Highlights: IIUG.org News, Informix Successes, J/Foundation & Linux, onstat Write Up, and More…
Welcome to the International Informix Users Group (IIUG) Insider! Designed for IIUG members and Informix user group leaders, this contains timely and relevant information for the IBM Informix community.
Contents:
- See What’s New at www.IIUG.org
- Profiling the New IIUG President
- Informix Successes By the Dozen
- Getting Started With IBM Informix J/Foundation on Linux by Sean Durity
- New SIG Web Forum Takes Shape
- Blue Bird 3-Part Webcast Series Begins On 9 October
- Nugget Finder Award: “Everything onstat doc”
- 4GL Survey Results On-Line In Member Area
- Washington Area Informix Users Group – Forum 2002
- Sign Up for InformixToday
- Useful Links
- Closing and Credits
See What’s New at www.IIUG.org
If you haven’t visited the IIUG home page lately, there are many new items featured. Conference Program Directors Neil Truby and Nancy Balsbaugh have posted an interesting recap of the Anaheim conference at: /calendar/anaheim.html.
A new software download is available from the IIUG member area. By popular demand, IIUG and IBM are pleased to offer IBM Informix Client SDK v2.6 Bundle (including JDBC) as the latest addition to the IIUG Members Only Download Site. Client SDK is a collection of APIs that offers flexibility, performance and functionality by leveraging industry standards such as SQL, JDBC, ODBC and OLE DB. The platforms available for download include AIX, Windows, Solaris, HP-UX and Linux. If you are looking for the latest version of Client SDK (v2.8), customers can check out http://www.informix.com/evaluate. You can find the 2002 Informix User Conference presentations, newly available within the IIUG member area.
Walt Hultgren reported that the last few weeks have seen a veritable bounty of software arrive at the IIUG Software Repository. Dietmar Bos, Walt Hultgren, Tony Kaser, Jonathan Leffler and Rajib Sarkar have sent new submissions or updates. In addition, Eric Herber, Madison Pruet and Tim Schaefer each submitted collections of multiple tools and utilities, the latter being particularly comprehensive. For details, visit: /software/repository_news.html.
Profiling the New IIUG President
In an effort to bring the IIUG Board closer to the IIUG membership, IIUG will begin to profile a Director every month. We are kicking this off with an article on Jerry Hamilton, brand-new IIUG President. Highlights:
“I currently hold the position of Senior Manager of Database Administration for Fleishman-Hillard, Inc. at their world headquarters in St. Louis, Missouri. If I were to strip away the title and define what I do, it would be a plain old DBA. ”
“I was first exposed to Informix back in 1991 while working for a software company based in Cincinnati, Ohio. At that time, I was supporting A.I. applications running on SUPRA databases. My first real Informix job came in 1992 as a 4GL coder. ”
“I’m currently the IIUG President for the 2002-2003 term. Last year I worked on the IIUG Board on the communications sub-committee spending most of my time working with the E-Pub team. ”
“My biggest goals for the IIUG this year are: To continuing strengthening local user groups, to deliver timely, accurate and useful information, and to eliminate any misinformation about Informix for the DBA as well as for the top management decision makers. ”
“I remember my first real day being a DBA I was looking around on a few HP machines seeing what was running. I had run a few ‘ps .ef’ commands and noticed a whole bunch of idle ‘oninit’ processes. Being the sharp and alert DBA, I figured it was time to ‘kill .9’ these idle ‘oninit’ threads.”
For the complete story, please visit www.IIUG.org.
Informix Successes By the Dozen
Here’s another site that is chock full of good news about IBM products, including a DOZEN Informix success stories! These tales spread the word that Informix is alive and well . and serving up technology solutions to the community.
The IBM success stories search site is located at:
http://www.ibm.com/software/success/cssdb.nsf/advancedsearchFM?OpenForm&Site=dmmain
After you reach this site, note the “Select a Software Product” pull down menu in the “Limit Search to” area. Select Informix from the list and you’ll find 12 (and maybe more by now) Informix success stories for your reading pleasure.
Getting Started With IBM Informix J/Foundation on Linux by Sean Durity
Thinking of Informix on Linux? This article offers step-by-step directions for configuring IBM Informix Dynamic Server J/Foundation for a 9.3x server on the Linux platform. By the end of the article, you will be able to execute the J/Foundation examples that ship with the server.
This and many other useful resources are available at the IBM Informix Developer Zone. Sean’s article is just one feature of this highly informative site located at:
http://www7b.software.ibm.com/dmdd/zones/informix
There is much to explore here. Happy hunting!
New SIG Web Forum Takes Shape
Response to our new Web Forum pilot program for the Linux-Informix SIG has been most enthusiastic, with about 80 messages posted during its first couple weeks of testing. Thanks to user feedback . and stalwart responses by web guru Pete Perez and moderator Sean Durity . we’ve improved the usability of the forum. Refinements have included message-threading capability and upgraded search functionality.
By keeping SIG messages in a searchable archive, this forum is showing great promise as a significant added value for IIUG members. The new Web Forum program should roll out to all other IIUG-hosted discussion lists in the next month or so, except for the IIUG CDI gateway, “Informix-List”.
Blue Bird 3-Part Webcast Series Begins On 9 October
You already know and love Informix products. Join us for an informative three-part webcast series, sponsored by the IIUG, introducing three IBM software products that work with your existing Informix infrastructure.
The webcasts will deliver “rubber meets the road” details on integrating these products with your IBM Informix installation, while exploring the added value they bring to your organization. Attendees will also learn about special product offers from IBM, available for a limited time only.
