Subject: Re: 4D vs Oracle From: "David Eddy" Date: Fri, 8 Jun 2001 20:51:25 -0400 Tom - > At 7:54 AM -0700 06/08/2001, Tom Dillon wrote: >My knowledge of Oracle is limited to what I read in the comics, but from >what I've gathered from clients who use both Oracle and 4D, Oracle would >be better likened to owning a helicopter than a Mercedes. It can fly >circles around a 4D "Ford", but it costs a heck of a lot more, requires a >full time mechanic and if you're not paying attention you can end up >walking into the rotor blade. > I won't quibble with the helicopter imagery. Plus I think I've heard it takes something like 10 hours of maintenance per flight hour for a helicopter...? One of the fundamental problems with software is understanding which tool is appropriate for which size problem. In the three-dimensional world, even a rank civilian can quickly grasp that a $5.00 garden trowel is not necessarily "cheaper" than a $500,000 Caterpillar bulldozer. Unfortunately in the world of software, it's far too easy for the spin doctors to easily state in alluring terms that the trowel is unquestionably cheaper than the bulldozer... having conveniently left out the minor detail that the task is to move a mountain, not plant petunias. And herein lies the dilemma software professionals face... how do you get the client to accurately, honestly & realistically describe the nature/size of the problem they want to solve to support their business. One of the best things I've seen recently is John Zoltai's Dbtemplates tools ( http://www.dbtemplates.com )... at very affordable prices they force the analyst/builder/programmer/project manager to walk thru the process of sizing small to medium software projects. From the ultra professional end of things, but at realistic prices, John is putting to work the principles of Function Points and software engineering... brought down to common man prices from the stratosphere of Pentagon practices. - David