Patrick Muylaert <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

>To those it might interest, Open Skies does not use ODBC for its GUIs, but
>straightforward socket-driven questions and answer, thus having all the
>logic and data retrieval running on the HP (COBOL, my friends!) and only
>sending the required information over the network (be it the company
>network, intranet, extranet or internet). Incredibly fast compared to ODBC !

This is the only way to go for high-performance OLTP -- on-line transaction
processing:  Direct access to IMAGE via its native-mode intrinsics.

As another alternative (which uses Java and is, therefore, available to ANY
client that is Java-enabled -- such as a Macintosh, a Unix workstation, a
common PC, etc.), Dave Thatcher has been doing a wonderful job with his
implementation of Adager's ADBC Technology (as a fully authorized
licensee).  'ADBC" (a registered TradeMark of Adager Corporation) means
"Adager's DataBase Connectivity" and is based on direct access to the IMAGE
intrinsics via Java.  Expect to hear more from Dave soon.

Regardless of the specific method involved, the fact is that IMAGE
databases on the HP3000 have a tremendous potential for high-performance
OLTP (on-line transaction processing) when used wisely with their
native-mode intrinsics: DBGET, DBPUT, DBDELETE, DBUPDATE, etc.

I am very interested in promoting any and all technologies that exploit
IMAGE's strengths to their limit.  So, please let me know if you have a
nifty application that makes IMAGE (and the HP3000) show off their colors.
I'll be delighted to mention you and your approach(es) during my upcoming
speaking engagements -- November is here and I will be all over the place
soon.  An important part of my mission is to present little-known facts
about IMAGE and about the HP3000 to people who are currently suffering
under other platforms (quite a few people have written to me privately
about bringing their bosses and some of the friends of their bosses, and so
on).

Naturally, the ODBC approach (which allows SQL-savvy client applications to
access IMAGE/SQL databases) also has its place, even though it does not
perform as well as the direct native-mode intrinsic approach for
high-powered OLTP.  Since ODBC is well known, I will not duplicate the
efforts of other people and I will concentrate my remarks on the
direct-to-IMAGE arena, which is not as well known.

The beauty of IMAGE is that it does NOT force you to choose one method or
the other.  How many other database management systems do you know that
allow BOTH kinds of access (STANDARD SQL access via ODBC and OUTSTANDING
native-mode intrinsic access for butt-kicking OLTP)?

See you on the road soon!
 _______________
|               |
|               |
|            r  |  Alfredo                     mailto:[log in to unmask]
|          e    |                                  http://www.adager.com
|        g      |  F. Alfredo Rego                       +1 208 726-9100
|      a        |  Manager, R & D Labs               Fax +1 208 726-2822
|    d          |  Adager Corporation
|  A            |  Sun Valley, Idaho 83353-3000                   U.S.A.
|               |
|_______________|