Conference ilbbak::ibi_focus

518.0. "SQL access to FOCUS and DEC/IBI annoucements" by JOCKEY::NUTKINSM (Martin Nutkins) Mon Jun 08 1992 09:50

    I am investigating for my customer the possibility of accessing a FOCUS
    Database, FOCUS format not RDB, using a DEC produced enquiry product
    DECquery or TEAMdata.
    
    From discussions I have had with IBI in the UK and note 487 in this
    conference, it would appear that IBI's Enterprise Data Access  (EDA)
    has a 3GL API which would allow a program to be written to perform such
    an enquiry, but it does not have a SQL query pass-through capability.
    
    Apparently, any DEC product that wishes to access the FOCUS database
    would have to be EDA compliant, which I believe neither DECquery or 
    TEAMdata are.
    
    Is my understanding correct ?
    
    My customer, a large Rdb user, has a single FOCUS database.  The will
    be converting this database to FOCUS Rdb format within the next couple
    of years.  The are very keen on DECquery and would ideally like to make
    this the standard database query product.  They have an urgent need for 
    a query product for the FOCUS database and are looking at some software 
    produced by Tangent.  The IT manager would like to keep to a single
    company-wide query product, DECquery, for the obvious benefits of
    support etc, but at the moment I am having to say that DEC products
    cannot access the FOCUS database.
    
    The salesman I was speaking to at IBI, said that DEC and IBI would be
    making some major announcements within the next couple of weeks.
    Can anybody update me on these announcments and whether they will
    provide a solution to my customers requirements.  The customer needs to
    have a solution implemented an d live by September, so any dates would
    also be of interest.
    
    Thanks
    
    Martin
    

	You're correct thinking that IBI's Enterprise Data Access (EDA)
	would be the answer to your problem, or at least one of the
	required component. EDA is essentially an API for Remote
	Database Access whose query language is SQL.

	What do you mean exactly by "it does not have a SQL query
	pass-through capability." ? (The query language is SQL)

	Is what you are you looking for an Interactive SQL based Query
	Tool (like DecQuery) that would use EDA as the underlying Database
	Access mechanism (therefore allowing to access Focus Database
	as well as any other Databases that EDA can access) ?