Re: The fable of DEMETRIUS, CONSTRAINTICUS, and AUTOMATICUS

Marshall Spight wrote:

> "Kenneth Downs" <firstinit.lastname_at_lastnameplusfam.net> wrote in message
> news:3pd1lc.cjs.ln_at_mercury.downsfam.net...

>> Alan wrote:
>>
>> <snip>
>>
>> > And I suppose Demetrius would follow Automaticus off of a cliff while
>> > Constrainticus points out the warning sign...
>>
>> Nope, first Constrainticus would point out that is is an Abomination to
>> quote an entire usenet posting just to add a two line reply.

Yeah, I could have done it better though, having Automaticus know more about constraints and always acting within them. He comes off looking ignorant, which definitely detracts from my idea.

The idea is that constraints are like passive automation, which may have its place, but that that users appreciate it when you have active automation. Constrainticus is meant to be that annoying bureaucrat who always tells you what you are doing wrong, but when you ask for help says, "Who am I, your mother? RTFM!" Automaticus is the one who does all routine tasks for you, and only refrains from doing a small number of tasks you must do yourself.

You cannot always have active automation. For instance, in the case of a user-entered unique column, Automaticus should not be generating one for you, there is where Constrainticus is right at home.

You want active automation anywhere were some derivation is taking place. If you store extended price in your detai lines, a constraint saying it must be price * qty is silly. The constraint should be that the user may not directly write that column, and Automaticus fills it in for you.

The thesis I am developing is that there are not that many places where you should use a passive constraint, it may be possible to limit advanced complex systems solely to Unique and RI. The real service and power of the system will be in the automatically generated information. If I am wrong, I hope I've the gumption to report here why it did not work. If I'm right, I'll be releasing something under GPL someday. Wish me luck :)

-- 
Kenneth Downs
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