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- Item forwarded by THOUGHT.SHOP to MADA.LIB
-
- Item 7300602 1-Oct-90 15:41PDT
-
- From: ALGER KPMG Peat Marwick, Jeff Alger,VCA
-
- To: PHAROS.TECH Pharos Tech, Tech Staff,PRT
-
- cc: MACAPP.TECH$ MacApp Technical
-
- Sub: RE: InsideOut
-
- Scott,
-
- I have used InsideOut for three MacApp projects now with good results, although
- I have yet to use it in production in multi-user mode. Speed is quite good and
- I have never lost data.
-
- It is difficult to compare it to 4D since the two products address such
- different needs. 4D is primarily a 4th generation language and only
- secondarily a database. InsideOut is a pure DBMS with no user interface
- features, intended for use as an embedded product. Neither is relational; both
- technically support network data models.
-
- 4D supports access to relational hosts using SQL, while IO is self-contained.
- IO achieves much of its speed at the expense of forcing you to compile-in the
- database schema, while 4D retains a little more generality at the expense of
- performance. Even slight changes to an IO schema can force you to rebuild the
- entire database, so IO is best for shipping lots of copies of a stable product.
- Also, IO is not very good for ad hoc inquiry; it is really designed where the
- set of queries can be determined at compile time.
-
- In what little experimenting I have done with the multi-user features, IO seems
- to run rings around 4D. Not that this is a surprise, since 4d's multi-user
- architecture is a real kludge while IO's architecture follows solid, if
- uninspired, DB principles.
-
- If you do not need 4D's user interface mechanisms or host SQL access, InsideOut
- is an excellent embedded product. I have never had to call Shana for support,
- which is good testimony for its reliability. Now that it is owned by Sierra
- Software it can only get better for MacAppers. Curtis Faith is very active in
- MacApp circles and extremely knowledgeable where InsideOut is concerned (he
- taught a seminar on interfacing the two at the February MADA conference.)
-
- Hoping this helps,
-
- Jeff Alger
- KPMG•Exis
-
-