Newsgroups: comp.lang.smalltalk
Path: cantaloupe.srv.cs.cmu.edu!das-news2.harvard.edu!news2.near.net!howland.reston.ans.net!ix.netcom.com!netcom.com!carlm
From: carlm@netcom.com (Carl Margolis)
Subject: smalltalk performance in data intensive application
Message-ID: <carlmD0485s.4n6@netcom.com>
Organization: NETCOM On-line Communication Services (408 261-4700 guest)
Date: Thu, 1 Dec 1994 04:51:28 GMT
Lines: 26

My situation is this:
        I have been charged by my corporate taskmasters with building a 
Query/EIS/DSS/etc. tool in no time for no money for sale to their current 
client list which includes Disney's, Macy's, Sears, and other large retailers. 
Their current transactional systems are all mainframe based. I have been 
programming in ASM/C/C++ for 14 years. I have a team of 3-4 programmers with 
1-4 years experience. I'm strongly considering going to smalltalk for this 
project but I'm worried about smalltalk's performance in applications which 
require intensive data manipulation of very large data sets. In particular, 
the kind of multi-dimensional data cube manipulation ("slicing & dicing",etc) 
have got me worried. I find it hard to believe that a link-list or b-tree 
collection will provide near the performance I can get out of C/C++. I know I 
can build a hybrid system but this is not nearly as re-usuable or maintainable.
        I'm also concerned about the SQL - OO mapping problem. There are now a 
number of solutions just available but I don't know much about the smalltalk 
products in this area. I don't mean just putting SQL behind a control but a 
real engine which will build high quality SQL on the fly as the user 
manipulates the product.
        Currently we're assuming a Windows 3.1 client talking to a variety of 
Unix back-end. Any advice people have about the various commercial smalltalks 
would be greatly appreciated. We're currently interested in Digi-talk, IBM, 
Enfin from Easel, and H.P.'s version of ParcPlace. 
        Thanks for any help you can give...
        Carl Margolis
        Uniquest, Richmond, Ca.
        carlm@netcom.com
