And here I thought there was some momentum building that we could
leverage and sell fist-fight tickets at conference..... oh the
potential !

don't mean to be overly asinine or humorous..... I have been doing
informix stuff (4gl, db, etc) for 15 years and I love it, but I have
20-odd years to go in IT........ I have seen the light and it's called
sqlserver2005. that'll be the bat that hits oracle with force.



-----Original Message-----
From: informix-list-bounces@iiug.org
[mailto:informix-list-bounces@iiug.org] On Behalf Of Double Echo
Sent: Tuesday, October 10, 2006 8:58 AM
To: informix-list@iiug.org
Subject: Re: Insider #75: Highlights: IBM Information On Demand 2006,
TheNextInformix IDS Release...

Jean Georges Perrin wrote:

I had actually been lulled into thinking that you were capable of
thinking outside the Informix box. But I see that I am indeed wrong.
On this I am sure.

Thinking Machines ( the company ) was carved up and split off between
Sun and Oracle. God only knows what they did with the parts, but the
point, obviously lost on you, was that this was great technology that
simply did not make it in its present form.


Informix, great technology, but for whatever reason will not make it--at
least in its present form. The Connection Machines developed by
Thinking Machines where way ahead of their time, just like Informix.

DB2 is now enjoying the fruits of Informix labor, and Informix to some
degree is enjoying some of the technology from DB2, such as better
buffer pool management. But IBM knows they can get most of their sales
from 20% of the Informix base, thusly this is why they don't give a rats
ass about marketing it. As it dies a slow and tragic death, IBM will
simply continue to offer DB2 like a robot offering tea.


It's early for you. When you get 5-10 years away from actually using
Informix it will become easier for you. This will soon be possible when
Informix slides off into the abyss.

This is
surely do

I appreciate your challenge. Like you I persist here in c.d.i, for
apparently no other reason than the pointless, hopeless hope that there
is a twinkle of intelligence at IBM that is reading here, and will wake
up and Informix will start to be marketed and really advertised. In my
misguided zeal, I somehow think that somebody will resurrect this
product and really make it fly. But deep down inside I know it's a lost
cause. Probably the same kind of problem people have with quitting
smoking, it's difficult.






Informix
technology
cared.
amazing.
8-)
in
anemic
related
)
us
along
up
so
bring
time
informix-list@iiug.org
2006,
and
that
IDS
and
like to
the
proper
the
publish
the
I
-
move)...
DB2,
are
http://www.iiug.org/mailman/listinfo/informix-

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Sebastian, Norma J. wrote:

I _had_ used Informix since 1987, first with CISAM, then 4GL. Tons of
code, billable, and smart business solutions. But in going through the
seven stages of grief, I'm now really past Informix, at least from a
career perspective. Never ever will I bet on that horse again for my
family's sake as well as my own. I haven't moved on with the idea that
if the product were given a decent chance it would be quite competitive.

As to SQLServer2005, I think before you get too lathered up about it
you will find that working on Windows Server is painful after working on
Linux or UNIX. It is a much improved product over its predecessors,
but still only runs on Windows. Of course your family doesn't really
care, the billable for SQLServer is as good if not better than Informix
anyway, so what does it matter. All the top tier products are driven
by applications, and today, most of IT is too young to know the difference.

Most kids today don't really dig into the internals enough to know anything about
which product is better or worse. They just tell management to buy
faster hardware and suffer, as long as it's got a GUI that works in
Windows XP. Just keep that app running, even with all it's twisted
SQL, and make sure the backups are working. Oracle? Oh yeah, that's on the
other machine, and they have Oracle people for that app. It's all about
the application.

I remember back in the 80's...i bought the book about the Connection
Machine architecture. Yes - it was way ahead of it's time. And yes (I
hate to admit), I agree with DE - the technology was lost amongst the
technologists...it had nothing to do with how good it was. Much like
us.

Some points:

1. it's not a technology battle - never has been. Has very little to do
with the problem right now. If it were a technology battle, we'd all be
driving Subaru's or Toyota's, not GM cars. (I come from a GM family, so
I can say that without regret).

2. Don't wait on IBM with respect to Informix. Stay focused on what you
can do to continue it's life. I believe we have quite a few years ahead
of Informix work - not so much new clients, but within a loyal
installed base. Sad, but true.

3. IDS 10.5 will bring some great features - many of you will hear
about them next week at conference. Pat folks like John, Johnathon and
Madison on the back for staying the course.

4. I have been very busy - almost 100% of the time - with Informix
clients since joining Xtivia. And I'm not the only one - others on the
staff as well.

5. One of the best contributions the tech crowds can make is to publish
articles about how the Informix product helps your site, is easy
to...whatever. Many will say "I don't have time..." - apparently a few
of us have "enough time" to post here endlessly. Take that time and
energy and route it into an article or paper from a technical
point-of-view. Helps to start a buzz. (And please - no more articles
that say "I was writing 4GL in 1983....").

Volunteer to help the IIUG as JGP has stated. It's time for some new
blood there. I certainly would hope we have a changing of the guard to
get some new inputs and fresh perspectives. I see JGP as a candidate
for the next Prez, but that's just me. He still has the enthusiasm and
energy needed there - and he is connected to the client base in
numerous ways. This is important.

Thanks -
Mark Scranton
Informix 1995-2006



Sebastian, Norma J. wrote:

And yes...on the "better buffer pool mgmt" - in 9.4 we built a hybrid
of the approach that IDS has used (LRUS) to manage the potential
victims, and DB2 has used (FIFO) to manage the hot pages. Pages can
migrate from "either side" depending on popularity. There were benefits
to both, so we combined them.

Mark