Re: Pre-relational, post-relational, 1968 CODASYL "Survey of Data Base Systems"

From: Kevin O'Kane <okane_at_cs.uni.edu>
Date: Sun, 25 Apr 2004 22:18:04 GMT
Message-ID: <wOWic.9254$eZ5.8673@newsread1.news.pas.earthlink.net>

The Pick system is currently marketed by:

http://www.rainingdata.com/

which is the current embodyment of the original company.

Dawn M. Wolthuis wrote:

> "Ken North" <knorth2_at_deletethis.yahoo.com> wrote in message
> news:c6h8uh$m5j$1_at_ngspool-d02.news.aol.com...
>

>>It's always amusing to read a description of some DBMSs as

>
> "post-relational",
>

>>or to read that E.F. Codd's 1970 paper about the relational model was the
>>genesis of database technology.
>>
>>"A Relational Model of Data for Large Shared Data Banks", E. F. Codd
>>(Communications of the ACM, Vol. 13, No. 6, June 1970)
>>
>>When cleaning out some old files, I found a folder with vintage-1968

>
> documents
>

>>related to the CODASYL Data Base Task Group. One of the documents is a

>
> "Survey
>

>>of Data Base Systems"  dated 3 September 1968. It lists 51 database

>
> systems, and
>

>>identifies another 22 systems not included in the survey.
>>
>>The systems in that survey are predecessors of the CODASYL database

>
> standard,
>

>>Codd's relational model, and SQL. Three of those systems have evolved in

>
> the 35
>

>>years since the survey.
>>
>>IBM IMS is still in use. Dick Pick evolved GIM-I into the Pick database

>
> family.
>

>>The Mass General/BBN system evolved and is still available today as MUMPS,

>
> M and
>

>>Caché.

>
>
> Sweet! I've been tracking down pre-SQL database information and this is
> most helpful. I haven't tracked ADABAS to its origins, but might that be
> somewhere in the pre-relational? I, too, laugh at the "post-relational"
> claims, often used with MUMPS or PICK products (even by companies like IBM
> who ought to know better, eh?).
> --dawn
>
>

-- 
Kevin C. O'Kane
University of Northern Iowa
Cedar Falls, IA 50614-0507
(319) 273 7322 (Office + Voice Mail)
(508) 778 9485 (Massachusetts)
http://www.cs.uni.edu/~okane
okane_at_cs.uni.edu

Received on Sun Apr 25 2004 - 17:18:04 CDT