Re: In an RDBMS, what does "Data" mean?

In article <40a9d675_at_post.usenet.com>, x wrote:
> I've read that "information" show up in systems with cycles.
> By accident, I've found this http://www.bkent.net/Doc/darxrp.htm

I probably don't do the book justice just from a quick skim of the extract, but I felt compelled to comment on one point of the extract. The author claims, quite reasonably, that data models are artificial constructs and can never completely represent the true nature of information, and goes on to provide various philosophical examples of recategorization. While this will doubtless stimulate discussion from many here, I think it may be a red herring from a purely database perspective, in that these categories already exist, to some degree, in the way information is handled. Databases don't exist in vacuo; they're fed (and consulted) by users who would have some system of mental categorization even if they were shuffling everything around with paper and pencil. So while it may be philosophically interesting, the questions raised may not impinge directly on databases--except that we must recognize that the organization of data within a database can and will change with circumstances, and the database should provide facilities for changing this structure with minimum inconvenience.

-- 
Chris Hoess