IIUG Insider (Issue #89) November 2007 Other Issues

Highlights: Registration to the IIUG Informix conference is open, The IDS II free download is here, results of the IDS new features survey are summarised... Read on down!

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
• Cool stuff
  • Registration to The IIUG Informix Conference is OPEN - Be quick!
  • IDS 11, Developers edition is available NOW!
  • Announcing the NEW Informix developers newsletter!
  • Results of the IDS vNext New Features Survey
  • Have you used IBM Data Studio V1.1 yet?!
  • Life's a holiday with IDS!
  • The Gifts that Keep on Giving: New IDS Resources
  • IDS Partner World sales enablement training
  • The OAT is OUT
  • Don't forget...The IDS 7-11 Trade up offer that can't be beat
• Conference Corner
  • 2008 IIUG Informix Conference
• Informix Resources
  • Informix Blogs and things
• Calendar of events
• Useful links
• Closing and credits

Now. Turn the page? hit the 'pg dn' key... click down the page... whatever burns the BARN but read this issue of the IIUG Insider and then write me a note (david@iiug.org). Do it NOW. :) :) :)

2007 was a great year for Informix. We started the year full of anticipation about the 'Cheetah' launch and we were not disappointed. Not only is the technology superb but the effort put in by IBM to train and announce and promote has been excellent. And the year isn't over yet. I was chatting to some old mates, Norm and Trev. They are firmly of the opinion that there is more to come over the next month or so. In fact you had just better read this newsletter cuz the good oil is in here.

In this issue we bring you some great announcements and some interesting feedback.

First of all check out the early bird special for the IIUG Informix Conference. This is a conference that is going to sell out fast I believe. So you need to sign up soon. And remember, this is not an 'American' conference. No... this conference has been priced so that anyone on the globe can get there. Will if be worth it??? You bet... This is going to be a top event and a key point in the resurrected life of this great great technology.

Then check out the feedback from the IDS Vnex New Feature survey. We had a fabulous response to the survey. Over 600 responses and some pretty clear outcomes. Thank you.

But best of all, the IDS 11 download is now available free to members. Not telling you any more... just read on though this rag and you will find the links.

To most, this is the lead up to the festive season. From your Board, I wish you a very safe and pleasant time.

Take care.

David Fraser
The IIUG Insiderman
IIUG Board of Directors
david@iiug.org

The International Informix Users Group has officially opened registration for the 2008 IIUG Conference - The Power Conference for Informix Professionals in Overland Park, KS (near Kansas City and Lenexa - home of the IBM Informix Development and Support Lab) at the Overland Park Marriott from April 27 - April 30, 2008.

http://www.iiug.org/conf/2008/iiug/register.php

The event will feature over 60 Informix technical sessions including vendor presentations from leading Informix Vendors. More than 15 vendors will be participating including our Platinum Sponsor IBM. Gold Sponsors as of now who have already signed up include AGS (http://www.serverstudio.com), Four Js Software (http://www.4js.com), Kazer (http://www.kazer.com), and Querix Software (http://www.querix.com).

Scheduled keynote speakers include Dr. Arvind Krishna, WorldWide Vice President of IBM Data Servers, IBM Information Management, Jerry Keesee, Director of WorldWide Development IBM Informix, and Bernie Spang, Director of WorldWide Marketing for IBM Data Servers.

Registration fee for early signup will be $499 (minus a $50 discount for all IIUG members) through Jan 15, 2008. This fee will include a full conference pass, which includes admittance to all the Technical sessions from Monday April 28 - Wednesday April 30, a Sunday night cocktail party in the Exhibit Hall, a Monday night party with the Informix developers and support staff from the Lenexa Labs and a Tuesday night party sponsored by Kazer Technologies.

A limited number of rooms have been blocked at the Marriott Overland Park for a special conference rate of $129 (plus tax) per night and may be booked at the time of registration for the conference.

Also on Sunday April 27, at least eight half-day tutorials will be offered (four morning and four afternoon) for $125 for one or $200 for both sessions. Actual tutorial titles will be announced in late December or early January, but registration for them is currently available.

