Re: Domain

"Bob Badour" <bbadour_at_golden.net> wrote in message news:cYmdndBNBd18hGyiRVn-vg_at_golden.net...
> "Marshall Spight" <mspight_at_dnai.com> wrote in message
> news:1b6Ib.692621$Tr4.1732206_at_attbi_s03...
> >
> > Yeah, it seems like the type system of SQL products got fixed in place
> > a long time ago, and hasn't had any way to assimilate new ideas.
>
> Kind of like how programming languages got fixed in place a long time ago
> and haven't bothered to assimilate new ideas.

If you look at the field of programming languages, the last 30 years has seen a lot of activity, a lot of new ideas, and a lot of advancements in type systems. Most of the activity has been non-commercial: universities, and research labs are where most programming languages come from, although they often get commercialized later in their life. For example, C++ was a product of Bell Labs for a long time before it was incorporated into a Microsoft product.

If you look at the field of SQL databases, the last 30 years hasn't seen a lot of activity in the type system area. Most of the activity has been directly and immediately commercial, with Oracle leading the way and changing top dollar for everything it can get.

I think the fact that most database activity originates in the commercial sector has been a real detriment to progress.

Marshall Received on Tue Dec 30 2003 - 18:36:16 CET