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Home -> Community -> Usenet -> c.d.o.server -> Re: Database Design
Galen Boyer wrote:
>>I put quote marks around the word profession, see above, for a >>reason. None of the above are technically professions in the >>sense the word is used to described those occupations I >>listed.
Historically the word "profession" did not mean "occupation." They have very different concepts behind them. Concepts that have been blurred by our current use, or misuse, of our language.
I wasn't able to quickly find a web site that would explain it well but did find this:
http://www.lspa.org/ethics/whatis.htm
I think it does a reasonably adequate job of making the distinction.
>>Sorry if my meaning wasn't clear.
I plead guilty.
That is a
> thought that screams self-importance.
Nonsense. It screams of the fact that what we work with costs organizations hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars in the form of hardware, software licenses, infrastructure, and personnel. It screams of the fact that databases are not like word processors they are a corporate asset of great financial value. It screams of the fact that a database error is not like a failed hard disk ... it can literally put a company out of business and cost every employee in the organization their job.
I think the importance is in the work ... not the people.
Our profession and work
> isn't dealing with life-threatening issues.
Poppycock. Among my private clients are hospitals and surgeons. You wouldn't want to bet your life on your statement and neither would anyone else. What meal do you get in hospital? What anesthetic? What prescription medicine? What checks take place to make sure you are not allergic to medications? Medical database mistakes cost people their lives.
And then we could discuss databases I've worked on a Boeing that deal with schedule part replacement on airliners? 1.4 million parts on a Boeing 747? Do you think they track those part replacements on 3x5 cards?
I could give you 50 other examples without even a pause but you might wish to consider the fact that you probably watched 7 people lose their lives earlier this year based on a mistake, that I know for a fact, was partially related to a database. It wasn't the proximate cause but it was there none-the-less.
I think those that
> feel that way need to get a better perspective on what it is our
> profession is. We are IT professionals. We strive to be
> extremely talented at what we do. We love the creativity,
> challenge, ... of our professions. But, in the "Grand scheme of
> things" we provide very little societal benefit, very few of us
> do anything remotely dealing with life issues (there are a small
> few that deal with medical records that are used by the medical
> profession) and our profession's output isn't important enough to
> warrant a government or even industry sponsored credentials test.
That you may not doesn't mean that most of us don't. I think most of us are, or certainly could be, providing a very great societal benefit. And I'd venture most here at the c.d.o. usenet groups can tell stories of real benefits and real harm that have come from IT projects.
Someone coded that database being used to track terrorists? Also the one used to track your bank and your credit card balances? Almost every aspect of your life can turn to dirt if someone makes a mistake on an IT project. You seriously underestimate the importance of what it is we do. And the need for our profession to develop real standards to begin to police itself.
-- Daniel Morgan http://www.outreach.washington.edu/ext/certificates/oad/oad_crs.asp http://www.outreach.washington.edu/ext/certificates/aoa/aoa_crs.asp damorgan_at_x.washington.edu (replace 'x' with a 'u' to reply)Received on Mon Jan 05 2004 - 19:36:37 CST
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