Re: Database Builders, Code Generators, On-Topic?

"Kenneth Downs" <MyUseNetHandle_at_linuxmail.org> wrote in message news:e3arab.kkk.ln_at_mercury.downsfam.net...
> Hi folks. I've been lurking here for a few weeks now and have made a post
> or two, but up until now have not started a thread.
>
> There is a topic close to my heart which I do not see discussed here much,
> and I wonder if it is considered topical. Briefly, I spend my days
> designing and implementing data-driven systems, wherein we use a
collection
> of tables that describe tables, columns, keys, references and so forth.

This sounds suspiciously like a system catalog.

> We
> use this to generate both DDL at install time and DML at run-time, and
also
> client code (pure under-the-hood, nothing cosmetic).

Sounds fair enough. Does it handle schema version upgrades? ie. Does it generate the DDL to update one schema versionb into a new schema? If so, does it do this without data loss?

> I have not seen this discussed here much, and wonder if such discussions
are
> welcome. If not, is there a more appropriate forum?

The only other candidate would seem to be comp.databases, and I have no opinion on which of the two is more appropriate.

> In an effort to give some rigor to our design strategies, I have coined
[1]
> the term "Scalar Complete" to refer to the insistence that all meta-data
be
> composed entirely of scalars, meaning that meta-data must never be an
> expression that is evaluated according to the syntax rules of a language
> (the expression "price * qty" may look like passable scalar data, but it
is
> not), and must never require parsing.

I fail to see how that arbitrary restriction provides rigor. It sounds more like a "Gee, my life as implementer would be easier..." kludge.

> We have had great success with this approach for C/S apps, and I would
love
> to discuss such projects with like-minded inviduals, but as I say I do not
> see a lot of discussion of these types of things, either here or anywhere
> else that I can find.

The folks over at Alphora use their product's system catalog for automatic application generation. Paul Vernon seems to have an interest in devising a standard relational system catalog.

> So again, I am wondering if such discussions would
> be considered topical here, or if there are other forums known for this.

Depends. What's the theory? Received on Mon May 26 2003 - 00:35:58 CEST