The INFORMIX-SQL relational database management system is available on UNIX and DOS environments. According to the author, the book is designed to be a readable reference book that includes tips and caveats he learned from experience with the product, which it is. It is meant to include all pertinent information about INFORMIX-SQL version 2.10.03, plus additional features from version 4.0. The book can be used as a teaching manual for formal training courses, by itself as a self-teaching book, or as a reference manual for the more experienced user.
The book consists of 10 concise chapters and three appendices. Chapter 1 introduces the reader to the product and the five modules that compose it: (1) the PERFORM module, which is a screen form design and transaction processing module; (2) the ACE module, which is a powerful report writer; (3) the SQL Editor, which is a menu-driven interface to SQL; (4) the User-menu, which allows the creation and execution of a user-defined menu system; and (5) the Schema Editor, which allows the database administrator to create, verify, and alter database table schemas without using SQL. The chapter contains technical instructions on how to install the software and start using it.
Chapter 2 contains a readable treatment of data models with an emphasis on relational and ER models as well as a good introduction to normalization principles. Chapter 3 contains instructions and guidelines on how to create a database using the DBMS, a description and explanation of data types, and a good treatment of the all-important topic of index creation in relational databases. Chapter 4 is a good introduction to the elementary and basic capabilities as well as the usage of SQL.
Chapter 5 is a thorough treatment of advanced SQL capabilities and syntax. It describes how to impose referential integrity through the use of views. No mention is made, however, of reference clauses and triggers that are available on other SQL-based RDBMSs. This capability should be forthcoming in this RDBMS.
Chapters 6 and 7 cover the form design module PERFORM as it can be used by both the end user and the application developer. They instruct the reader, in good detail, on how to create and customize forms. These forms can then be used for data entry and retrieval. Chapter 8 describes in detail the use of the ACE report generator to produce useful reports, which can be complex when necessary.
Chapter 9 presents the User-menu option on the main INFORMIX-SQL menu. The User-menu option enables users to create and run their own customized menu systems. It allows users to build menu-driven applications that can call other submenus and execute programs or invoke other modules of INFORMIX-SQL. In two pages, chapter 10 gives the big picture of INFORMIX-SQL by describing a general approach to putting together the five modules of this RDBMS to build application systems.
Appendix 1 describes the database application that is used as a running example throughout the book. Appendix 2 gives the solutions to the exercises at the end of the chapters. Appendix 3 describes the rich variety of database, application development, decision support, and connectivity products available from INFORMIX.
The book achieves its stated purpose of thoroughly describing INFORMIX-SQL. It is loaded with specific examples and technical instructions on how the system should be used. The examples are clear and detailed enough to give the reader a good understanding of the material. The exercises are challenging enough to help the new user learn and understand the material better. The length of the book is reasonable and the text is readable in terms of both the print size and the writing.
This book can be a significant addition to the material a user of INFORMIX-SQL should have available. It is shorter than the technical manuals one usually gets from software vendors, but thorough enough to be used as reference material.
