IIUG Insider (Issue #51)
01 September 2004
Other Issues
Highlights: IIUG's successes, plenty of events, AGS Server Studio 4 finally covered & More...
Welcome to the International Informix Users Group (IIUG) Insider! Designed for IIUG members and Informix user group leaders, this publication contains timely and relevant information for the IBM Informix community.
Contents:
- Editorial...
- Hot news - IIUG Advocacy Pays Off! IDS 7.31 Still on Tracks!
- Hot news - IBM Informix Portfolio: Executive Overview July 2004
- IIUG - Seen on Forums
- Event - The IIUG's Ask The Experts Session And Your Input - Ask Your Questions Now!
- Event - Informix Chat with the Lab - Next call is October 6th
- Event - Must Attend Birds-Of-a-Feather @ Data Management Technical Conference: Informix Futures - ISQL Modernization, CopperEye DataBlade
- Product News - AGS Launches Server Studio(tm) JE with Sentinel(tm) V.4.0
- Product News - IDS 7.x to 9.4 trade up Promo!
- Product News - Awoma Suite 2.3.0
- Product News - Four J's Development Tools Announces Availability of Genero 1.3
- Developer Corner - Get FREE Awoma DevWorkshop!
- Developer Corner - Generating Java using EGL and JSF
- Developer Corner - At Last! IBM's Big Studio Release Delivers RAD for Java
- Developer Corner - Nimbalkar says "EGL Webcast a Success Thanks to IIUG"
- Useful Links
- Closing and Credits
Editorial...
We would love to hear [more] from you!
Thanks to Jim, John, Arthur, Tim, Fabrice and all the others that provided very useful feedback on the Insider. We love to hear from our members and readers. So drop us a few words at enews@iiug.org. After all, this is your newsletter!
Product News and Developer Corner sections are really growing and this is really cool! We just wonder what DBAs are doing; but that's true, there are a lot of worse jobs than being an Informix DBA!
You may have noticed that we are in the second half of September and your favorite Insider did not hit your inbox! Hopefully your SPAM filter is set correctly... Insider is late and I beg for your indulgence. We are all on our way to the IBM Data Management Technical Conference (once more in Las Vegas, NV, USA) and we had breaking news prior to getting there...
Anyhow, there's plenty of great content in this issue, IIUG being successful in keeping IDS 7.31 in the loop for another few years and making the EGL webcast a success.
I wish you a pleasant reading.
Jean Georges Perrin
Editor
Hot news - IIUG Advocacy Pays Off! IDS 7.31 Still on Tracks!
Due to customer and business partner requests and with advocacy from IIUG, IBM has extended the planned end-of-service (EOS) date for Informix Dynamic Server (IDS) 7.31 to September, 2009. The planned end-of-marketing (EOM) date is now September, 2008.
For details on EOM and EOS dates for all Informix products, go to the Informix Product Lifecycle page at http://www-306.ibm.com/software/data/informix/support/plc/.
Hot news - IBM Informix Portfolio: Executive Overview July 2004
IIUG recently got a copy of "IBM Informix Portfolio: Executive Overview July 2004". Although it is not described as an update of previous White Papers, it looks strangely like it!. It sure is a recommended reading. Find out the link on IIUG's web site: http://www.iiug.org/news/newsitems/04jul04_Informix_Exec_Overview.pdf.
IIUG - Seen on Forums
On "classics", IIUG friend Jonathan Leffler recalls us a little bit of the past history of IDS. First Y2K compliant database is 7.24, hey, maybe it's [past] time to upgrade!
On "ids", an interesting debate about cooked vs. raw... I still wonder why I order my T-bones medium rare!
The "iiug-esp" Spanish community is doing well, at least I hope so, messages are flowing around.
"sapmix" is alive and doing well.
Let me remind you the 2 newbies: EGL Development Forum (dev-egl@iiug.org) and Java Development Forum (dev-java@iiug.org).
There must be a forum for you! To join, simply go to the membership area, login, click on the on "Subscribe to E-Mail lists", choose the lists you wish to subscribe to and click "Subscribe".
Event - The IIUG's Ask The Experts Session And Your Input - Ask Your Questions Now!
Submit your questions NOW to moderator Ron Flannery at ron@iiug.org.
