Re: SQL pre-processor (was RPG IV release levels and complexity)

[Hans Boldt <boldt@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Rich Duzenbury wrote:

> So why not get rid of this 'embedded' idea?  So far as I know, it's the 
> only architecture that tries to compile the SQL statements in to the 
> program.
>
> I'm sure python can access an SQL database without having to use an SQL 
> preprocessor.  Java doesn't use this preprocessor idea does it?  I use 
> perl quite a bit on intel platforms, and it's no trouble to get access:
>
> my $dbh = connect();
>
> # Get last name, first name from the table
> my $sth = $dbh->prepare( "SELECT ulnam, ufnam FROM person") ;
>
> $sth->execute;
>
> while ($row = $sth->fetchrow_hashref) {
>     # do stuff with each row
>     print $row->{ulnam}, "\n";
>     print $row->{ufnam}, "\n";
> }
>
> Frankly, I've been turned off from even trying to write SQL code on the 
> iSeries because of all of this problematic stuff I keep hearing about 
> the SQL preprocessor.  And, few of my clients have the extra SQL 
> licensed program.
>
> I would really like to have SQL access from RPG that's as much of a 
> no-brainer as the perl code above.

I think the main issue is performance. I believe the process of 
precompiling the SQL results in a more efficient means of performing the 
SQL queries, which is often an important consideration for programmers 
who choose static compiled languages, like C, RPG, and COBOL.

But yeah, I agree - for flexibility, you can't beat an interpreted 
language, like Python or Perl. I like how you can easily construct a 
query dynamically in Python, and get the results back in a list along 
with another list that describes the columns returned. Of course the 
cost of that flexibility is run-time performance. But personally I think 
the dynamic nature of SQL makes it a natural match for dynamic languages 
like Perl or Python.

Sure, if you want, you can do SQL programming in RPG without having to 
use the preprocessor, using the SQL CLI. But I'm not sure if anyone has 
given up on the SQL prep in favor of using the CLI.

Cheers! Hans