To: neve@nlm.nih.gov
Organization: National Library of Medicine
Date: Tue, 15 Dec 92 16:14:39 GMT

Is there a version of perl available yet for making
informix queries?

Something akin to sybperl and oraperl.

Leif Neve
From: obelix.informix.com!johnl@emory.mathcs.emory.edu (Jonathan Leffler)
Newsgroups: comp.databases.informix
Subject: Re:  deleting large databases
Date: 17 Dec 1992 12:48:16 -0500
Organization: Mailing List Gateway
Distribution: world
Reply-To: obelix.informix.com!johnl@emory.mathcs.emory.edu (Jonathan Leffler)
NNTP-Posting-Host: emory.mathcs.emory.edu
X-Informix-List-ID: <list.1715>

>From: uunet!ortarg.edu.ar!yaron (Yaron Zarfati)
>Subject: deleting large databses
>Date: Mon, 14 Dec 92 14:33:44 ARG
>X-Informix-List-Id: <list.1698>

>Hello, I am working in 4GL 4.00 under UNIX ...

>  Another solution was to drop and re-create the table, which would be
>  the fastest way, and worked fine.

>  But now I have to work on the security aspect, and all the databases
>  were re-created by a database administrator, giving INSERT, DELETE,...
>  privileges but I can't DROP TABLES, DROP INDEXES, CREATE TABLES, CREATE
>  INDEXES, without having RESOURCE privilege on the whole database, not
>  only the table I am working with.

>  Does somebody know of a workaround for this situation ???

The "obvious" solution involves an engine upgrade and possibly an tools
upgrade.  If you have the 5.00 engines (SE or OnLine), you can create a
DBA-privileged stored procedure which can be used to allow the CONNECT-level
user of the procedure permission to do things like DROP TABLE, CREATE TABLE
which only a RESOURCE-level user  or DBA  can normally do.  And, of course, you
can grant only certain individuals the right to execute the procedure, etc.

You can execute procedures from 4.00 or 4.10 I4GL, but the statements have
to be prepared.  The procedures described above would be executed, but if
the procedure returns multiple rows of data, you would need to declare a
cursor for the prepared statement, and then open, fetch and close it.  You
would free the prepared statement when you had finished with it.  No
version 4.xx product will support stored procedures directly (though ISQL
will look a little as if it does, but only because it is using prepare,
etc.)

Yours,
Jonathan Leffler (johnl@obelix.informix.com) #include <disclaimer.h>
Newsgroups: comp.databases.informix
From: john@elsouth.uucp (John White)
Subject: Re: Fixes to Informix-4gl
Organization: Electrical South Inc
Date: Thu, 17 Dec 1992 22:13:25 GMT

I hate the input staement in general. I hate the cursors. I hate the
way that I can compile programs with syntax errors and they compile fine.
I hate the time it takes to compile. I hate the size of the executables.
I hate the cost. I hate the primitive Interface. I hate that I can't 
call one 4gl from another and pass it an argument nor receive an exit
status from that called 4gl (documented to work... doesn't). I hate
that I have to camp out on the tech support line for a day before I get
an answer to my question (usually "yup. I doesn't work" or "really?
can you prove that?"). 

-john
john%elsouth@concert.net
From: jparker@hpbs2776.boi.hp.com (Jack Parker)
Newsgroups: comp.databases.informix
Subject: Is this an enhancement?
Date: 14 Dec 1992 20:13:06 -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.1702>

We have an ace program which is supposed to print 1 line of data for
further processing by other processes.  The programmer is question used
a 'FIRST PAGE HEADER' construct to ensure that only one row was printed.

Everything is fine and dandy - and then along comes 4.1.   Now 'PAGE HEADER'
(FIRST TOO) no longer works unless there is an 'on every row' statement which
prints something (x=1 won't work).  Worked around by changing to 'on last row'

This is good?  How many more ace programs are out there that do this?????

Whatever happened to backward compatibility????

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) |
_____________________________________________________________________________
From: tstar!verbus@psds.attmail.com
Newsgroups: comp.databases.informix
Subject: What is INFORMIX-LINK?
Date: 14 Dec 1992 14:28:05 -0500
Organization: Mailing List Gateway
Distribution: world
Reply-To: tstar!verbus@psds.attmail.com
NNTP-Posting-Host: emory.mathcs.emory.edu
X-Informix-List-ID: <list.1699>

Hi,


Could someone please tell us what INFORMIX-LINK is?