Two big sessions (session R03): Tuesday September 21, 2:15 - 3:30 PM and 4:00 PM - 5:15 PM
Sponsored by the International Informix Users Group (IIUG), the IDS Ask The Experts session has traditionally been one of the most popular sessions at past Informix User Conferences. These TWO sessions are moderated by Ron Flannery, long-time IIUG Board member, president of One Point Solutions, and author of The Informix Handbook.
Ron will host a panel of IBM specialists in IDS and in other Informix products -- the people that develop and service the products. You never know who might show up! We'll take questions (written or verbal).
Questions are mostly technical DBA/architecture questions but we also discuss tuning and other items of concern for DBAs. If this panel can't answer your questions, no one can!
Event - Informix Chat with the Lab - Next call is October 6th
From Linda Spina, IBM, Informix - Americas, lspina@us.ibm.com.
Thank you for your interest in the August 24th Informix "Chat with the Lab" call covering Informix Integration with WebSphere and Tivoli. We look forward to continuing these on a monthly basis.
Since this was the first call in our series, we are especially interested in your comments and suggestions for improvements. IIUG has provided some suggestions for our series which we appreciate very much. We want to ensure your time is well spent. Feel free to contact me at any time.
During our first session we experienced some technical difficulties with the e-meeting. We will investigate the cause of the problems and resume use of the e-meeting as an option at some point in the future. It will be important to have this available should we need to give a demonstration during a call. For our next call, we will eliminate the use of the e-meeting and solely use a PowerPoint presentation and the conference call. The presentation will be mailed to you two days before the call.
For those of you unable to attend, I think you would find the session very informative. Jeanette Horan, VP of WW Data Management Development and General Manager of the Silicon Valley Lab, gave a brief introduction and view of the Informix business. Gary Proctor then gave an overview of WebSphere and Tivoli and how they integrate with Informix. You may view the slides and listen to the mp3 replay at: http://www.ibm.com/partnerworld/pwhome.nsf/weblook/eac_index_biz.html. Look down the list for the Informix Chat with the Lab event. Note there are two entries listed, one for the mp3 audio file and the second for the presentation. I would suggest you download the presentation first and then access the mp3 audio file.
Our next call will be held Wednesday, October 6th at 8AM Pacific, 10 AM Central and 11 AM Eastern. Our topic is Informix IDS v9.4 - An Overview of Key Features and the Migration Process when moving from v7. Jerry Keesee will be kicking off the call and Jonathan Leffler will be our speaker. You may RSVP for this call at: https://ww4.premconf.com/webrsvp/register?conf_id=956476.
Our upcoming schedule includes:
- November 3 - Performance Tuning for 9.4
- December 1 - Informix on the Linux platform
Event - Must Attend Birds-Of-a-Feather @ Data Management Technical Conference: Informix Futures - ISQL Modernization, CopperEye DataBlade
IBM has made significant strides in demonstrating it's commitment to the Informix Database Servers and 4GL Tools with major releases of IDS 9.4, XPS 8.5, Red Brick 6.3 and 4GL-WebSphere Studio 5.1.2 EGL. In addition, IBM is undertaking significant efforts to modernize other key Informix technologies that add value to the Informix Database Servers. Join this Birds-Of-a-Feather (BOF) at the Data Management Conference in Las Vegas on Wednesday, September 22nd to know more about IBM's ISQL modernization effort and more about the CopperEye DataBlade technology.
IBM aims to provide its I-SQL customers with a viable upgrade solution that delivers on the following key requirements:
- Ability to directly leverage investment in existing I-SQL technologies.
- Engineered to fully exploit Informix-specific database functionality.
- Automatic migration of existing form and report specifications.
- Support for both client/server and 3-tier web deployment architectures.
In this BOF, IBM will solicit feedback on two upgrade offerings it is investigating, which address the above requirements:
- A stand-alone Java and Windows-based application bundle which offers features comparable to I-SQL's Forms and Reports facilities.
- A migration tool which automatically ports form and report specifications into Enterprise Generation Language (EGL) projects, suitable for development and deployment via IBM WebSphere Studio Application Developer.
