Conference ilbbak::ibi_focus

541.0. "Performance problems in Focus-Oracle-Unix application" by GBI01::BENVENUTO () Tue Jan 26 1993 11:49

Hi all,

	I've just had a talk with a customer involved in problem with
Focus applications operating on an Oracle database.
The application is about a reservation system in port environment and run
on a Bull DPX 2 360 with Unix, Oracle 6.0 and Focus 5.5.
Focus is used for the whole application and not for reports only.

Customer complains about dramatically poor response time and suggests that
the problem can be the interactions between Focus and Oracle (maybe on Unix
Bull implementation of the two products).
He gave me some other data about the application and the database:

- the database is not very large (only two table are > 10000 rows)
- the database design seems not to be very bad (all table has a index on 
  the primary key and indexes on foreign key used in joins)
- several Focus queries use 16 tables (it seems to be the limit for Focus)
- it may be that Focus (or Oracle?) doesn't use indexes in solving complex
  queries (involving joins) choosing sequential access (!?) causing preformance
  problems
- an SQL-Forms (Oracle tool) application doesn't have performance problems
  (this made the customer to suppose that the problem is Focus or 
  Focus-Oracle interactions)

Here some questions...
- Is it possible that Focus and Oracle don't work well together ?(it seems that
  Focus and Rdb perform gracefully...)
- Is it possible that Focus force the sequential access to tables even if 
  there are indexes defined ?
- Are there any references of Focus - Oracle Unix application? (customer is
  considering the possibilty to move the application on DEC Unix system
  provided strong references of Focus and Oracle performing well)
- I'll meet the customer and get more info, since I'm totally novice in Focus,
  which are the most important topic about database interactions?
- Are there particolar 'performance issues' that must kept in mind designing
  a database application?

Thanks in advance for your help
Angelo