Hi
I have been trying to look for Progress comparisons lately.How does progress 9.1D using the GUI compare to MSSQL2005 and Oracle with .NET front ends and Open edge 10. I am not interested in knowing that it is niche and the amount of jobs in it but technically. But issues of compatibility and strengths of databases and languages.
Any rough license cost would help for a company of about 100 people with 3 developers.
I know you would have to know the environment etc but any rough help would be appreicated.
Sorry I didn't post this earlier, but I have been a bit inactive online as late. It is I'm afraid, very rough.
For a more in depth analysis of your Progress needs, you could proceed further by asking questions on the more active and experienced Peg lists (
www.peg.com), and speaking directly to Progress.
For competitive information, the situation is more difficult, as I'm sure you are aware - coming to any vendor specific forum is likely to get you partisan information. For a mix of views on SQL Server vs. Oracle try a general development/DBA list, eg. JoelOnSoftware. Just be aware Progress won't figure in the replies.
But see, eg.
http://www.progress.com/progress_software/about_us/analyst/docs/forrester_tei_casestudy_022806.pdf
You need to take it with a pinch of salt, as it is Progress sponsored (see disclosures at end).
Cost wise, I would imagine that an open source solution based around MySQL would be the cheapest option (excluding development costs), but I'm just guessing.
I'll assume you have considered the option of employing a preexisiting software solution, negating the need for in house developers.
Technically, OpenEdge 10 has moved further towards dropping the coupling of Progress client and Progress server, which RHI will be delighted about.
You can essentially develop your front ends in de facto industry standards .Net or Eclipse, and communicate via various options with your Progress backend, giving you a combination of the best front end tools and the best database language.
You can retain your native Progress front end tools as well, but 3rd party components are still limited to OCX - .Net component use is in the pipeline.
You can also of course have your Progress DB communicating with other backend resources via a more flexible range of options than before, but others will have to point you further.
If you want an SQL based solution, then for political reasons at least you should avoid Progress or any other minor player.
If you have in house Progress skills, it may well be cheaper in the medium term to create your App on that basis - but check out the web licensing on 10 if you may need to open access to the outside in the future (I'm not sure if this issue has been fixed yet).
There is always the dataserver option (4GL against Oracle/Sql database), but in your case you may just as well be using Progress.
Truth is for a small to medium environment like yours, particularly with in house Progress skills, 9.1 onwards + Appserver would suit your needs, Openedge would give you more flexibility in integrating with other services.
However if ABL/4GL is not an important factor in your decision, it is hard to argue against going with one of the big two or MySQL, as the entire world will understand you when you have a problem.