> Total cost over the life of the project, including the hardware,
> software, and my time is still less than the original cost of the
> database s/w alone. Time from inception to deployment was
> a couple of days -- the previous "database programmer analyst"
> had been dorking around with it for a month before I came along.
This is typical. I've several times done things on the order of
magnitude of six months of programmer A, vs a couple of days of me with an
odd tool or two.
> I have simply tried to get you (and everyone else) to open your minds
> to the idea that modern hardware/OS/language designs allow you to solve
> what *appear to be* very complex problems with very simple tools, often
> creating what turn out to be superior solutions. "What's right" varies
> on a case-by-case basis, but the one thing that is a constant is that
> you cannot achieve superior results with inferior tools. Windows et.al.
Agreed! It also depends upon whether you are looking for single purpose
dedicated computers, or must use a horrendously expensive box for multiple
purposes. Today, older computers are just siting waiting to be thrown
out! Use them!
> > I've been programming since '82 everything from cobol on mainframes on
> > down..databases are more efficient and easier to maintain than flat files.
1970. in-RAM beats anything cold! And who's efficiency? Price
ratios are ver-ry different today than even ten years ago. If you can
dedicate a depreciated spare computer, all you are doing is paying the
electricity and a little more for maintenance. Beats your $500 database
package.
The real downside, is that you need clever people, not guys with
blinders. Clever people are harder to manage. They may get you involved
in new products, instead of plugging away at what you think is the core of
your business. Great for buggy whip manufacturers in need of
diversification; not so great for folks in a "utility" type business.
> Databases are appropriate in their place, to be sure: but for small
> amounts of data, they represent a waste of resources. It's just
> another case of possession of a hammer causing every problem to
> look like a nail.
Rich is right. You have to open your mind and look beyond the tools
to the nature of the problem. That is why I call what I do,
"Imagineering". I remember I once solved a major inventory problem by
showing the guy how to ink in a wall chart... Kept him off computers for
about fifteen years! By then they were cheap.
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