Here Here Brian - I was about to say something on the same lines...


-----Original Message-----
From: [email protected]
[mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Brian Leach
Sent: 29 June 2009 10:12
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [U2] Program Comments/Documentation/Notes/Revision History

Steve

I think you're possibly out of date in your view of the database - again,
not wanting to be confrontational but this is an important point that you
raise. 

I've also used MV for many years, but for the vast majority of that it has
been as part of a client/server or similar platform.

If you're using MSSQL, you still end up coding stored procedures in TSQL -
which is truly archaic. The only difference is that you *have* to use other
languages on the client side to make up for the lack of inherent
functionality.

Over the years I've used UniVerse with VB, ASP, Java, Delphi, PHP, VB.net,
C#, ASP.Net and I'm now journeying into Silverlight. There is, and for the
last 20 years has been, no good reason to limit the database by your choice
of language. With the APIs available, you can code in whatever you like.

 
BTW I gave up F correlatives as soon as I moved to UniVerse - that's what I
descriptors are for .. and I haven't used ED for serious development for
almost 20 years. I use my own autodoc style, and have a parser that uses
that to assemble documentation. These things are not platform limitations.

On another specific point, I actually prefer the fact that Universe and
UniData statements support Else and On Error as opposed to exception
handling. I've seen too many C# projects where exception handling was -
pardon the pun - very badly handled, bubbling exceptions up but not finally
treating them correctly. java may be retentive in the extreme, but at least
it forces you to handle exceptions - just about the only thing in that
language I wish would be added to C# (even as an option). 

The language syntax hasn't evolved on the U2 platforms, but the
functionality avilable has, which is the important thing. There are other
interesting moves with Pick/Basic outside the U2 space - take a look at what
is happening with QM, for example. They have added some OO features to the
language that seem genuinely useful. Perhaps we should petition IBM to add
something similar, but I don't think a rewrite of the language is necessary
so long as the hooks are in place to call into UniVerse or UniData from the
outside world.

No, the reason why so many UniVerse and UniData sites look and feel archaic
is because they are. People simply haven't taken full advantage of the
features, and developers keep within their comfort zone. And management sees
a working system and rarely spends the money. It's not the database that is
limited, it's the imagination of those who pay for it.

Brian
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