Re: Extending my question. Was: The relational model and relational algebra - why did SQL become the industry standard?

Bob Badour wrote:
>
> [... the usual explanation for why abstraction in a programming or query
> language is a good thing ... ]
>
>Jan is just being contrary to suit his emotional needs.

Absolutely. I get highly upset if I see all the sloppy reasoning, sweeping generalizations and unwarranted assumptions in an area that I happen to love and know a thing or two about. I don't blame Lauri for making highly debatable claims such as that optimizing GOTO code is harder and compilers for GOTO languages are necessarily bigger and buggier, because he does not claim to be an expert. But Chris Date does, and by including it in an article of his he gives it some authority and might mislead some people into believing that these claims are actually well-founded. If I would have included such a quote in an article of mine, it would have been torn to threads by the reviewers.

• Jan Hidders