Re: Do Data Models Need to built on a Mathematical Concept?

From: Neo <neo55592_at_hotmail.com>
Date: 4 May 2003 16:22:04 -0700
Message-ID: <4b45d3ad.0305041522.1cc70a75_at_posting.google.com>


> Can you give me an example of what this would be used for?

I believe I can explain the problem in a general manner which relates to the capabilities exhibited by the human brain.

Suppose I have n types of things initially. Thus I will store them in tables T1, T2, ... Tn. Assume n increases with time.

Suppose I want to be able to relate any two things and there are x types of relationships initially. Thus I will store them in tables R1, R2, ... Rx, each having at minimum two columns Thing1ID and Thing2ID. Assume x increase with time.

To relate any two things in a relationship, I will use a GUID for each row in T1 thru Tn.

Problem 1: How do I find any one thing efficiently, taking into account that the number of tables will change over time. Problem 2: How to I find all the other things a thing is related to efficiently, taking into account the number of relationship tables will change over time.
Problem 3: When inside a relationship table, how can I determine which table a GUID relates to? Received on Mon May 05 2003 - 01:22:04 CEST

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