IMAGE experts examine database’s future

SIG3000 meeting includes discussion of new features, proposals

The graying of IMAGE expertise and its impact on the future of the core e3000 database were among items discussed at the most recent meeting of the Special Interest Group for IMAGE. While the group changed its name to reflect SQL’s influence, some at the SIG3000 meeting expect more will have to be done to rejuvenate the prospects of expanding the use of IMAGE.

SQL interfaces to the database were added more than a decade ago, but the influence of Allbase/SQL on the IMAGE community hasn’t been embraced by programmers. Dave Wiseman, CEO of HP 3000 software firm Millware, said at the meeting that pigeonholing Allbase/SQL as a black box might well cost the 3000 its future with younger programmers.

“My son is at college, and the only thing he learns is tables and columns,” Wiseman said. “If we don’t embrace a more open way of looking at databases, there won’t be people coming into the 3000 world at all.”

SIGIMAGE chair Ken Sletten, re-elected as chair with Michael Berkowitz named as vice-chair, called Wiseman’s comments “completely valid, and I completely share his concerns. Look at the average age here, and all the graybeards.”

The SIG, which renamed itself as SIG IMAGE/SQL, was among many 3000 groups aiming for 30 percent participation at the California meetings by 3000 professionals under age 30. Wiseman said “we’re trying to get 50 percent under 50, let along 30 percent under 30.”

The nuances of the database, key to the 3000’s success, aren’t being taught to younger programmers or customers. Thomas Gross, a programmer from Avid, said that lack of emphasis on IMAGE versus Oracle or other SQL databases could be a roadblock for the system.

“If I wasn’t taught this database, you’ve just lost my company as a customer,” he said. “Spending a few grand to train somebody on IMAGE isn’t too much of an investment to make.”

Paul Edwards of Paul Edwards and Associates reported that at least one HP TurboIMAGE training class was cancelled last year because of low enrollment. “HP doesn’t do any marketing to sell any of their classes, although we’re working to change that. In three to five years, our expertise isn’t going to be there. We’ll have people coming in who don’t understand how to design TurboIMAGE databases or use them correctly. If we don’t have that information available, the database is going to have to be made very bulletproof and automatic.” Edwards suggested that users who are not designing databases for solution packages can still use the database efficiently.

“That knowledge is slipping away,” Edwards said.

Wiseman said he’s not programming anymore, and as a CEO, “how am I going to get support for my applications in five years? If we don’t embrace relational databases now and move into that world, the applications won’t be forthcoming, and our companies will have very little option. We have to look at how we can become inclusive of Allbase.”

The meeting began with a moment of thanks to the grayest of beards among the IMAGE experts, retiring creator Fred White of Adager. Along with Jon Bale, White fathered the database at HP when the 3000 was first designed. The SIG presented a plaque honoring his accomplishments, calling him “The father without equal whose IMAGE has no sequel. Thank you for giving the HP 3000 its outstanding IMAGE! A world-class Database Management System.”

The SIG outlined increases in the database’s limits as of the 6.5 Express 2 MPE release — the number of datasets to 240, number of paths from a Master to 64, datasets greater than 80Gb and number of items to 1,200. But Rick Gilligan of banking application supplier CASE predicted “in about three years some large e3000 customers will need more than 1,200 items.”

HP’s briefing at the meeting identified many improvements to IMAGE/SQL in process in the HP labs: a project to use MPE’s Large Files for datasets larger than 4Gb, rather than JUMBO datasets; scaling TurboIMAGE further by dividing the PUT/DELETE semaphore down to block level; allowing DBUNLOAD and DBLOAD to and from both tape and disk files; an option to add session or job name tags in IMAGE log files; adding a QUERY VERBOSE option to give a progress report for FIND, SUBSET, and MULTIFIND, without a need for a control-Y.

On the SQL side, ODBCLink/SE will be thread-safe in its F.00.00 version, which allows multiple connections under NT for access via Web servers; HP is increasing the pages for runtime control block to 6,000, and increasing the concurrent transactions limit from 250 to 750.

Sletten made another request for HP to bundle the ninth module of Allbase/SQL with IMAGE/SQL, to give customers the ability to put more than 12Mb of user data in the database environments. Eight of the nine Allbase/SQL modules are now included, but customers with more than 12Mb of user data in DBEs must purchase Allbase/SQL.