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Home -> Community -> Usenet -> comp.databases.theory -> Re: Applying relational theory to paper filing systems
"Dawn M. Wolthuis" <dwolt_at_tincat-group.com> wrote in message
news:c6ocu9$gv0$1_at_news.netins.net...
> I was just at the dentist office and saw again those rows of color-coded
> paper files. I wondered what "best practices" or even possibly "theory"
> might be used these days to design such a system.
I know nothing about "those rows of color-coded paper files at the dentist
office"
This particular case of paper-based forms is special or just an example of
well
designed forms ?
> I know I have used data normalization techniques when designing
paper-based
> forms before -- particularly 2nd & 3rd NF. Obviously one would not want
to
> apply all relational theory to paper files due to the inability to handily
> join tables that are paper-based. You would also not want to use 1NF,
most
> likely.
> Figuring out what from data modeling and database modeling techniques and
> what from relational theory would be applicable to paper-based filing
> systems might shed some light on what from relational theory is useful to
> non-RDBMS systems (and, therefore, to database systems in general).
You mentioned
- paper based forms - paper based files - paper based filing - paper based databases
I think that there are different kinds of paper based forms:
- for data input - for data storage - for data processing - for data output
I think that "electronic data processing" is not that different from "paper based processing"
> Obviously one would not want to
> apply all relational theory to paper files due to the inability to handily
> join tables that are paper-based.
I don't think this is obvious.
Many sorting routines that are used today in DBMSs have been
invented prior to electronic computers and were used
to "handily join tables that are paper-based"
> Is anyone familiar with any paper-based filing "theory" that is out there?
Maybe an archivist or a secretary ?
> What would be useful from relational theory to teach to people who are
> setting up paper-based "databases".
I would not be surprised if you will find many paper based arhives better organised than most computerised databases.
Maybe we need them to teach us ? :-)
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