From: forbrich@yahoo.net   
      
   Comments inline:   
      
   vincent delft wrote:   
   >   
   > Hello,   
   >   
   > I must set-up an application with an Oracle Database running on Unix and a   
   > GUI running on Windows 2000/XP machines.   
      
   Good enough so far   
      
   > The size of the DB is about 5GB.   
      
   Not an issue, other than you will probably get lazy about doing proper   
   design and administration.  Five GB is a small corner of one disk these   
   days.   
      
   > The application will have about 1000 users and about 200 concurrent users   
   > connected via a WAN.   
      
   Now you are taking about an interesting, but not terribly significant,   
   load for a small server.   
      
   >   
   > My management propose the combination Oracle - ODBC - Visual Basic.   
   >   
      
   This sounds like the last time management woke up was somewhere in the   
   late 1990's   
      
   Who will pay for installing the software on 1000 desktops?  Who will   
   manage the software for 1000 desktops?  With a web deployment, there is   
   nothing to install at the client's machine.  Much, much less expensive   
   over 2-3 years!   
      
   ODBC has a tradition of being slower than direct connect and using only   
   common features - you are probably paying for database power that you   
   simply will not be able to use.   
      
   > Does this will be stable and reliable enough ?   
      
   From the network back through to, and including the database, yes.   
      
   I haven't had good luck with big VB projects in a networked environment,   
   but that's usually a function of the developers not knowing how to code   
   something more robust than prototype.   
      
   By default, each VB project [used to] install it's own core DLLs (and   
   many commercial products are VB), and there was nothing that guaranteed   
   the DLLs being installed were compatible with your project.  90% of all   
   my Windows instability issues can be traced to DLL 'upgrades'.   
      
   > Must I propose an another architectur ? (PowerBuilder ?, Java ?, ...)   
      
   Why not propose Oracle's web architecture?  Or just plain HTML?  Or   
   maybe Oracle's Portal?  Getting everything from one vendor means you can   
   usually solve bug issues instead of having the vendors fighting about   
   who is responsible.   
      
   > Does web based application can be cheaper (to build and maintain) than VB ?   
   >   
      
   In general, yes.  Especially when you include code that does proper   
   error checking and exception handling, and when you include the cost to   
   roll-out production initially and the cost to roll-out bug-fixes and   
   upgrades.   
      
   Using VB however, the initial prototype is very cheap.   
      
   > Thanks for your feedbacks.   
      
   --   
   /Hans   
   [mailto:`echo $from" | sed "s/yahoo/telusplanet/g"`]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)