RE: SQL Existence Check

["Joe Pluta" <joepluta@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

> From: Frank.Kolmann@revlon.com
>
> I could be trite and reply.
> Why not use SQL.
> or
> Because its there
> or
> you need to educate yourself on SQL as you don't know what
> you are missing.

I'm actually quite fluent in SQL, so your answer would indeed be trite.  But
in any event, I just wanted to know why a CHAIN was not a good answer.  I
wasn't getting personal or attacking your programming prowess, I really
wanted to know.


> The industry standard is becoming SQL, (obsolescence looms)
> but I will try to give a reasoned response.

SQL is not an industry standard for business applications.  It's a standard
for inquiries.  Inquiries are only a small, rather trivial subset of
business applications.  Try to code a price lookup in SQL, and you'll be
using cursors and fetch loops, which are basically just poor SQL equivalents
of SETLL/READE loops.  The concept of a scrollable cursor is basically just
a mimic of an ISAM index, with poorer performance.  If SQL were meant for
transaction processing, it would be called STPL, not SQL.  Try to process
heterogenous sets of hierarchical data in SQL - you either need multiple
cursors and FETCH/READE loops or massive JOINs that return duplicate data in
all but the lowest order columns.

SQL is good for some things, like inquiries.  To say it's an "industry
standard" is like saying Unix is an industry standard.  Both have been
around for a long time, and both have their uses.  Neither one is the best
answer for business logic deployment.


> As I used SQL more I found I could write programs that
> with the same code handled different sort sequences,
> multiple selection criteria EASILY.

Again, this is the class of programs known as "query", hence the name
"structured query language".  Try to write an MRP generation or a BOM
explosion in SQL, and get back to me.


> Sure I can whack in an F spec for a simple
> CHAIN or SETLL but why should I as I have not other F SPECS
> and it makes the code look silly.

What's silly is five or ten lines of SQL where a single CHAIN would do.
THAT'S silly.


> I am not writing code for cross platform applications
> but I sure know how to , do you.

<laughing>  Yes, Frank, I believe I have a bit of knowledge in
cross-platform development.

Joe