Programming Informix SQL/4GL: A Step-By-Step Approach (Bk/CD) (2nd Edition) [Paperback]

Cathy Kipp (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 21, 1997 | ISBN-10: 013675919X | ISBN-13: 978-0136759195 | Edition: 2

This is the second edition of Cathy Kipp's programming Informix SQL/4GL. It has been updated based on user comment we received on the first edition, and to cover changes in the Informix SQL/4GL languages. This book will use the more trade-oriented Informix Press design, and it will include a CD-ROM with various software packages for Informix programmers.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Serves as a comprehensive, single-source tutorial on database design -- showing developers how to design, create maintain, and write applications for a database system. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From the Inside Flap

Preface Conventions used in this book.

About This Book.

Are you tired of wading through all those Informix manuals? This book will take you step-by-step from database design to working with Informix's implementation of SQL, and finally, to implementing programs in INFORMIX¨-4GL. Topics are discussed in the order in which you will need to know the material. There are plenty of examples. The index is comprehensive. The chapter summaries provide a useful reference. The CD-ROM included with the book includes code examples from this book, and more. The book has been revised and updated to cover the most recent Informix product features, plus a whole new chapter on the INFORMIX-4GL Interactive Debugger.

This book takes on the broad task of describing how to design and develop a database application using Informix's implementation of SQL and INFORMIX-4GL. The first chapter of the book contains an overview of relational database design. The next few chapters (2-6) show you how to create and maintain an Informix database, and explains the use of all the basic commands in Informix's implementation of SQL. Chapters 9-19 cover basic INFORMIX-4GL in an order designed to get you up and working quickly. Chapter 19 explains how to use Informix's version of SQL in INFORMIX-4GL and is followed by two chapters of advanced SQL topics. The rest of the book includes more advanced INFORMIX-4GL topics, including user defined searches, more complex screen input/output, report writing, the debugger and using INFORMIX-4GL with C.

Going through this book chapter by chapter will allow you to design, create, maintain, and write applications for your own database system. The subjects are covered in the order in which you will typically need them when building a new system. A comprehensive table of contents and index allow quick reference to specific topics. A summary at the end of each chapter provides a quick reference for all the syntax and information covered in each chapter.

Please feel free to e-mail any comments about this book to the author, Cathy Kipp (ckipp@verinet).

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Product Details

• Paperback: 512 pages
• Publisher: Prentice Hall PTR; 2 edition (November 21, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 013675919X
• ISBN-13: 978-0136759195
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7 x 2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,345,809 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This Book Is An Excellent Starting Point for New Users, April 24, 1999

By 

James Butterfield (St. Louis, MO USA Earth Milky Way) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Programming Informix SQL/4GL: A Step-By-Step Approach (Bk/CD) (2nd Edition) (Paperback)

This book is an excellent resource for a novice user of Informix. I give this one 2 thumbs up. Even my expert coworker peeks into it once in a great while.

My work place has the Informix books offered by the vendor which can be highly wordy and, for me, unreadable. Also, the book by Paul Mahler, "An Informix 4GL Tutorial" is pure crap. Or maybe the title should have been, "Mahler's Only Way To Do Informix--An Unapproachable approach".

I have used both the first and 2nd editions written by Cathy Kipp. The first edition used a smaller font, was easy to read and was more compact and, after using it as a beginner Informix programmer, I grew attached to it. When I started using the 2nd edition, it took me a while to get used to the larger font or the more spread out documentation. In other words, a command could be covered in a single page on the first edition making it easy to read, but it took 2 pages to cover the same command in the 2nd edition. However, the 2nd edition had more substance over all.

Warning to the buyer! The books page numbers in the index and the actual pages those references are located can be a couple pages off. AFter the index was written, a few more lines were added throughout the book. This screws with your ability to find an indexed item in the book. For example, the index says: Isolation Levels p.446 but the actual page is p.448,9. Although, the plus side is the index is very thorough and make finding needed commands easily (within a page or 2).

Drawback #2, as with most large paperbacks that are used on a daily basis, the book will start falling apart--pages unglueing out of the binder after a few months to a year.

But again, it has definitely been an excellent resource. I almost would give this one 4 stars except, compared to the couple other resources I have seen, this one beats all the rest. Even if it has its couple of flaws.

If you have any questions, I will be more than happy to respond.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Source for 4GL Development, February 10, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Programming Informix SQL/4GL: A Step-By-Step Approach (Bk/CD) (2nd Edition) (Paperback)

This is an excellent reference for anyone who is involved with Informix 4GL development. The book provides all the basics of SQL and 4GL. I often use it from time to time for my development projects.