DDJ Special Issue 1996 - DATABASE DEVELOPMENT


FEATURES

SQL Access Group's Call-Level Interface

by Roger Sippl

The chairman of the SQL Access Group looks at the current status of SQL's call-level interface and provides a glimpse of the SQL specification's future.

Performance Testing, ODBC, and Native SQL APIs

by Ken North

Network latency, application bottlenecks, and client libraries make it difficult to judge the performance of your SQL API. The benchmark software Ken presents here lets you test the SQL API while holding other variables constant.

Partitioning Applications in Smalltalk

by Jay Almarode

Distributed Smalltalk systems allow you to build application servers, the middle tier in the three-tier architecture, where business logic is executed. Jay presents guidelines for partitioning your next application.

A Client/Server DBMS for Managing Clinical Data

by Richard A. Gams

In developing a database to manage clinical-trial data, Richard discovered that a network/hierarchical model is more suitable than the relational model for large volumes of data of different types.

Programming with M

by Dan Shusman

M, a successor to MUMPS, is an ANSI-standard language designed for direct data access and greater control than SQL over issues such as performance. Dan combines M and SQL to extend Visual Basic applications.

COLUMNS

Ramblings in Real Time

by Michael Abrash

Michael lifts the hood on Quake, the successor to id Software's DOOM, detailing how Quake's developer uses visible surface determination and culling to quickly perform surface rendering.

DTACK Revisited

by Hal W. Hardenbergh

What do minitower cases, product loyalty, UNIX, RISC workstations, Cray supercomputers, and the Pentium Pro have in common? The answer may be contained in Gresham's Law.

20/20

by Al Williams

Al kicks off a new column by showing how you can wrap an existing Windows control within a Delphi component.

Patterns and Software Design

by Richard Helm and Erich Gamma

Richard and Erich explain how Courier Patterns are used to pass arbitrary requests and information using a fixed interface.

Software and the Law

by Marc E. Brown

Has your product infringed on someone's patent? Marc looks at both sides of the question and shows how you can determine whether your product contains someone else's invention.

Editorial

by Michael Floyd

Letters