Webcasts will feature WebSphere on 16 October, Tivoli Software on 24 October, and Lotus Software on a date to be determined. Times and details can be found on our webcast corner, featured on the IIUG website at:
/resources/webcasts/webcast_bluebirds.html
You can also replay IIUG’s two most recent and highly popular webcasts. Available now are “Informix Future Visions: A Follow-up on the Informix User Conference and Latest Product Information”, which aired on 18 September and “Getting the Best Performance from the IBM Informix API Products”, which aired on 26 September. Visiting our webcast corner for details on the replays at:
/news/webcasts.html
Nugget Finder Award: “Everything onstat doc”
Our nugget finder award this issue goes to Stuart Litel, who passed on a treasure trove of Informix wisdom from a true master of the art, Mark Scranton. To quote Stuart, “It has the BEST document on his site regarding onstat I have ever seen.” What’s really neat is that Mark (what a guy) has allowed us to share this valuable information, titled “Everything onstat doc”, with all IIUG members. Find it at:
http://www.markscranton.com/informix/informix.htm
Interested in our tongue-in-cheek nugget finder award? Email us your best find at Enews@IIUG.org.
4GL Survey Results On-Line In Member Area
Survey Program Director Hal Manor reported that the results of the 4GL survey conducted during the August 2002 Webcast have been published in the IIUG member area. To see the survey results document, login to the member area at /members. Once you have logged in, under your membership information, you will see the following message and link:
“This past August 2002 the IIUG and IBM sponsored a 4GL Web Cast on the FUTURE OF 4GL. Many IIUG members have asked for a copy of the results of a survey that was done during the Webcast. Click Here for the results of that survey.”
Click on “Here” to view the survey results. Note that this Insider newsletter has a quick member link near the end, which facilitates quick access to the member area.
Washington Area Informix Users Group – Forum 2002
Don’t miss this two-day User Group Technical Conference Friday and Saturday, 8-9 November, 2002.
The Washington (DC) Area Informix Users Group (WAIUG) invites you to attend this year’s major event for IBM-Informix users on the east coast. Forum 2002 is a two-day conference hosted by the Washington, Boston, Carolinas, New York, Philadelphia and Atlanta Informix Users Groups. This is their fifth user group technical forum.
The group boasts that the east coast of the US contains the largest concentration of Informix users in the world. Come and see why they also consider themselves the world’s most active user groups as well!
The Forum 2002 agenda will include:
- Keynote Presentations by key IBM Informix and IIUG Executives
- Technical Sessions – 12 one-hour Technical Sessions on Friday
- Tutorials – 6 half-day Tutorials on Saturday
- Exhibitors showing products for Informix users
- Forum CD – software from the IIUG archives and presentations
Pre-Registration: $100 – must be received by 1 November, 2002
Onsite Registration: $120 – (after 1 November, 2002)
For more information and registration, visit the WAIUG web site at:
/waiug
Sign Up for InformixToday
If you haven’t signed up for InformixToday, you are missing monthly issues which are jam-packed with useful content. Following is a brief summary of the latest issue (Volume V):
INFORMIX DEVELOPER ZONE ARTICLES
- Informix Developer Zone: Getting Started with IBM Informix J/Foundation on Linux
- Informix Developer Zone: Optimizing Large Database Imports
- Informix Developer Zone: An Introduction to Data Fragmentation
- IBM Informix Online Documentation site
- The www.informix.com page has moved to its new home
The issue, which arrived last week, also included IIUG NEWS, special offers from IBM Data Management and articles on Web Partners, IDS, XPS and U2. News items on IBM Informix classes and helpful links to other web resources were featured as well.
InformixToday was initiated in response to IIUG advocacy and your direct feedback. Archives of the previous month’s issues are available for this monthly newsletter solely dedicated to IBM Informix products and services. Registration (and a link to archived issues) is free at: http://www.ibm.com/software/data/informix/informixtoday/.
Useful Links *** Newly Update by Popular Demand ***
| IIUG Software Repository: | /software/ |
| Informix Answers Online: | http://www.ibm.com/software/data/informix/pubs/library/ |
| IBM Informix Homepage: | http://www.ibm.com/software/data/informix/ |
| Informix Product Family News: | http://www.ibm.com/software/data/informix/news/ |
| Informix Today – Subscription & Archive: | http://www.ibm.com/software/data/informix/informixtoday/ |
| IBM Informix Support Site: | http://www.ibm.com/software/data/informix/support |
| Informix Developer Zone: | http://www7b.software.ibm.com/dmdd/zones/informix/ |
| Data Management Certification Program: | http://www.ibm.com/software/data/db2/skills/cert.html |
| Informix Page Within IBM PartnerWorld for Developers: | http://www.developer.ibm.com/data/informindex.php |
| Recent Data Management Product Announcements: | http://www.ibm.com/software/data/launch/ |
| Upcoming IBM Conferences Worldwide: | http://www.ibm.com/services/learning/conf/ |
| Bad Press on Nasty Informix Competitors: | http://www-3.ibm.com/software/data/news/competitors.html |
Closing and Credits
The International Informix Users Group (IIUG) is an organization designed to enhance communications between IBM and its worldwide user community. IIUG now exceeds 15,000 members and enjoys the support and commitment of IBM’s Data Management division. Key programs include local user groups and special interest groups, which we promote and assist from launch through growth.
| Sources: | IIUG Board of Directors |
| Editors: | David Smith, IIUG Board of Directors Fred Hubbard, IIUG Managing Director Paul Etcheverry, IIUG Editor |
| For comments, please send an email to ug@iiug.org. | |
