Although its standard Informix SE relational database engine has been available under MS-DOS since 1984, Informix Software Inc appears to have made little impact on the lower end of the market, concentrating instead on its core Unix business. Its 1987 acquisition of personal computer office software company Innovative Software – developers of the Smart package and the Wingz spreadsheet, did little to change the situation. Now Informix is pushing to get its share of the personal computer local area network market with the launch of its Desktop Strategy – a set of complementary integration products. New on the list is Informix On-Line for NetWare, implemented as a NetWare Loadable Module, and Informix SE for Windows. Existing products included within the strategy are the Informix SQL tool set, Wingz, Informix Net-PC, for running MS-DOS or Windows Informix applications as a client to a remote Unix or NetWare server, and Informix-ESQL/C, giving developers access to the Informix database from third party Windows applications or tools. Informix 4GL/GX, the graphical user interface version of Informix/4GL, will be available for Windows from next month. Next year, the company’s Informix-Storm graphical database front-end will also be included. Scripts from the Smart software suite have been used to help with installation. And a bunch of third party tool providers have agreed to integrate their own products. These include Channel/ESP’s Forest & Trees, Gupta’s Quest and SQL Windows, Hewlett-Packard’s New Wave Access, Jyacc’s JAM, Lotus’s 1-2-3 for Windows, Mateysys’ Objectview, Pioneer’s Q+E, Powersoft Inc’s Powerbuilder and Uniface Corp’s Uniface 4GL.
