From: arne@vajhoej.dk   
      
   On 7/7/2025 6:07 PM, Lawrence D'Oliveiro wrote:   
   > On Mon, 7 Jul 2025 14:07:31 -0400, Arne Vajhøj wrote:   
   >> Embedded SQL is a thing or was a thing 30-40-50 years ago.   
   >>   
   >> Basically you write source code with SQL statements prefixed by EXEC   
   >> SQL, put it through a pre-compiler to get valid code in whatever   
   >> language (Cobol, PL/I, C or whatever).   
   >   
   > OK, so it was a horrible nonstandard hack invented for programming   
   > languages like COBOL, which didn’t have the best ability to deal with   
   > dynamic strings, to make it easier for them to compose SQL statements.   
      
   Not really.   
      
   The code saved is usually not string manipulation code but   
   calls to associate SQL columns or parameters with host   
   variables.   
      
   > And the horribleness of it is reinforced by your statement that you need   
   > server-side cursors in the DBMS to make this hack a little less difficult   
   > to work with.   
      
   Embedded SQL (except for Java) expect sever side cursors. Just   
   a prerequisite.   
      
   > Not sure why it would be needed for PL/I, or even C.   
      
   The benefits really apply to those just as well as Cobol.   
      
   Just look at the C examples I posted.   
      
   > I’ve pointed out before, the irony of COBOL being designed strictly for   
   > “business” needs, yet within a couple of decades of its widespread   
   > adoption, SQL databases became an important “business” need, but the best   
   > way of interfacing to them (using dynamic string manipulation mechanisms)   
   > had been omitted from COBOL because it wasn’t seen as a “business”   
   need.   
      
   Cobol access relational databases fine. Probably because dynamic   
   string manipulation is rarely used for database access. It is a   
   code smell.   
      
   Arne   
      
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