Re: First Impressions on Using Alphora's Dataphor

"Marshall Spight" <mspight_at_dnai.com> wrote in message news:<52dZc.216184$8_6.123794_at_attbi_s04>...
> "Paul G. Brown" <paul_geoffrey_brown_at_yahoo.com> wrote in message news:57da7b56.0408310834.382e95e5@posting.google.com...
> >
> > On the other hand, the theory and practice of information management
> > continues to be important and to grow new limbs. How are we going to
> > cope with inputs from a pervasive computing infrastructure? What is the
> > most useful level of abstraction at which to view distributed hardware
> > resources? These challenges are driving requirements for which the
> > DBMS model of the world--either SQL DBMS or TR DBMS--is entirely unsuited.
>
> An interesting assertion. Do you have anything to back it up? To my mind,
> the relational model has a lot of relevance to the questions you ask.

 (*sigh*)

  This misreading of what I said is *precisely* the kind of 'mental inhibitor'
  I am talkin' about. I wrote (very carefully) that 'These challenges are
  driving requirements for which the DBMS model of the world--either SQL DBMS
  or TR DBMS--is entirely unsuited.'

  I carefully defined DBMS. I said 'centralized, shared repository'. This
  systems model (DBMS = DataBase Management System) is unsuited to the two
  challenges I described because the information will be not be centralized,
  nor globally shared, and it will not be placed into a repository to be
  accessed again later. It will be highly decentralized, parts of it will be
  available to different users at differnet points in time, and it will be
  entirely volatile: it will be cheaper to go back to the original source and
  ask 'what was that again?' than to store it. Whatever systems are created to
  cope with these challenges, I am willing to bet that not a single line of
  code from a SQL DBMS or a TR DBMS will be used.

  But you make a mild observation about the limits that might apply to a True
  Relational DBMS, and the relational zealots glance up, bleary-eyed, from
  their row of empty shot-glasses, and start flingin' peanuts at yer head.  

  Sheesh. If anyone asks after me, tell 'em I'm hangin' out on   alt.cranky-old-ex-DBMS-coots-who-are-working-on-other-problems-now-thank-you-very-much. Received on Wed Sep 01 2004 - 20:40:12 CEST