The April issue of the IIUG Insider included an introduction to a new DataBlade developed by CopperEye Ltd., designed to obtain superior database performance for IDS 9.x. Those attending TechCon will have a chance to hear about the CopperEye product in more detail at this Birds of a Feather session. If you'll be in Las Vegas for Tech Con, please join us, learn more, and take a few moments to share your impressions with the Informix team!
For more information on the new CopperEye DataBlade for Informix, visit http://www.coppereye.com.
Product News - AGS Launches Server Studio(tm) JE with Sentinel(tm) V.4.0
AGS announced on July 15th, 2004 general availability of Server Studio JE with Sentinel Version 4.0: a brand new comprehensive suite of system management tools that IBM is delivering to customers with Informix DBMS servers.
A great part of managing your IBM Informix infrastructure involves performing regular administration and maintenance tasks, responding to unexpected system events and keeping your database server tuned for optimal performance. Version 4.0 of Server Studio(tm) JE with Sentinel(tm) comes packed with new features that automate 24X7 real-time monitoring of server's resource utilization, ongoing transactions and query performance, provides an extensive array of sophisticated analytical tools to optimize server's operational parameters, executes scheduled database administration tasks and manages autonomic responses to server events.
Developed jointly with IBM, Server Studio(tm) JE can be easily applied to your existing IT environment to manage your entire IBM Informix DBMS infrastructure from a unified graphical console, regardless of whether your database servers are all in one location, or at remote sites half-way around the world. Designed with highly intuitive, interactive functionality, Server Studio(tm) JE provides a powerful set of seamlessly integrated, state-of-the-art DBMS tools that make error-prone, time-consuming, command-line driven administrative tasks a thing of the past and helps make short work of jobs that otherwise would consume hours upon hours of your valuable time. Server Studio(tm) JE helps seasoned database professionals and novices alike manage with unprecedented ease day-to-day tasks such as server maintenance, SQL development, database schema, physical storage and security management and keep IBM Informix DBMS servers performing at peak levels.
See the new Server Studio(tm) JE V.4.0 with Sentinel(tm) at IBM DB2 Information Management Technical Conference in Las Vegas on September 22 at 16:00 and September 24 at 8:30 (Session S09), or for more information visit: http://www.serverstudio.com.
Product News - IDS 7.x to 9.4 trade up Promo!
For a limited time only, the commercial Passport Advantage(r) Relationship Suggested Volume Prices (RSVP) and Passport Advantage Express Suggested Retail Price (SRP) for eligible Informix(tm) Dynamic Server (IDS) Trade Up software licenses have been reduced by 20%.
The reduction also applies to Passport Advantage Agreements with an Attachment for an Academic Volume Option.
For more information see the announcement letter.
Product News - Awoma Suite 2.3.0
Awoma has just released version 2.3 of its tool suite. Suite includes DevWorkshop (distribution of Eclipse), ThinStructure (J2EE framework and toolkit for business oriented developers) and DB Studio (data manipulation tools). See special offer in Developer Corner.
For more information visit: http://www.awoma.com.
Product News - Four J's Development Tools Announces Availability of Genero 1.3
Four J's has announced the availability of Genero 1.3, a groundbreaking application development and deployment infrastructure.
Genero will significantly reduce development time. Unlike other development environments, Genero efficiently delivers data-intensive applications without the overwhelming complexity and unnecessary object-oriented overhead. Because of its simplicity, Genero is not only ideal for high-skilled developers, but also enables "newer" developers to focus on the business logic rather than the infrastructure and rapidly build high-scaled business applications.
With Genero:
- Developers are free to choose virtually any OS, database or hardware platform to develop and deploy their application. They are never locked in - the same application can move to new platforms with little or no effort.
- Developers get all the advantages of advanced capabilities like web services, industry standard XML and enterprise application integration at their fingertips without paying a huge price in infrastructure or lost productivity.
- Developers get unprecedented productivity, agility and scalability to the delivery of data-intensive business software solutions.
Genero enables developers to focus on business logic rather than infrastructure by combining a synchronized XML tree structure designed to optimize performance, a business and database-oriented programming language, and a robust and reliable deployment architecture. Developers can now focus on deployment issues such as databases, operating systems and user interfaces. Genero enables the rapid, predictable, GUI and platform-independent development of business applications. Genero 1.3's support of new technologies such as web services ensures that applications are insulated from future technology changes.
