General Question

Thu, 24 Jul 2003 10:12:03 -0400

This message is in MIME format. Since your mail reader does not understand
this format, some or all of this message may not be legible.

------_=_NextPart_001_01C351ED.8E916C60
Content-Type: text/plain;
	charset="iso-8859-1"

See below

-----Original Message-----
From: Edis, Robert [mailto:Robert.Edis@blistex.com]
Sent: Wednesday, July 23, 2003 7:03 PM
To: Powerh-L (E-mail)
Subject: RE: General Question

[BE>] G'day Marvin 

> I'm new on the email list and was wondering if someone could answer a few
question for me. 
[BE>] Welcome! :) 

> 1.  Would a person that is very proficient with Cognos Powerhouse 4GL have
any issues whether it was running on MPE/IX e3000 or Open VMS operating
systems either on a DEC or Compaq Alpha server DS20E?  
[BE>] In most cases YES.  There are a few syntax items that will work on
OpenVMS but not on other O/S's.  E.g. mailbox files 
[Hamilton, Allison] There are also a few things that are only on MPE/iX such
as message files (similar to mailbox files in function) and IMAGE but a good
programmer should be able to sort these things out fairly easily.  You can
write PowerHouse code without using platform dependent code if desired.

> 2.  Is the Cognos program designed differently based on different O/S?  
[BE>] AFAIK yes.  Cognos tried to optimise the use of the good features of
each O/S.  However since version 8.2n Cognos has moved towards a common
source for PowerHouse on all O/S's it's available on.
[Hamilton, Allison] I think that your question is more about whether the
code that you would write would be designed differently on different O/S's
and I'd say in general no.  There are a few issues with the order of PUT's
that IMAGE requires that is different, but PowerHouse itself deals with that
if you are using default code generation for update procedures. Excluding
the few machine specific features on each platform, the general PowerHouse
code is platform independent.

> 3.  If the program has already been written in Cognos Powerhouse on a DEC
with OpenVMS O/S, and someone new came in to modify and customize it, would
it be very difficult for that person to determine what the program was doing
and how?
[BE>] If they were proficient in PowerHouse, NO.  *But*, how much DCL is
involved?  What about use of mailboxes?  The PHD tools on OpenVMS is unique
and would be unfamiliar to PHers with non-VMS experience.  On non-VMS
platforms the dictionary is compiled from PDL source to a PDC file.  On
OpenVMS the dictionary is a small database maintained through a set of Quick
screens. 
[Hamilton, Allison] It would be no different trying to figure out what it is
doing if it was written on OpenVMS than on MPE/iX.  Assuming that you
understand the few machine specific things that can be in the code and know
how to use the tools to edit and compile, the basic PowerHouse code should
be no more difficult to follow on one machine than any other.  On any
platform, you need to have a basic understanding of the scripting language,
but from my experience I find DCL slightly more straightforward than HP's
language, but neither is very complicated. PDL is also available on OpenVMS,
so someone coming in can use it or the PHD interactive tools. Actually,
someone coming in from an MPE/iX environment may have been using Archictect,
and would probably find PHD easy to learn and use as it is also a QUICK
dictionary maintenance tool.  On 8.30 and above on OpenVMS both the PDC and
PHD format dictionaries and tools are available so one can choose whichever
one is most comfortable with.

> We're possibly looking for someone to do custom alteration to an existing
program that is already in use.  Basically modifying it to meet our needs.
[BE>] How old is the program?  What version of PH?  How complex is the
program?  What is/are the data source/s used? 

Blue

Join us at Cognos' biggest event of the year Enterprise 2003, The Cognos
Business Forum.  Taking place in over 25 cities around the world, it's an
opportunity for Business and IT leaders to learn about strategies for
driving performance. Visit http://www.cognos.com/enterprise03 for more
details. 

This message may contain privileged and/or confidential information.  If you
have received this e-mail in error or are not the intended recipient, you
may not use, copy, disseminate or distribute it; do not open any
attachments, delete it immediately from your system and notify the sender
promptly by e-mail that you have done so.  Thank you.

------_=_NextPart_001_01C351ED.8E916C60
Content-Type: text/html;
	charset="iso-8859-1"

<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD>
<META HTTP-EQUIV="Content-Type" CONTENT="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1">
<TITLE>General Question</TITLE>

