Re: Client Server Suggestions.

In article <1993Mar19.073209.25209_at_netcom.com> markp_at_netcom.com (Mark Perreira) writes:
>In article <1o9rfaINNoco_at_ef2007.efhd.ford.com> wwm_at_ef5003.efhd.ford.com (Bill Meahan) writes:
>>In article <1808_at_ncrclm.ClemsonSC.NCR.COM> kmcclare_at_ncrclm.ClemsonSC.NCR.COM (Ken McClaren) writes:
>>>
 

>>

 [ stuff deleted ]
>>Visual Basic will do everything that Gupta will do and requires no
>>runtime license. Q+E Database Library does not require the creation of
>>special tables in the database like Gupta does. Should you want to
>>change tools or use multiple tools, the library supports a wide range of
>>them (anything that can call a function in a DLL will do).
>
>On the contrary... Although I have nothing against Visual Basic and
>have no experience with Q+E Database Library, I think that Gupta
>SqlWinddows 4.0 and ReportWindows 2.0 and Quest 2.1 offer a far more
>cohesive environment in which to develop client/server applications.
>
>There is no doubt that Visual Basic offers a host of add-ins and the
>advantage of the no user license fee, this should not be the only
>decision about what environment can be chosen in developing an app.
>If cost is the major decision in picking tools to building apps
>that could come back to haunt you.
>
>The problem with using an environment as described by the ealier post
>is that it could cause the following problems:
>
> Difficulty in maintaning the Application
> Difficulty in isolating problems in a non-cohesive software solution
> Increased learning curve to get started
>
>Don't get me wrong, I don't think creating client/server apps in any
>env is a cake walk. But, I think life might be a little easier on
>you if you had a single vendor for your front-end application.
>--
> ________________________________________________________________________
> // //
> // markp_at_netcom.com Mark Perreira (510)889-3373 //
> //_______________________________________________________________________//

While you raise some good points, I can't quite agree with your conclusion.

From personal experience, learning Visual Basic is no harder and is probably easier than learning Gupta SQL Windows (I have both here) and it is MUCH easier to obtain help for Visual Basic questions or find people familiar with VB than with Gupta. Further, VB is being used for hundreds of other Windows tasks so it is apt to show up on your Windows-based PC sooner or later anyway.

The price differential is no small item either. To start with, there's an approximately $1800-2000 difference in the price of the products to begin with. And at $200/PC times 700 users, you're looking at a $140,000 penalty for the poster. I've got over 3500 PC's to support -- that's $700,000 to me. Pity the outfit with 10,000 PC's!

Plus, Gupta requires the creation of a dummy user and certain views of the system tables to make ORACLE look like SQLBase. Until those are created, you can't run anything! That may not be an issue IF you have DBA control of ALL the databases you want to access. If, however, some are elsewhere in the corporation, this may become an issue if the DBA of the "other" database isn't convinced of the efficacy of the approach.

Gupta makes a fine product. I just wish it were more affordable.

-- 
Bill Meahan			|EFHD Information Systems Staff
Plant Floor Systems Specialist	|Ford Motor Company
wwm_at_ef5003.efhd.ford.com      	| +1 313 487 6122
..!fmsrl7!pmsmam!wwm           |I'm not paid to speak for Ford!