For more information visit: http://www.4js.com.
Developer Corner - Get FREE Awoma DevWorkshop!
Over the past year, the Eclipse platform has become the de-facto standard in integrated development environment. Not only it is used by millions of developers as an independent platform, it is also used by all leading vendors including IBM for their WebSphere Studio family of products, Red Hat, Oracle, Borland, Bea, Sun and Awoma.
Awoma proposes a free comprehensive distribution of Eclipse that will allow you to get started very quickly, without having to worry about which components to download or how to configure and install them.
Awoma's distribution of Eclipse (called DevWorkshop), includes absolutely everything you need to install Eclipse and work with it.
The installation package provides a fully automated installation of the following components:
- Full Eclipse platform.
- Java Software Development Kit (JSDK 1.4.2).
- Tons of documentation (Java, XML, Web...).
- Application Server (Apache Tomcat 5.1.x).
- Web Server (Apache httpd 2.1.x).
- Database Explorer (Awoma DB Studio).
- J2EE framework for Business Oriented Developers (Awoma ThinStructure).
- Many examples of applications (using Awoma ThinStructure).
- Development database (HSQL DB Engine).
- Instant connectivity to IBM Informix databases and IBM DB2.
- Instant connectivity to many other databases.
- CVS.
- JUnit.
- A total of 50+ add-ins.
The Awoma distribution of Eclipse is fully compatible with all professional databases, including IBM Informix 5, 7 and 9 and IBM DB2. Since its first releases, IBM Informix databases have been tier-1 databases for all Awoma products.
Don't be the last to hop on the Eclipse bandwagon! Get your FREE copy at: http://www.awoma.com/eclipse.
Available and certified on Linux, Windows NT/2000/XP, HP-UX, Solaris (AIX soon to be certified). Unix distributions do not include Apache httpd and JSDK. Only JSDK is required prior to installation on Unix systems.
Awoma ThinStructure and Awoma DB Studio are made available on an evaluation basis only. After the end of the evaluation period of ThinStructure and DB Studio, Awoma DevWorkshop remains free to use.
Developer Corner - Generating Java using EGL and JSF
This tutorial describes the architecture that IBM(r) WebSphere(r) Studio V5.1.2 uses to deploy Enterprise Generation Language (EGL) applications to WebSphere Application Server V5.1 using JavaServer Faces (JSF) technology. It will describe in detail how to code, test, generate, and deploy a three-tier application consisting of a Web interface, business logic that executes on WebSphere Application Server, and a server program that performs a DB2(r) query to access a database.
More details
Developer Corner - At Last! IBM's Big Studio Release Delivers RAD for Java
Big Blue's new release of WebSphere Studio delivers an integrated collection of tools that substantially diminish the drudgery of building Java-based Web applications.
Abstracts: "EGL has been part of WebSphere Studio since release 5.0. This version of the tool suite adds new keywords to the language. These include several derived from Informix's well regarded 4GL."
Discover this very interesting article on WebSphere EGL from DevX at: http://www.devx.com/ibm/Article/21409.
Developer Corner - Nimbalkar says "EGL Webcast a Success Thanks to IIUG"
IBM's EGL product manager Omkar Nimbalkar told IIUG President Stuart Litel and Insider Editor in Chief Jean Georges Perrin, "I Thank You & Stuart for advertising the webcast and owe its success to both of you!".
Stuart Litel to remind: "IIUG's role is to help members embrace new technologies" and to conclude "IIUG is working thanks to the 100s of hours board members and volunteers invest in the organization: thank them, not me.".
Anyway, after this celebration, access all replay information @ http://webevents.broadcast.com/ibm/websphere/091404.
Useful Links
In response to your input, we have created a new page on the IIUG web site containing all the links we used to include. Please find it at: http://www.iiug.org/quicklinks.html
Please visit the IBM Redbooks web site at http://www.redbooks.ibm.com/mail for more details and up-to-the-minute technical information.
Closing and Credits
The International Informix Users Group (IIUG) is an organization designed to enhance communications between its worldwide user community and IBM. IIUG's membership database now exceeds 18,000 entries and enjoys the support and commitment of IBM's Data Management division. Key programs include local user groups and special interest groups, which we promote and assist from launch through growth.
