Re: SQL for all DB Access

Frank Kolmann wrote:
> 
> Alologies in advance, maybe this should be on the SQL list.
> 
> Alan, you and others advocate SQL for data independance. I am all for making
> things as simple as possible. (begone arcane arts C C++ etc)
> ---- but ,  have you come across problems using SQL.  We have recently
> istalled a new packaged system that is using a lot of SQL and we have many
> performance issues with the OS constantly recreating access paths. (we are
> fixing these as we come across them by making lgl files).
> 
> Has anyone who advocates SQL got these performance issues.
> If so how do you manange them, if not what am I (are we) doing wrong. TIA.
> 

Yes. All of the time as a matter of fact. What you trade for the job of
performance tuning is the relief from having to process, in program
logic, the selection, sorting, summarization, etc of data. Just ask for
what you need. The job of performance tuning falls then (most likely in
a larger shop, and, yes, I understand, that in a smaller shop, the
problem falls back squarely in the lap of the programmer) to a qualified
DBA that deals with these issues on a regular basis and can usually tune
the application satisfactorily.

Here is the BIG rub: if you are using RPG, you are stuck on a platform.
If you are stuck on *a* platform, then why use SQL?

The answer is that the data could be on another platform. You at least
gain DB server independance, if not application independance.

If you tune for the SQL, you are tuned for SQL (with some rare
exceptions) on any DB server.

The idea is to NOT be as short sighted as our "programming forefathers"
(and I am just as guilty of this in the past) that programmed in our
"performance" feature of 2 digit years. If you think that the investment
that your company is willing to make in producing software on a platform
will only survive a couple of years, think again.

The platform may HAVE to change. The database may HAVE to change. The
organization may HAVE to change. You may HAVE to change. Plan for it.
SQL just makes that easier. It IS more cost effective to buy more
machine today than to tune applications by changing code. It is also
more cost effective to tune SQL execution by judicious use of indexes
that to change code.

Any time you can avoid changing code, especially working code, it is
your OBLIGATION to do so.

-- 
===========================================================
R. Bruce Hoffman, Jr.
 -- IBM Certified AS/400 Professional System Administrator
 -- IBM Certified AS/400 Professional Network Administrator

"The sum of all human knowledge is a fixed constant.
    It's the population that keeps growing!"
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