IDS versus Oracle/DB2 - A not too serious Analogy-:)

This is my first entry in my new blog on The Informix Zone. I will add some more from time to time beside the normal Informix Zone postings. Not all my blog entries are to be taken too seriously -:) Thank you and have fun.

My favorite sport is Mountainbiking. However Mountainbiking is not Mountainbiking. There are several different specificities of the same sport. Some of us like to climb the steepest hills as fast and efficient as possible, while others prefer to carry out their mountainbike to a bikepark to practice jumps and other daring feats. I personally prefer the former specificity.

There are even more specifities of our sport, but let's concentrate on the two mentioned above. As you might imagine the bike industry welcomes those diversity. Some vendors like the famous Specialized Brand offer highly optimized bikes for each specificity.

If you want to be as fast and efficient as possible, a so called Racefully or a Hardtail should be the perfect choice:

Racefully:

If you prefer to practice jumps and take the hills by lift, a so called Freerider is likely to be the right equipment for you:

Freerider:

However imagine what happens if you take your Freerider out of the fully equipped bikepark (lifts, simulated trails ...) and try to ascend a mountain or hill with it. About 44 pounds is the weight of a typical Freerider and this needs a lot of beefiness and staying power to move it forward. In addition the saddle/handle bar position (you sit nearly upright) doesn't support you in your efforts. If the hill is getting too steep, you front wheel will take off and you have to shove your bike (-:. Even if you have mastered the hill and you are looking forward to the fantastic small and twisty trail, you will be disappointed. A Freerider is not very agil and again needs a lot of effort und competence to direct it thru a small and twisty trail.

In contrast a Racefully has about half the weight (22 pounds). It is easy to move forward without much beefiness. The saddle/handle bar position is optimized and allows you to take the steepest mountains. A Racefully is extremly agile and efficient. It can be used in many different terrains and it doesn't need a bikepark to have fun with it. There is even a new technology evolving (carbon frames) which will significantly reduce the weight further. I'm not sure but think I've heard that one vendor of those evolving carbon frames uses the term Cheetah to describe this highly efficient new technology -:)

As you can see from the above example it is essential to think about the intended use of a thing before you make an import buying decision.

I leave it to you to translate the analogy to IBM's data server offerings (Informix Dynamic Server and DB2 LUW) or Oracle.