Origin of the concept of "data model"

From: Ken North <knorth2_at_deletethis.yahoo.com>
Date: Wed, 19 May 2004 00:08:29 -0700
Message-ID: <c8f10o$rr9$1_at_ngspool-d02.news.aol.com>

In the "Network Data Model" thread, there was some discussion whether E.F. Codd deserves credit for originating the concept of the data model. "Conventional wisdom has it that Codd invented not only the concept of network and hierarchical data models, but the very concept of a data model itself."

Codd's own bibliography and the archives of the ACM show otherwise.

The March 1976 ACM Computing Survey has some useful information. Some articles are available online from the ACM Portal. These three papers include references to pre-1969 papers about data models and theory:

-. E. F. Codd "A relational model of data for large shared data banks",
Communications of the ACM, Volume 13, Issue 6 (June 1970) http://doi.acm.org/10.1145/362384.362685

-. James P. Fry, Edgar H. Sibley "Evolution of Data-Base Management Systems",
ACM Computing Surveys, Volume 8 , Issue 1 (March 1976) http://doi.acm.org/10.1145/356662.356664

• Donald D. Chamberlin* "Relational Data-Base Management Systems" ACM Computing Surveys, Volume 8 , Issue 1 (March 1976)http://doi.acm.org/10.1145/356662.356665
  • Chamberlin acknowledged Codd's comments in the preparation of his paper. He provided an extensive bibliography that was based on one from Codd.

Cited in Codd's 1970 paper:

1. Childs, D. L. "Feasibility of a set-theoretic data structure: a general structure based on a reconstituted definition of relation," Proc. IFIP Congress 1968, North-Holland Publ. Co., Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 1968
2. Robert Bleier. "Treating hierarchical data structures in the SDC Time-Shared Data Management System (TDMS)", ACM/CSC-ER Proceedings of the 1967 22nd national conference
3. Jerome Feldman, Paul Rovner. "An ALGOL-based associative language" Communications of the ACM, Volume 12 , Issue 8 (August 1969) http://doi.acm.org/10.1145/363196.363204

Fry and Sibley cite four references under "Data Models-Theory". The Chamberlin paper includes numerous references under the heading of "Models-Theory", but it groups eight references under the title "Sets and Relations (prior to 1969)".

The Fry-Sibley paper and Chamberlin papers cite Codd's 1970 paper, a 1962 CODASYL report and 1968 papers by D. L. Childs.

1. "An information algebra: phase 1 report-language structure group of the CODASYL development committee", Communications of the ACM, v.5 n.4, April 1962
2. Childs, D. L. "Feasibility of a set-theoretic data structure: a general structure based on a reconstituted definition of relation," Proc. IFIP Congress 1968, North-Holland Publ. Co., Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 1968
3. Childs, D. L., "Description of a set-theoretic data structure", Proc. AFIPS Fall Jr. Computer Conf., 1968, AFIPS Press, Montvale, N.J., 1968
   • Ken North =========== www.WebServicesSummit.com www.SQLSummit.com www.GridSummit.com

Received on Wed May 19 2004 - 09:08:29 CEST