 
Regards,
Verbus M. Counts,  AT&T/NCR   Customer Support     (703) 691-6134 VOICE
                                                   (703) 691-5659 FAX  
email: verbus@attmail.com   OR   ...att!attmail!verbus
From: davek@informix.com (David Kosenko)
Newsgroups: comp.databases.informix
Subject: Re: tbinit suid root (Problem?)
Date: 14 Dec 92 17:26:33 GMT
Organization: Informix Software, Inc.

Ross Hagglund writes:
>
>I was recently talking to a site running online 5.0 and the site 
>administrator mentioned that he didn't like application software
>which was set user id to root. He was particularly concerned with
>tbinit since it was "a little more complex than cat(1)". No amount
>of reassurance would change his mind, coming from a systems background

For what it is worth, after setting ulimit to the sky and umask to 0,
we revert back to the id of the user running tbinit (usually informix).
For sqlturbo, it is pretty much the same thing.

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: yaron@ortarg.edu.ar (Yaron Zarfati)
Newsgroups: comp.databases.informix
Subject: FORM FEED IN REPORTS
Date: 16 Dec 1992 13:05:21 -0500
Organization: Mailing List Gateway
Distribution: world
Reply-To: yaron@ortarg.edu.ar (Yaron Zarfati)
NNTP-Posting-Host: emory.mathcs.emory.edu
X-Informix-List-ID: <list.1710>

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 ???
                                      --------

Thanks in advance.

Yaron.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
  __   __
 (<>) (<>)                                        E-mail: yaron@ortarg.edu.ar
     *                                            Yaron Zarfati
    ---
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: rutgers!jack.sns.com!steve@emory.mathcs.emory.edu (J. Steven Harrison)
Newsgroups: comp.databases.informix
Subject: Re: Informix 4.0 and AIX 3.2
Date: 17 Dec 1992 23:33:13 -0500
Organization: Mailing List Gateway
Distribution: world
Reply-To: rutgers!jack.sns.com!steve@emory.mathcs.emory.edu (J. Steven Harrison)
NNTP-Posting-Host: emory.mathcs.emory.edu
X-Informix-List-ID: <list.1717>

In the following mail Andrew Congdon states
} 
} In article <jgabriel.723504339@academ01> jgabriel@academ01.mty.itesm.mx (Ing. Juan Gabriel Ruiz) writes:
} >Actually I'm running Informix Online and Standard Engine under AIX 3.1.5,
} >both of them work fine. Now I'm trying to make an operating system upgrade
} >to AIX 3.2, and my question is if Informix version 4.0 is supported
} >under AIX 3.2 or if I need to upgrade my Informix installation too (maybe
} >4.1 or 5.0?).
} >Any help will be appreciated.
} >--
} >Juan Gabriel Ruiz Pinto                Internet:  jgabriel@mtecv2.mty.itesm.mx
We are currently running 4.0 and 5.0 on AIX3.2 with no problems other than
the usual IBM goofs!

-- 
J. Steven Harrison, PhD.	steve@jack.sns.com
45034 Imnaha Court		Voice:	(510)623-8651
Fremont, CA   94539-6669	Data:	(510)623-8652
Systems'n'Software            	FAX:	(510)623-8656
From: kristen.m.altman@ccd.harris.com (Kristen Altman)
Newsgroups: comp.databases.informix
Subject: ESQL C problem with sqlerrd[2]
Date: 14 Dec 1992 16:33:17 -0500
Organization: Mailing List Gateway
Distribution: world
Reply-To: kristen.m.altman@ccd.harris.com (Kristen Altman)
NNTP-Posting-Host: emory.mathcs.emory.edu
X-Informix-List-ID: <list.1701>

In my application, I am using ESQL C 4.1 and formatting 
dynamic SQL statements.

I have found the following problem/possible bug:

After the first fetch the number of rows returned in sqlerrd[2]
is 0, but the sqlca.sqlcode = 0 also.  If I understand this correctly,
the sqlerrd[2] says there are no rows, but the sqlcode says there are rows.  
I printed out the data returned into the fetched structure and it is the data
I am looking for.  Furthermore, I can run the command from the
command line and it works just fine.

Does anyone have any idea what might be happening?  Is there a
condition I am not aware of that sets either of these variables?
-- 
*******************************************************
*                   Kristen Altman                    *
*                 kma@ccd.harris.com                  *
*              Harris Controls Division               *
*                   Melbourne, FL                     *
*******************************************************