Re: Database vs. DBMS

"Marshall Spight" <mspight_at_dnai.com> wrote:

>I just want to go on record as saying that I find the
>whole pedantic insistence on differentiating between
>a database and a dbms tiresome and counterproductive.
>It isn't "precise"; it's ostentatious. Humans are

     It is precisely "precise". It is also accurate.

>very, very good at disambiguating, and I've never
>seen anyone confuse a database and a dbms,
>even when the wrong term was used.

     Since the English language has a lot of redundancy, one can often get away with sloppiness. However, this comes at a terrible price. When a situation occurs where the distinction is critical, it likely will not get caught since the sloppy user is not in the habit of checking for accuracy.

     There is a case that has been used for years to illustrate this point where there was an error that cost $500,000 due to an ambiguity with the word "too". As this was probably 1960s or early 1970s, apply an appropriate multiplier for today's dollars. Neither the person writing the spec nor the programmer caught the ambiguity.

>People don't confuse classes and objects either,
>even if their diction would lead you to believe
>otherwise.

     That is not what I saw while I was working on my diploma. OOP was very difficult for most of my classmates. Some did not ever get it.

Sincerely,

Gene Wirchenko

Computerese Irregular Verb Conjugation:

     I have preferences.
     You have biases.
     He/She has prejudices.