<META content="MSHTML 5.50.4807.2300" name=GENERATOR></HEAD>
<BODY>
<DIV>See 
below</DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
 <DIV class=OutlookMessageHeader dir=ltr align=left>-----Original Message----- From: Edis, Robert 
 [mailto:Robert.Edis@blistex.com] Sent: Wednesday, July 23, 2003 7:03 
 PM To: Powerh-L (E-mail) Subject: RE: General 
 Question </DIV>
 <DIV>[BE&gt;]&nbsp;G'day Marvin&nbsp; &gt;&nbsp;I'm new on the email list and was 
 wondering if someone could answer a few question for me. 
 [BE&gt;]&nbsp;Welcome! :)&nbsp;</DIV>
 <DIV> &gt;&nbsp;1.&nbsp; Would a person that is very 
 proficient with Cognos Powerhouse 4GL have&nbsp; any issues whether it was 
 running on MPE/IX e3000 or Open VMS operating systems either on a DEC or 
 Compaq Alpha server DS20E?&nbsp; [BE&gt;]&nbsp;In most cases YES.&nbsp; There are a few syntax 
 items&nbsp;that will work on OpenVMS but not on other O/S's.&nbsp; E.g. 
 mailbox files&nbsp; [Hamilton, Allison]&nbsp;There are also a few things that are 
 only on MPE/iX such as message files (similar to mailbox files in 
 function)&nbsp;and IMAGE&nbsp;but a good programmer should be able 
 to&nbsp;sort these things out fairly easily.&nbsp; You can write PowerHouse 
 code without using platform dependent code if 
 desired.</DIV>
 <DIV> &gt;&nbsp;2.&nbsp; Is the Cognos program designed 
 differently based on different O/S?&nbsp; [BE&gt;]&nbsp;AFAIK yes.&nbsp; Cognos tried to optimise the use of 
 the good features of each O/S.&nbsp; However since version 8.2n Cognos has 
 moved towards a common source for PowerHouse on&nbsp;all O/S's it's available 
 on. [Hamilton, 
 Allison]&nbsp;I&nbsp;think that your question is more about whether the code 
 that&nbsp;you would write would be designed&nbsp;differently on 
 different&nbsp;O/S's and I'd say in general no.&nbsp; There are a few issues 
 with the order&nbsp;of PUT's that IMAGE requires&nbsp;that&nbsp;is different, 
 but&nbsp;PowerHouse itself deals with that if you are using&nbsp;default code 
 generation for update procedures.&nbsp;Excluding 
 the few machine specific features on each platform, the general PowerHouse 
 code is platform independent.</DIV>
 <DIV> &gt;&nbsp;3.&nbsp; If the program has already been 
 written in Cognos Powerhouse on a DEC with OpenVMS O/S, and someone new came 
 in to modify and customize it, would it be very difficult for that person to 
 determine what the program was doing and how? [BE&gt;]&nbsp;If they were proficient in PowerHouse, NO.&nbsp; 
 *But*, how much DCL is involved?&nbsp; What about use of mailboxes?&nbsp; The 
 PHD tools on OpenVMS is unique and would be unfamiliar to PHers with non-VMS 
 experience.&nbsp; On non-VMS platforms the dictionary is compiled from PDL 
 source to a PDC file.&nbsp; On OpenVMS the dictionary is a&nbsp;small database 
 maintained through a set of Quick screens.&nbsp; [Hamilton, Allison]&nbsp;It would 
 be no different trying to figure out what it is doing if it was written on 
 OpenVMS than&nbsp;on MPE/iX.&nbsp; Assuming that you understand the few 
 machine specific things that can be in the&nbsp;code and know how to use the 
 tools to edit and compile, the&nbsp;basic PowerHouse code should be&nbsp;no 
 more difficult to follow on one machine than&nbsp;any other.&nbsp;&nbsp;On any 
 platform, you need to have a basic understanding of the&nbsp;scripting 
 language, but from my experience I find DCL slightly more straightforward 
 than&nbsp;HP's language, but neither is very complicated.&nbsp;PDL is also available on OpenVMS, so someone coming in can use 
 it or the PHD interactive tools. Actually, someone coming in from an MPE/iX 
 environment may have been using Archictect, and would probably find PHD easy 
 to learn and use as it is also a QUICK dictionary maintenance tool.&nbsp; On 
 8.30 and above on OpenVMS both the PDC and PHD format dictionaries and tools 
 are available so one can choose whichever one is most comfortable 
 with.</DIV>
 <DIV> &gt;&nbsp;We're 
 possibly looking for someone to do custom alteration to an existing program 
 that is already in use.&nbsp; Basically modifying it to meet our 
 needs. [BE&gt;]&nbsp;How 
 old is the program?&nbsp; What version of PH?&nbsp; How complex is the 
 program?&nbsp; What is/are the data source/s 
 used?&nbsp;</DIV>
 <DIV>&nbsp;</DIV>
 <DIV>Blue</DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>

Join us at Cognos' biggest event of the year Enterprise 2003, The Cognos Business Forum. Taking place in over 25 cities around the world, it's an opportunity for Business and IT leaders to learn about strategies for driving performance. Visit http://www.cognos.com/enterprise03 for more details.

This message may contain privileged and/or confidential information. If you have received this e-mail in error or are not the intended recipient, you may not use, copy, disseminate or distribute it; do not open any attachments, delete it immediately from your system and notify the sender promptly by e-mail that you have done so. Thank you.

------_=_NextPart_001_01C351ED.8E916C60--