Re: Myth of the database independent applications (Was: Are you using PL/SQL)

From: DA Morgan <damorgan_at_psoug.org>
Date: Thu, 24 May 2007 17:09:57 -0700
Message-ID: <1180051798.416183@bubbleator.drizzle.com>

William Robertson wrote:

> On May 24, 9:18 pm, Serge Rielau <srie..._at_ca.ibm.com> wrote:

>> The market drives standardization.
>> If vendors of do not agree on standards then the market abandons the
>> fractured interface. That is exactly what is happening.
>> One reason why apps are written in Java and abuse DBMS as mere file
>> systems is that vendors have not been able to keep SQL standardized.
>> This is not the first time this happens and it won't be the last.
>>
>> The very fact that deep exploitation of the DBMS is preached as a
>> "requirement" drives the app vendors away.
>> Why would an app vendor want to be held hostage by any specific database
>> vendor just to get a performance improvement that Moore's law will fix
>> for them in short time anyway?
>> Why would customers put themselves into a position where the vendor can
>> dictate the support price upon next renewal because the customers cannot
>> threaten to change the supplier and the vendor knows that all to well.
>>
>> The premise of SQL was and is that it's the DBMS' job to optimize. It is
>> not the app developers job to write e.g. EXIST instead of IN to achieve
>> performance.
>>
>> If vendors cannot agree on a procedural language then the customers
>> cannot be blamed for refusing or at least minimizing its usage.
>>
>> Cheers
>> Serge
>> --
>> Serge Rielau
>> DB2 Solutions Development
>> IBM Toronto Lab

> 
> So if Oracle and SQL Server are not the same we should complain about
> standards compatibility, while if Java and .Net are not the same that
> is OK?
> 
> Just checking...

You've got the first part now extend it.

Because Solaris and HPUX are not the same. Because OSX and Windows are not the same Because AIX and OS/390 are not the same. Because RedHat and SUSE are not the same. That's the ticket.
Why would we possibly want more than one word processor? One spreadsheet vendor?
One operating system?

Standards benefit those on the standards committee. Have you checked the membership lately?

-- 
Daniel A. Morgan
University of Washington
damorgan_at_x.washington.edu
(replace x with u to respond)
Puget Sound Oracle Users Group
www.psoug.org

Received on Thu May 24 2007 - 19:09:57 CDT