Conference Registration Fee

(All IIUG members will receive $50 off the Registration Fee)

Is there money left in your 2007 training budget? Be smart and put it towards attending this Informix conference next year. Take advantage of the early bird discount being offered and help your budget dollars go even further! Register today at:

http://www.iiug.org/conf/2008/iiug/register.php

Need more incentive? Then, stay tuned. We will soon be announcing the conference's many technical sessions that will offer the BEST selection of up-to-date information on a wide variety of Informix related topics. In-depth sessions will be presented in areas ranging from Database Administration to Performance Tuning to Developing Applications to how Informix works with the latest and best technology -- all by well known Informix experts, and many new faces as well.

In addition to the excellent technical sessions, there will also be plenty of networking opportunities. There will be numerous chances to mingle with fellow Informix users, as well as IBM Informix development, support and marketing personnel.

Lenexa, just down the road from Overland Park, is my home town. I would love to personally invite and welcome you to this wonderful part of the country and the home of the Informix Development Labs.

For more information visit the conference website - http://www.iiug.org/conf

See you there!

Cindy Lichtenauer

IIUG Board of Directors
IIUG Informix Conference 2008 - Conference Planning Committee
conferences@iiug.org

The IBM Informix IDS 11 Developers Edition is now available on the IIUG web site! Available Developers Edition for AIX (64 bit), Linux (32 / 64 bit), Solaris (64 bit), HP-UX (64 bit) and Windows (32 / 64 bit). You can get your copy in the IIUG member Area under Software Downloads.

This is essentially the enterprise version so that means you can start to try out enterprise type apps using this edition. It is very cool. So this is what you need to do...

1. Go to the iiug website http://www.iiug.org.
2. Login (top right or the home page). BTW. You can log in using the link at the very bottom on this newsletter.
3. Go to the software downloads tab. Note. If your profile is over a year old then you will need to update it by going to the profile tab.

Of course the IIUG would like to thank the following IBMers for making this happen... Jerry Keesee, Cindy Fung, Bruce Weed, Gayathri Srinivasan, Anita McKeithen, Gregory Shipp, Keiw-Wah Tung, Manoj Mohan, Nancy Weir, Sundar Shunmugam and of course the unsung heroes the Entire IBM Informix Development Staff!

But wait, there's more! IDS Developer Edition is integrated with IBM Data Studio, providing developers with a full range of tooling possibilities.

Download the Developer Edition, get a free DVD copy, or request a higher quantity mailed to you:

http://www.iiug.org/url/IDS_Dev_Ed.html

For larger quantities of the Trial Evaluation DVD, please send a request to Cathy Elliott:

cathyell@us.ibm.com

Learn more about the Developer Edition:

http://www-306.ibm.com/software/data/informix/ids/developer/

The Developer Edition is just one of the many indications that IDS is booming in the world of application development. Check out the Informix Application Development Space (http://www-306.ibm.com/software/data/informix/ids/ad/) to take advantage of the many tools that integrate with IDS. Then sign up for an upcoming AppDev webcast on December 11: Fast Track for Application Development with IBM (http://www.dmreview.com/web_seminars/10000329-1.html). In this webcast, speakers Grant Hutchison, IBM Senior Product Manager, Data Server Tools and Clients and Guy Bowerman, IBM Informix Dynamic Server Architect, will talk about how to develop applications the fast and easy way with IBM and deploy them worry-free with IBM Informix Dynamic Server (IDS). The new IBM Data Studio can help you produce high quality data designs and allows you to easily view and modify existing Informix implementations. New application development choices with IDS include Ruby on Rails and updated .NET, Java, and PHP drivers. Join this webcast to learn all of the latest details. Find out how the new IBM Informix Dynamic Server Developer Edition, along with these tools, can allow you to explore the latest technology risk-free.

This monthly rag is aimed at application developers who work with IDS, and in helping them do more with the product. To that end, you will see a lot more about the tools used to develop apps, including the new developments at IBM like Data Studio 1.1) and the Java Common Client. You will also see tips and tricks for writing code with 4GL, ESQL, PHP, RUBY, as well as the JCC, and JDBC. We also intend to have a regular column entitled "Ask the Developers," where questions you ask get tackled by the Product Development team. In order for this newsletter to be a success though, I need your help. I need to know what subjects that you, as application developers, would like to see discussed. I also would love to hear from you about tips and tricks you use to get the drivers, or SQL, to do what you want, and I would really love to see you submit articles. Finally in order for the "Ask the Developers" articles to work I need to hear from you about what you would like the Developers to answer. So as we begin this newsletter I would ask that you mail me questions, tips and tricks, articles, and comments to devnews@iiug.org.

