Some other thoughts on this. The plus is obviously that this will allow a PC application to access mainframe DB2 data without any mainframe involvement. That means no mainframe CPU cycles for these report or even "data transfer". That means no license costs (other than what Shai imposes). That sounds nice.
The problems (no offense) are: 1) Shai may (or may not) decide that this function could be a "cash cow" and decides to up the price to be "on par" with other mainframe software. I'm not saying that he will. I'm saying that he could. And that is a consideration, like with any other software that is "single sourced". I know that I've gotten bitten by certain other vendors in this manner. It's too costly to convert and too costly to maintain. 2) What happens, God forbid, should Shai get killed in an car accident? Who will support this? Will the source be available? 3) Assume this API is the cat's pajamas and a lot of reports are written on the PC side of the world. And these reports are now mission critical. IBM now puts out a new release of DB2. The mainframe applications are shielded from any internal changes in the DASD resident data structures, of course. But the PC applications are dead in the water until Shai (or whomever) has a chance to figure out how to access the new structure. So, the mainframe is now held hostage to this PC API. Shai: Are you like CA and other OEMs who get pre-release versions of IBM's DB2 in order to make changes to your software to support it? (I don't know, I'm asking). If not, then I would be very concerned. As "suppose", lets assume the worse. IBM releases a new DB2. One feature is encrypted tables. Management, or the legal department, decides that encrypted tables will be mandatory in order to avoid possible lawsuits. OOPS, how long before these tables can be read by this API reliably? What if IBM somehow gets a patent on the actual data structure on DASD? 4) What about if Microsoft comes out with Windows Server 2010 and the PC software fails for some reason. I.e. it is no longer compatable for some reason. Again, wait until Shai, or whomever, gets the new Windows software and "ports" his code to run on it. In the mean time, no upgrading that PC server. I don't mean to be a nay sayer. But I am a professional pessimist. I try to figure out possible problems and how to avoid them. The above are just some of the pros vs. cons to be considered by anybody who might want this functionality. -- John McKown Senior Systems Programmer HealthMarkets Keeping the Promise of Affordable Coverage Administrative Services Group Information Technology The information contained in this e-mail message may be privileged and/or confidential. It is for intended addressee(s) only. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any disclosure, reproduction, distribution or other use of this communication is strictly prohibited and could, in certain circumstances, be a criminal offense. If you have received this e-mail in error, please notify the sender by reply and delete this message without copying or disclosing it. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the message: GET IBM-MAIN INFO Search the archives at http://bama.ua.edu/archives/ibm-main.html
