Re: The Practical Benefits of the Relational Model

"Nathan Allan" <nathan_at_alphora.com> wrote in message news:fedf3d42.0209201042.7a1b5015_at_posting.google.com...
> "mountain man" <prfbrown_at_magna.com.au> wrote in message
news:<NM9i9.35590$g9.100856_at_newsfeeds.bigpond.com>...
>
> > I agree with your earlier comments about SQL being there at the
> > right time and place. You could probably summarise this by the
> > remark that all computer systems software "evolves" in time.
>
> Whoa... being in the right place at the right time best falls in the
> category of "politics", not technological innovation/evolution.

Hi Nathan, while "politics" obviously is a large element amidst all the factors that interplay and in combination give rise to the changes we have witness for example in the last 40 years, who was there in 1960 that could have predicted the systems and their specifications that are now available in 2002?

My term "evolution" simply recognises that there are a multitude of forces at play, beyond any one corporation or individual.

> > Specifically, I see an entire new generation of database application
> > "software" being written _exclusively_ using the RDBMS native
> > utilities (largely stored procedures). The end-point of this evolution
> > is a shift in the location of the (db) applications software
environment.
> >
> > It will disappear from the current desktop/apps server environment
> > external to the RDBMS, and move internal to the RDBMS. It will
> > evolve in this manner because it is far easier to manage two systems
> > software environments than three. For further detail see:
>
> Your suggestions revolves around the assumption that today's DBMSs are
> a capable environment for application development.

I have demonstrated with R&D on MS SQLServer over the last 2 years that at least this RDBMS provides such a capable environment. I have done some small amount of research into the connectivity into Oracle with reasonable success. I have ordered the DB2 CD from IBM Aust and will be looking at whether DB2 can be so configured.

So while I cannot today demo a working version in Oracle and DB2, I can certainly provide the demo with SQLServer.

>This is
> unfortunately not the case and is the reason that we have "application
> servers" and such. It is clearly desirable to remove the conceptual
> "middle tier" and reduce overall application complexity. However,
> this layer can only be eliminated by a aptly capable DBMS. Existing
> systems can be preserved, but only as a "storage engine" underlying a
> more capable DBMS.

The capability of the RDBMS software environment has risen steeply over the last few years (at least with SQLServer). It may well be that the microsoft product is unique, but my research tells me otherwise.

This capability to which you refer above, has been engineered out of the native utilities available to the MS environment, and works well. Perhaps the utilities are different in the other RDBMS environments, but I will determine that soon.

> I will respond more on your proposed "layers" in another posting...

Thanks.
And best wishes,

--
Farmer Brown
Falls Creek, OZ
http://www.mountainman.com.au/software