Did you miss the first edition? Go here... http://www.iiug.org/devnews.

BTW. Next issue there will be a great article on Locks, Semaphores, Latches, Mutex and Conditions. You have to be a geek head to understand it but I know some of you are so look out for it.

We would like to thank everyone for taking time out of their busy schedules to complete our most recent IDS vNext New Features survey. We received 672 responses, shattering last years record of 254 responses. Almost 42% (284) of the survey takers were DBAs, 22% (151) were Software Engineers and the remaining 35 % (237) were from various other IT related jobs. (Was 47, 25, 28)

34% (233) of the survey takers were from North America, just barely edging out the EMEA who submitted just under 33% (225) of the responses. The organization size of each survey taker was pretty evenly distributed with 26% (176) of the responses coming from organizations of 100 - 999 people, 19% (128) from organizations of 5000 or more people, 26% (176) from organizations of 1000 - 4999 people and 15% (104) from organizations of 9 - 99 people. (WAS 38, 38, 29, 21, 18)

We gave each survey taker the chance to give each new feature one of the following ratings and assigned a score to each rating:

If the survey taker responded with "I Do Not Understand This Feature", we removed this survey taker from the score calculation for this feature. This results in the following formula to assign a score to each new feature:

The Top 10 requested features resulted as follows:

Score = sum(Weighted Score) / Number of Non "I Do Not Understand" Responses

Kate Tomchik and Andrew Ford
IIUG Board Directors and new feature survey supremoes
For more info or discussion email kate@iiug.org

This is a must get download for those who are developing against IDS and want to use a robust framework for managing the SDLC. Have a look at last month's Insider http://www.iiug.org/Insider/insider_oct07.php for more information or download if from here:

http://www14.software.ibm.com/webapp/download/search.jsp?go=y&rs=swg-ids

You can also go to the IBM Data Studio site (http://www.ibm.com/software/data/studio) for news and updates.

Sure, we all know how fantastic IDS 11 is, right? It's reliable, scalable, and widely known for its best-in-class high performing OLTP capabilities. But have you ever stopped to think about just where we'd be without it? This holiday season, I invite you to consider what a wonderful life it is with IDS:

Everyone knows there's no place like home for the holidays. But first you have to be able to get there. If you're planning on flying, chances are you've used IDS as many airlines use it for their reservation systems. Prefer trains to planes? If you've ridden Konkan Railways, then IDS has helped to get you to your destination.

If you're lucky enough to visit the Big Apple this winter, you can't leave without seeing a Broadway show. Don't worry, the strike is over and the ticket booths are open once again, with the reservation system running smoothly on IDS. As the curtain falls on your favorite show, you can pause to reflect on how IDS helped to bring you the best seats in the house.

Maybe you're not traveling this winter and are having relatives come to you instead. Tempted to put them up in a hotel rather than cram them onto sofa beds and air mattresses? Call up one of several top hotel chains and thank IDS for powering the reservation system that will bring you a little peace of mind while your guests are in town.

When you can't be with all of your loved ones this season, a phone call can be the best gift of all. Next time you whip out your cell phone, chances are, IDS is helping you connect. After all, 95% of all telecommunications are powered by IDS.

You can't think of the holidays without thinking of shopping. Rather than worry about the bill that will arrive in January, ponder the fact that every time you swipe your VISA card, IDS is behind the charge.

And let's not forget the food. This time of year brings feasts galore. Whether you're cooking, catering or, dare I suggest this from my own experience: microwaving, you're still going to need supplies. When you hit the store and check your grocery list twice, take note of how easy the check-out process is, because it's highly likely that grocery store chain runs on IDS.

It's clear to see that the holidays just wouldn't be the same without IDS. It's always there. It's everywhere.

Access the latest IDS Case Studies (http://www.iiug.org/url/case_studies.html), including the newest:

• Ladbrokes bets on Informix to support its fast-growth business
  (http://www.iiug.org/url/Ladbrokes.html)

Read the latest IDS Redbooks:

• Informix Dynamic Server 11 Extending Availability and Replication
  (http://www.iiug.org/url/redbook_sg247488.html)
• Informix Dynamic Server 11: Advanced Functionality for Modern Business
  (http://www.iiug.org/url/redbook_sg247465.html)

View the latest IDS Videos:

• IDS 11 Executive Videos with Ambuj Goyal and Arvind Krishna
  (http://www.iiug.org/url/IDS11_ExecVid.html)
• IMPIRE Client Reference
  (http://www.iiug.org/url/IMPIRE.html)
• IDS 11/The Reporter/Informix is Everywhere
  (http://www.iiug.org/url/everywhere.html)

Happy Holidays and thanks for being a part of a fantastic year for IDS. See you in 2008!

