Re: [dtp-dev] Connectivity Framework Usability Wiki

[rcernich@xxxxxxxxxx]

Hey all,

Just wanted to see if you had any opinions with respect to the following:

Currently, part of the reason we have so many driver definition types has
to do with the way we associate a dbdefinition with a connection profile.
Dbdefinitions are resolved using a <vendor_name>_<version_number> format.
Currently, the vendor name and version numbers are properties of the driver
definitions.

One possible option for simplifying the connection profile creation
mechanism would be to incorporate this information into the connection
profile itself, displaying the list of know vendors and versions as a list
in the new DB connection profile wizard.  The user would still need to
create a driver definition, but there would be a single type, "Generic JDBC
Driver."  This isn't foolproof as the user could specify a driver
definition that isn't applicable for the database specified, but I think it
would simplify the process.  Another option would be to allow the user to
specify the vendor and version information manually in the driver
definition.  Both of these options would simplify the UI, but I'm not sure
if they would make the product more usable.

Another thing to keep in mind is that the framework is meant to be
extendable so I'm wondering if most of the usability issues could/would be
solved by simply having specialized connection profile wizards for each
vendor.  For example, new Sybase ASE connection profile.  In this wizard,
the controls are specific to ASE connection properties and the list of
drivers is limited to Sybase ASE drivers.

This last part makes me wonder if the problem isn't actually being caused
by the lack of vendor specific support (i.e. we're trying to use a Swiss
army knife for everything when we'd be better served using an individual
knife, saw, pair of scissors, etc. (no offense to the Swiss; I love my
Swiss army knife) ).

Rob