Re: 4 the FAQ: Are Commercial DBMS Truly Relational?
Date: Sun, 10 Oct 2004 19:49:17 -0700
Message-ID: <s0tjm09uj7873chi0ogaphl2m3noiau3p3_at_4ax.com>
Christopher Browne <cbbrowne_at_acm.org> wrote:
[snip]
>The notion of "wrong answers with good performance" can also fit with
>the notion of using approximations.
>
>There are cases where modelling the exact correct result is costly,
>and that an approximation will suffice at lower cost.
In which case, the approximation is a correct answer.
>There are numerous sorts of costs:
>
> - CPU usage
> - I/O usage
> - The amount of time and skill required to generate the report
>
>An approximate answer that takes an hour to find that is "close
>enough" that allows timely decision making is better than one that is
>exact but that took too long to find so that the information arrived
>too late for use.
I define correct in this sense as being per the spec. If the spec allows for an approximation, such an answer is correct.
Sincerely,
Gene Wirchenko
Computerese Irregular Verb Conjugation:
I have preferences. You have biases. He/She has prejudices.Received on Mon Oct 11 2004 - 04:49:17 CEST