Informix Dynamic Server (IDS) 11 Sales Enablement

Informix Dynamic Server (IDS) 11 is the best of breed in high volume online transaction processing (OLTP) for integrated application solutions. The sales training course will cover positioning, the value proposition, successes and sales strategies to win with Informix in 2008.

http://ibm.com/partnerworld/isv/ecma/campaign/er.jsp?id=287366&imid=60043340

Remember that you can download the IDS 11 Open Access Tool (OAT) from the IIUG website (if you are a IIUG member). :)

The Open Adminsitration Tool is the browser based graphic administration tool that is a must get accessory to IDS 11 (and some earlier versions I believe). It is free.

Log into the member area of the IIUG and get it. Go to http://www.iiug.org log in and go to the software download section.

We have also set up a new Forum for those of you who are interested in using the new Open Admin Tool. Just go to http://www.iiug.org/forums/oat. Barn it baby. :)

Make the Jump and Save with the IDS 7-11 Tradeup Offer: Customers Save up to 60% when they move from v7 to 11.

As IIUG members, you've undoubtedly seen what IDS 11 can do. Whether you've attended a training workshop, a "Cheetah" tech day, or experienced the many facets of IDS 11 at a hands-on lab, you know that IDS 11 is an improvement upon an already innovative data server. But have you made the jump?

Released in July with an extensive list of impressive enhancements, Informix Dynamic Server (IDS) 11 has been praised for being the data server that provides continuous and global availability, highest OLTP performance, and lowest total cost of ownership. The new features and performance enhancements alone in this celebrated release have given customers plenty of incentive to switch to IDS 11.

Now, with the IDS 7-11 Tradeup Promotion, customers have even more reason to upgrade. From now to December 31, customers still running IDS 7 can upgrade to version 11 and save 41-60% on the software licenses. Eligible IBM IDS 11 optional features have also been reduced by 25%. This means customers can experience IDS 11 performance at the price of renewal. With IDS being known for its seamless upgrades, this is a can't-miss opportunity. Encourage your customers to tradeup today!

The IDS 7-11 tradeup promotion is a great incentive for customers to upgrade to IDS 11. IDS V7 will reach End-of-Marketing (EOM) on September 19, 2008 and End-of-Service (EOS) by September 30, 2009. To avoid support gaps, customers should plan to upgrade soon.

The promotion is available to all customers worldwide. For more details on which products are eligible in this offer and to learn more about the tradeup offer, visit the official promotion site:

http://www.iiug.org/url/tradeup.html

For details on the EOM announcement, see:

http://www.ibm.com/common/ssi/rep_ca/9/897/ENUS907-169/ENUS907169.PDF

Or check out http://www.iiug.org/news/announcements/ids_tradeup.php

Cheers,

Christy Maver
Data Server Communications Strategy
IBM Software Group
cmaver@us.ibm.com

Nothing to say here but REGISTER for the IIUG Informix conference. Don't delay else you just may not get it.

Register here... http://www.iiug.org/conf/2008/iiug/register.php

David

Get the real oil on Informix from:

• The IIUG forums at http://www.iiug.org/forums/technical.php **** these are very good****
• IDS Experts at http://www-03.ibm.com/developerworks/blogs/page/idsteam
• Guy Bowerman at http://www-03.ibm.com/developerworks/blogs/page/gbowerman
• Madisons blog at http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/blogs/page/roundrep
• Fernando Nunes at http://informix-technology.blogspot.com/
• Bell Micro and the Informix City at http://www.informixcity.com/ Check out their Oracle survey :)
• The Informix mag at http://www.informixmag.com/
• JGP himself at http://www.jgp.net
• The Informix Zone at http://www.informix-zone.com

In response to your input, we have created a page on the IIUG web site containing all the links we used to include. Please find it at:

http://www.iiug.org/quicklinks.html

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 25,000 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.

For comments, ideas, information, more ideas, gossip, lies and general dudette type chatter, please send an email to david@iiug.org.