Re: object algebra

> But it wasn't reality that defined that relation, it was you! *You*
> declared that all persons have an eye color, so it doesn't seem
> fair to complain about that fact now.

I think you lost the context of the thread. I claimed RDM's fundamental design ensures NULLs will occur in some applications. Eric disagreed. I supplied an imaginary application where it occured. Did I cause the NULL? Yes, but I was only partially to blame. The other and more significant party was RDM.

With TDM/XDb1, under the same conditions, no NULLs are incurred when a person without eyeColor is encountered.

> And anyway, what's so hard about declaring something like
> enum EYE_COLOR { Blue, Green, Brown, Hazel, Gaping_Unblinking_Sockets }

Violates basic set theory.

> Hey, what if the person's eyes are of two different colors?
> Or what if they only have one eye; don't we want to record that too?

TDM/XDb1 handles these type of situations (and without incurring NULLs). Received on Wed Feb 25 2004 - 21:21:41 CET