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> > -----Original Message----- > > From: Steve Richter > > > > Does a logical file on the server, with explicitly declared flds, used as > > the target file name of the client's odbc calls, solve the column name > > dependency concerns? > > > > Dont know much about ODBC, but if the odbc connection info ( actual target > > system, library and file name ) can be stored external to the client pgm, > > would that satisfy the "client code is dependent on the target > > file name and > > location" objection? > > Perhaps, and perhaps. I am not saying that all ODBC is bad; I'm saying that > it's more susceptible to changes in the database layout than a server-based > environment. That doesn't mean you can't avoid some of the problems with > stringent coding guidelines and clever techniques. > > The fact is that you can write perfectly good code using just about any > language, provided you have some strict guidelines in place. Believe it or > not, you can write flexible, maintainable code in assembly language. And as long as your health holds out, you can maintain it. I'm in a business group with a guy who is looking for a mainframe assembler programmer, preferably under 60. > While > you've pointed out a couple of ways to insulate the ODBC programmer from > changing database characteristics, what percentage of ODBC access is written > that way, do you think? My guess is that the overwhelming majority is not. > > But each guideline adds its own complexity as well. How do you store the > "external connection definitions"? How do you access them? How do you make > sure that all your clients are getting the same definitions? Are they > stored on the host? Which host? As you start adding layers of complexity, > the "ease of use" of ODBC evaporates and make the client/server approach > even that much more appealing. ODBC is client/server. Without client/server, there is no use for ODBC. > And even with all the additional work required, this "enhanced ODBC" > approach only solves some of the problems. Take a look at my earlier post, > where I outline a simple, real-world situation where shipment information > was moved from one level of the hierarchy to a new level. A server-based > architecture takes this in stride much better than an ODBC architecture. I can't imagine it would, if the presentation layer is displaying this quantity in the detail line, and it is suddenly not there.
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